The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1910-06-08

water is now running in the bitches
on the Tieton.
Feat of Engineering skill.
The Tieton project is a monum ent
to government enterprise in reclama-
ton work. Some have claimed thar
in the end government construction
would prove a nail in the coffin OF ma
tional reclamation. But the people
| of the Yakima valley think different
ly and show facts to prove it. This
first fact is that private enterprise
tried repeatedly to build this pro-
iect and failed. The second fact IS
the canal itself.
And a trip over every foot of this
immense project is sufficient to wiring
admiration from the most scepticai.
| Not leak has developed in the main
! canal since it was first tried out last
autumn and not leak has come 10
! light in any of the new laterals, sub
! laterals or fumes. Pretty good evil
! dence that the work was properly
done and capably handled. is it not?
on the great distribution systCm
where tn forces of the reclamation
are gathering for another onslITSn,.
contractors are already beginning tie
digging OF the main liberals. The
nam latct1ls under the first AMI Sec
and units were let by contrac.,
the first to d. II. Traphagen Of Sc
attic and the second to. George [
Cooke x Sons of Spokane. The sub /
iaterals and smaller canals hay" all, !
and will all be constructed by the re-
clamation service. In the first unit
- miles of concrete pipe lines yer"
laid of all sizes from six to thirty
inches. Here it required Is miles .
Of main lateral> and 60 miles Of sab.
ldterals to distribute the wafer. In
the second unit it will rcqur" 50
miles of main latcrals and 40 mites
of slblaterals. Field Engineer Charles
CroWnOvor : i'm charge.
Structural Work Difficult.
But the construction of the main
canals and laterals for the distrbu-
-ion system is as child's play com
pared with the structural work in the
canal proper. This structure when
has its headgate in the forest reserve
20 miles above Naches in Teton can
yon. is over twelve miles long 1t is
located on the side of precipitous
mountains its entire length and at its
lower end is $50 feet above the river
tion it was necessary to drive 11,10O
feet of tunnel through solid rock
These tunnels are six in number. two
of the smaller ones having Il com
bined length of 100 feet The re-
main ng tunnels named in order from
the headgate toward the mouth are a,
follows Trail Creek. 5000 feet:
Columnar. 1900 feet: Teton. $500.
loot !,
driving OF these tunnels began in
July OF 1907 and was finished the
following year.
Concrete Forms.
AS everyone knows the building of
the Tieton canal involved some prob
lens in cement construction which
created cons lderable speculation as
to their practicability at the time.
chief among which was that of the
concrete forms. These are Il little
larger than a half circle of horseshoe
shape and We're cast at various level
spots on the banks of the river along
the line of the canal and then hoisted
into the canal trench by means OF
trans and travellers. The construc-
ton of these concrete forms, eight
feet in diameter, two feet long and
u |
1850 lbs, was first begun under con-
tract by Theodore Weisberger in 1907
Owing to financial difficulties, Mr.
Weisberger was obliged to terminate
his contract with the government on
February !, 1908, and this work was
resumed and carried to completion by
the reclamation service.
Able Engineering Corps.
n hp
problems combined in the Teton. the
immediate success or the project az
it now stands completed, deserves
commentator at the hands of the
whole world. The work was first be-
gun under the administration of Su-
pervising Engineer Jacobs in 1906
when a wagon road was constructed
into the rocky and almost impossible
Tleton canyon He was superseded
by c. Fl. SWigart, who carried on the
pervising Engineer of all the recla-
nation work in the state of Washing
ton in 1908, and J. 5. Conway sue
ceedcd him as project engineer and
carried the work to its present state
of completion.
Stiffness a. of Deserted Village.
The three years of unrcmitting toll
III the Tieton canyon made that here
tofore wild and impossible section
4 busy spot. At times 500 men We're
and during the year occu-
pied in driving the tunnels, both day
and night shifts were operated. Three
hundred thousand cubic yards of
earth We're moved in digging the
trenches for the concrete forms ana
because of the fact that rock was IN.