Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1913-11-24


official opening of the canal Is 10
occur January /, 1915; for if water
were not admitted this fall, but were
deferred until May /, 1914, the full
height could not be reached until
October 1914. leaving little time for
the determination of these questions
These considerations led to the con
clusion that the water should be
turned into the cut at the earliest
date practicable for getting the
dredges to work on the slides.
"The present plans. therefore, are
based upon the blowing up Of Gam
boa dixie on October 10. its removal /
by dredges Immediately thereafter,
the transfer Of two suction dredges
and ladder dredge to the Cuca /
racha slide, the smaller dipper |
dredges to work on the other slides
until the full width OF the channel is /
attained, and the passage OF vessels [
through the canal as soon as chan
nels OF full depth and Of sufficient
width have been secured
Before boats can be passed #
will be necessary to remove the
Gamboa dixie by dredges and TO re
move the slides as already outlined
The passage Of commercial vessels
is dependent, therefore, upon the
time when proper channels can be
dredged through the slides should
additional ones occur they viii nee
essarily advance the date when this
VIII be accomplished
The canal proper exclusive Of the
approaches, the machine shops and
warehouses and great ocean docks at
either end. would have been com
pleted during the last fiscal year,
but for the extensive slides in the
Culebra cut And 70 deal with the
great problems involved in the re
moval of the slides no effective way
was found except the bodily dis
placement Of vast hills The slides
and breaks increased as the cut
deepened
, mo treatment has proven effect
5 i've for slides when once developed,
t except that of excayating and haul
; ing away material from the moving
e mass until the slide comes to rest
. Or until the angle Of repose for the
particular material in motion is
reached, said Colonel Goethals.
l. Last year 1t was predicted by geol.
: ogists that the slides had been con
quered and that little more activity
could be expected because all the
: loose surface soil and stone had al
most slid off exposing great ridges
: Of solid basalt rock which would act
= as barriers to further earth move
. ments. Yet, when all was most prom
ising and the canal excavation haC
gotten within 60 feet Of the bottom
= of the cut on the east side, the rocks
broke under the tremendous pressure
80 and 100000 cubic yards of materia
10 slid into and closed up the cut. Sine,
i, then the canal workers have beef
= digging away that material, ant
n. though there have been several slides
nj steady progress was made for no
10 only did giant dredges work on tn
face of the slides but powerful
hydraulic monitors, such as were eS
tensively used IN hydraulic minin
,E on the Pacific coast were brough
into play to wash away the treachei
ID Gus hills from the rear, carrying tn
W. material into unused valleys distan
II from the canal
~ A great engineering problem wa
involved in the solution Of the que
m tion Of continuing the excavation
en- the canal by steam shovels or b
10 hydraulic dredges, and Colonel Go
thals for the first time makes
official statement Of the reason
q which impelled him TO choose u
wet method
81 In brief, these were based on Il
apprehension that Gamboa dill
80. would not be strong or high enouf
to keep the water out Of the cut
the Gatun lake rose in the wet Sc
son. Also, steam shovel operation
III would be retarded by the season
. rains, which would not affect q
. operation of the dredges, and rnal
. the measure was one Of econom
= It would have been possible WI
. the shovels, to have removed all
= the. slides by January l. 1914 exec
. the Cucaracha slide, which could r
. have been entirely carried off befc
= April, 1914
. The financial operations OF I
= canal are told in big figures 7
. disbursing officer has paid out v
= 524,7O5 on pay rolls alone Congr'
. so far has appropriated $S4s'oOa'z