The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1907-12-27
TREMENDOUS TASK OF
RAISING A WHOLE CITY
FIVE ~FEET---EXPENSE

The work Of raising the grade OF the
city Of Galveston was begun November
w. 1904. Within another year the UNI
!.%dertaEing will be finished. 1t Is an
engineering feat OF great interest, In
ivolving the filling in Of that portion OF
Galveston island upon which the city
lis located. to an average depth OF five
feet. And that, too. without in any
marked degree discommoding h in
'habitants or interfering with h
Nions of the city the surface level fixed
by the engineers who established the
new grade is ten feet above the nat
.ufal grade.
1t was in these low portions that the
'brunt OF the terrible storm which swept
over Galveston in 1900 was felt. The
low level which the residence portion
and much OF the business portion OF
the city occupied made it possible for
the waters from the bay and gulf to
.mill1ons OF dollars worth Of property.
w is in order to protect the lives and
property of the people in the future
mat the grade is being raised. 1t re
1nforces the security that Is already
afforded by the building of the sea wall
fronting the gulf for a distance of four
n one-half miles. The building OF
the sea wall was considered a marvel
GUS piece OF construction work for a
s.flcken city to undertake. The grade
raising is even a moro ~stupendous
project.
The city under he present contract
VIII expend $4,000, 900 for grade rails
ing. The total quantity OF material
sailed for under the contract is 1o,47o.-
o oou s"ble Of ya aba c,, In adj, aaaf taaa,s to this
eminent has contracted for filing the
Fort Crockett reservation, the amount
of material involved in that contract
being 100000 cubic yards. The coun-
fiing the sea wall boulevard, 1880
cubic yards OF material being required
Tor the urpos 1t is conservatiyely
estimated that when the work Of filling
Within the corporate limits OF the city
rs finished. the yardage placed will ag-
gregate approximately $4,000, 900 cubic
yards.
A full realization OF the enormous
quantity of sand represented by these
figures can better be had when it is
stated that an ordinary double team
wagon. built for hauling sand, holds
one cubic yard. If the work had to he
done by men and teams it would re-
auire 100000 wagon loads of ma
%,telial.
Figuring OF the basis of ten loads
day, which is a liberal estimate, it
would take 1000 double-horse teams
hitched to 1000 wagons and driven bv
1000 men more than fourteen years
TO do The work which the dredges will
have accomplished in less thar six
years. The dredges distribute the mat
terial automatically while if the fin
ing Was done by wagons many men
would have to be employed for that
work.
To Cost $s,ooo,o 900.
While the original contract calla for
ina l1Dsn -nf co N n -
dftional million Will be spent by the
county and federal governments and
by the city in extra filling not en-
braeed in the existing contract. An
other year will be required for the
contractors to refill the canal which
had to be dredged out in order to give
the dredges a n for use in bring
Ing the filling material into the city
and to distribute it. There are four
they deliver and distribute large aua N
titles of sand each day, through long
pipes that are laid to the districts
being filled. The sal is taken from
the bottom of the gulf and is brought
in by the dredges through the canal
that was constructed for the purpose.
The operation of the monster dredges
is an interesting sight. The sand. as
1t is removed from the gulf, is mixed
with water and is in such liquid form
that 1t is forced through the pipes
and over the surface quickly and even
~. 1he water quickly drains off, leaN-
a solid and substantial surface.
The number of buildings raised and
yet TO be raised in order that the fill
ing might be placed exceeds $500.
Weishty brick and stone structures had
TO undergo the raising process. House
raising has become an art with Calves
ton contractors since they have had
so much OF this kind of work to do.
Street after street Of residences have
been raised from five to ten feet. The
cost has been enormous, but the heavy
expenses have been borne unconplain-
1hgly. The poor property holder has
MADE the necessary changes In order to
as the mar OF wealth. The memory
of that terrible storm of a few wears
is ever present. He is ready to
contribute his might and give the city
protection gains another onslaught OF
hat character.
The character of the soil here makes
the building OF foundations not an easy
under ordinary circumstances
the difficulties are multiplied when
Old and we'll established foundations
to be torn down and new ones
in order to make ready for the
grade raising process.
Retiring Outstanding Bonds.
The sea wall and grade raising will
stand as monuments to the wise admin
of Galveston under the com
form of government For a
city of $4,000 population to accomplish
these great public works, while still
suffer'ng from the blfghting effects of
the storm which. swept so many thou
Of her people out OF existence
ana wrought a vast destruction of prop
erty is one Of the remarkable achieve
ments OF the age Or the 81, 600, 900 in
which were Issued by the CITY
FOR grade raising purposes, $3.50, 900 have
been cancelled n retired.
The grade raising involves the re-
OF sidewalks. the %restablish-
nent OF the public parks and a gen
eral refacing. II such it may be called.
Of the whole city. In order to provide
For sidewalks and for draining, paving
Or otherwise improving the streets. ad.
bonds will be issued.
The making over Of Galveston is a
big task. but when the work is I'm
shed it will be a city Of which the in
may we'll be proud. Nor.
han 500 city blocks will have been
placed above all possibility OF overfiows
rom the waters nF fha noo,-