The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1910-10-21
TWO YEARS. WORK
NEARLY FINISHED
CONCRETE WALLS IN FRONT
STREET FILL RESEMBLE
GREAT MOUNTAIN. VERY
BIG UNDERTAKING.

The completion of the last wall of
the five that have been erected by
Contractor James McGlynn to retain
the filling of sand I'm the Front street
ravine,2 which was accomplished at
ten O'Clock yesterday morning after
Two years work, was an important
event as il marked stage in the
development of one of the citys most
important undertakings, that leaves
but little to be done before the APP
pearance of Hancock's principal gate
way undergoes a radical transforma-
ton. Mr.. McGlynn expressed himself
MS pleased with the termination of this
mart of the work, but 1t does not finish
his contract, however. as the filling
work. sublet to the Dakota Heights
company, is included in his agreement
with the city.
Looked at from the southern side
facing the lake, the wall presents a
series of terraces rising one aboN e
another i'm pyramidal form. and re-
semblng n mountain of concrete nearly
sixty feet high and about three hum
dred feet from its eastern to it's west
ern extremity. The lowest wall is
twenty seven feet in height. and each
of the other four is eight feet i'm height,
tapering from n width of three feet at
the base TO eighteen inches on the top.
There is a space of eighteen feet be-
tween each wall with twelve per cent
Grade to allow of the easy draining on
the hillside.
Much Material Used.
The amount of material and labor
involved i'm the Improvement IL very
great as shown by figures furnished
yesterday to The News by Contractor
McGlynn. The concrete used in the
wells required 1880 sacks of Portland
cement, weighing approximately one
million, three hundred and fifty-two
thousand. four hundred pounds. Mixed
with this cement were hundreds of
tons OF gravel and sand. which was
obt&ined on the spot from the mater
ial washed down into the ravine from
the hillsides back of the city in the
course of the work of filling back of
each wall as IL was completed The
actual mixing and laying Of the con-
crete. independently of the time re-
quired to erect and take down the
wooden forms, was just eighty days.
and TO do this occupied a force OF
about fourteen men on an average,
done in machine operated by hand
power. which looked like slow pro-
cess, but which turned out the con-
crete as rapidly as 1t could be wheeled
into barrows TO the place where need
cd Strange as IL may seem the job
Of turning the crank of the mixer was
preferred by the workmen to any 9TH
er portion of the labor of construc-
ton, and IL was not as back breaking
as IL might appear.
Method of Construction.
To build the wooden forms into
which the concrete was poured in
shaping the walls. necessitated the use
Of great quantity OF lumber the to-
tai amount purchased and utilized for
this purpose being twenty-five thous-
and feet The erecting of the forms
and the excavating for the bases of the
walls occupied a considerable part of
the time required in the completion of
the entire job.
The walls were built i'm accordance
with the ideas of the Dakota Heights
company, which Is engaged In the big
undertaking of leveling up the two big
valleys in the eastern end Of the city
by bringing down sand from the
Quincy hillside by hydraulic methods
through a long wooden sluiceway. City
Engineer Craig, who made the working
plans and specifications Incorporated
in the contract. has also made the sur
veys for the various portions of the
work and Albert Beakley has acted
as inspector on the job in the interests
Of the city. A complete sewer system
has been built as the walls arose. q
twenty-four inch tile extending up
wards from the bottom of the ravine
at an angle conforming with the slope
of the walls and terraces, and term
mating near the surface In concrete
and brick catch basin built by Con-
tracer Frank Wern so that the drain
age of the street and Of the lots To b'
formed as a result of the Dakots
Heights company's work will be pro-
vided for ut the outset.