The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1910-11-26

4 There is no longer any dout
3 about the actual starting of tn
4 work of building the Keyston
3 locks. The =. S. steamboat lily;
: cInth passed up the Teche by thi
4 place last Sunday morning with
4 tow of machinery and materials +
: be used in the undertaking. Ii
our last issue we gave an accoun
! of the arrival Of J. l.. Dickey, tn
Government Engineer who is t,
have charge Of the work and wh'
} will make his headquarters on th'
Hyacin;h during the progress O
{ the work.
A great part OF the delay il
starting this work was due to thu
effort of getting d contractor t(
undertake the task for specified
sum. With that object in view
the Engineering Department ad
vertlsed for bids for the locks
completed. There was but one
bid submitted and the amount ask
ed was considered out of reason
and considerably exceeded all es-
Inmates of the Department and
the amount of he appropriation
available under the act of Con
gress authorizing the construct on
of the locks. ln conseq' ence the
bid was rejected. After the usual
delays new advertisements were
pllpa ed and published. To this
second invitation for bids there
were but two replies, but the de
mands of the bidders were such as
to result in the proposals being
again rejected. The Department
next decided to undertake the con
struction OF the locks by day labor
under the supervision and direc-
ton of a competent engineer. 10
this task Mr.. j. l.. Dickey has
been assigned.
The improvements contemplated
for Bayou Teche are those which
were authorized by the 59th Con-
gress, Second Session, and en-
braced in the Rivers aid Harbors
bill of that session, carrying an
appropriation of $4,000. Six.
foot navigation to Arnaudville is
the object. Subsequent legisla-
ton contemplated the carrying of
9-foOt navigation up to the locks
to be located at Keystone planta-
ton.
The locks are to be located in
the bank Of the bayou entirely out
of the channel. Extensive exca-
vatlOns will have to be made in
order to locate the lock founda-
tions considerably below the pres,
ent bed of the Teche, as well as
below the proposed depth after
deepening. The original plans
called for G-foot depth of water
over the lock sills. AS the Tecbe
is to carry 9-foot channel below
the locks, and in consequence OF
the raising of the water above the
locks so as to give 6 feet at Ar
naudville, there will be 1Ofoot
channel for a considerable distance
above the locks, it has been decid-
ed that there should lie such
changes made in the original
plans as would give feet of wa
ter over the lock stills from the
start. The change in the plans
adds some $1,000 to the cost of
the lock construction. A further
strong reason for making this
change at the present time is held
In the fact that the depth of the
basin could not be increas
ed later without practically de-
the entire locks ard re
them
When the locks will have been
completed a dam will be construct.
ed across the present channel of
The Teche between the upper and
lower inlets to the locks This
dam Will be built to height ne
cessarry to hold the water to re
luired level above the lock. All |
surplus water from freshets and
rain floods will flow over this dam
and pass Oh down the Teche.
If the project of damming the
below the head of the
recbe is consumated, it will mate
tally increase the water shed of
he Teche and should, besides
safe navigation for the
Up country stream, materially i'm.
prove the Teche by providing a
greater flow Of water. This will
end to improve maintenance con.
litions in both streams.