The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-09-16

slstlng OF u. G. Martin the stale cnri.
neer o. ldaho: j. II. Quinton. consulting
engineer OF Los Angeles, CAL and 4. j
Wiley. consulting engineer. of Boise. ida
alter a careful consdera ton OF the plans
ana speciiications, and an investigation ol
the work itself, have reached the same
general conclusions as arrived at by MIR
Eippincort regarding the inadeuuacv OF
Ine pans and specifications. and the dan
eerous character OF the work done in
compliance Herewith
REQUIREMENTS OF THE PLANS AMI
SPECIFICATIONS.
(Note-The words "right'' and left, in
t1s report mean right or left when look
ing downward) "''e' '0oA
The plans and specifications call for an
eantn dam having a maximum height OF
~ 11o iett and top length Of 2OS0 feet
tne oaIn IS TO have 4 top width of 20
tfiesi ti'eeii. with slopes OF 231 and 2:1, respec-
uNeH, on the upstream and down
N NSlreain races. The upstream face is TO
% os projected from wave action by riprap
o. Sl me ordinary, type. The base of the
| pe Wen piowed The sod is to be removed
from the middle third of the base. and
pl,ea pnea , up under the bottom of the dam
stcei sheet piling is to be driven on the
center line Of the dam, connecting with
.,nndi ,n1 ped rock at the right end and eX-
slsmdlns down TO firm rock This sheet
p,Ilne ends on the left bank OF the river
GSnannel G,l at point where the dam has a
t,ist nt9iisht OF ll0 feet The top of the sheet
|
wall. the top of which is seventy feet
pclow the crest OF the dam This core
rish, Msi, eX,ends from the rock slope at The
'ts s"t fo,ai e,iu OF the dam to the point where
OF tie ground. Beyond the point where
me me s,eel sheet pilings ends, ito feet be-
ri,'se s3w ine Top OF the dam, the core wall is
SUPPLY founded in trench cut six feet
Edeep IN the natural surface. Beyond the
enu oil inc core wall, the only bond he
tween iS The dam and the natural surface
I Drh Ga
me bottom and six feet deep which is to
| be back filed with selected material, the
"nrure Lure OF which is not specified
=, lhe specifications name three aIterna
i've i've ihethods which may be used in build
ing inc dam. The one adopted by the
Iom,ractpr s,Ia tor consists In dumping from a
| teStte ABOUT twenty-five feet high trains
ol cars loaded by steam shovcls The
only restriction placed upon this method
rs inc requirement that an equal weight
or material shall be dumped upon each
SIDE oi the core wall.
COMPLIANCE WITH PLANS AND
SPECIFICATIONS,
The work on the dam, which is now
about half completed appears 10 have
oceh done in conformity with the plans
ana specifications except the driving of
SHOWS she stee6 n; plIing: which, the evidence
SHOWS, ncltner extends to firm rock"
nor 10 The depth indicated on the plans
d1ii LIS aria'ion from the plans and specifi-
connarod rs or iittie consequence, however
|
plnhS IS omitted entirely under about 1000
ieet oi The dam. The plans show thai
tbere the sIGet I piling stops at a point where
upon the base OF The dam
me saturation OF the inner section of
cno,oia1 cn1 aam may have been sighted. but the
ana boulders would have made little inn
proEement in Its quality The method
vi pacing The material. both In the body
oo oootin, tne oam and in the central saturated
| rect high. which Is called for by tho
| specifications. effects an almost per(ect
separation OF the materials instead of the
| mixture which is called for by tho speci-
ncations, so that Ii would ne irnpossjble
TO comply with one provision without
violating the other.
therefore appears 10 us that the
tatal defects in the work are due 10 the
pans and specifications rather than 10
the construction.
REMARKS UPON THE sPECIFIcA-
TIONS.
Mr. Lippircott has said in his report
Inat The specifications are misleading
| we consider that he has been very mild
| IN This statement. They are not only
misleading. they are incomplete. indefi-
nlte, contradictory and erroneous. They
when. they specify. they sometimes
specify wrong methods; they are incom-
plete. because they omit some of the
| most important data necessary for the
successful construction of dam, as, for
| instance. the method of mixing the va
| rlous ingredients of which the body OF
the dam and the puddle core Is COM
| posed.
They are indefinite because they do
not define; as. for instance. where they
speak OF the material" OF which the
! puddle core is To be composed without
mentioning what it is And both indef
mite and erroneous, In stating that there
Is an impervious bed OF clay and gravel
underneath a bed Of gravel (about 1000
! feet long, averaging about Is feet in
| thickness" They should have stated the
maximum and minimum depth Of this
and it's thickness. Obviously. IL il were
only an inch thick. one would not take
/ the risk Of founding an important struc-
ture upon IL. Again. when they say that
trench is to- be backflled with ma
/ ierial' without specifying what this ma
| ierial Is 10 be. how it is 10 be placed
! They are radlctory when they call
/ for n method Of placing the material in
/ the dam which shall insure mixture
+ Of the materials. and specify method
( OF placing IL which Will effect separa-
! tion instead Of n mixture. Again. where
/ they specify earth as a mixture OF
earth and gravel containing over 10 per
cent Of earth in par, =, clause 4, sec. ~:
and gravel as "all gravcllY material
containing 90 per cent Of clean washed
gravel in the very next paragraph, Ac-
cording to tho specifications, if the ma
/ terial contained exactly 10 per cent or
earth and 90 per cent OF gravel. II would
be gravel" but. II It contained l0l per
cent of earth and S9l per cent OF gravel,
I il would be earth" One would naturally
suppose IL was still gravel This clas-
sifcation. although not absolutely con-
/ Trajectory. is so near IL as 10 show that
The writer OF the specifications had no
( clear conception Of the difference be,
tween earth and gravel Earth and
/ gravel. properly mixed and placed in
an carthen dam, will make a water
/ tight structure: but material conta ming
90 per cent OF gravel. dumped promisca-
ousy in a heap without any attempt at
mixing or proper compacrng, Will not
do
The specifications relating to the. for
nation or the dam are entirely inap-
plicable to the material OF which this
I dam is composed With It's aggregates
properly segregated and DISPOSED, this
material might have been buHt INTO n
water-tigh, structure and II is possible
that the foundation might have been
/ rendered secure from the passage OF large
amounts OF water through or under IT.
but these things could not. and have
, not been done under these specifications
J DAMSITE.