Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-09-26
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER a6, Isfs.g


Pacific side the lock at Pedro Miguel
Is separated from the two locks at MI.
rafores by a small lake mile and a
half long This lake. like the great
Gatun lake. is formed by damming riv.
ers A dam at the Pedro Miguel lock.
which IN the t1rst lock encountered 20.
ing toward the Pacific, holds the wa.
ters Of Gatun lake from spilling down
the Pacific slope.
Chief Engineer Stevens began the
excavations In the Gatun and Pedro
Miguel lock sites In 1909 shortly after
the decision was made for lock type
canal. hut most Of the excavation and
all of the concrete laying have been
done under Colonel G6ethaIs. It was
necessary to remove about 100000
cubic yards OF rU.k and earth from
the site Of the three locks at Gatun to
prepare u foundation for the tremen-
dously heavy structure Careful Dor.
ings tad been made to ascertain II q
suitable fohndation could be found
there.
On Aug. "a. 1909. the first concrete
was laid In the Gutun lock site. Rock
Of a desirable kind for use in making
the concrete as well as sand could not
be found In the canal zone. and expert
ments along the coast showed that at
Porto Bello. twenty miles east OF
Colon. good rock could be quarried.
and sand was discovered In suitable
quantities and quality at Nombre de
Dios. forty miles east Of Colon. These
two places are the oldest on the 18th
mus: Columbus having been there In
1902.
Rock crushing began at Porto Bello
on March 2. 1909. II all the rock and
sand removed from Porto Bello and
Nombre de Dios were placed in barges
separated by the usual distances In q
tow they would reach from Colon to
New Orleans. or 1900 miles. This ma.
teriai was towed to Colon and thence
through the old French canal to
Gatun Here It was unIoaded by ma.
chinery and stored conveniently for
the concrete mixing plant,
All the machinery md equipment for
building the locks were designed on q
scale commensurate with the unprece-
dented size of the structures. Eight
giant mixers were fed with rock. sand
and cement BY cars operated by cleo
tricity. the finished product coming
from each at the mixers at the rate Of
sixty-four cubic feet for each complete
operation
To get the concrete into place four
cabIeways suspended across the lock
site on towers eighty Eve feet high
were Installed. Electrically operated
cars brought the concrete to these
towers. where great buckets were oil.
ed; These buckets then were run, up
to the cables and out on the cables to
a given point. where they were lower.
ed and the concrete dumped into the
proper position i-f.t.r
After the floors of the locks had been
laid the walls were built in the usual
manner OF erecting steel forms. which
were removed when the concrete had
hardened. Al Gntun the walls OF the
locks were built In sections thirty-sfx
feet long and Joined together. on the
idea that such construction would have
less tendency to settle and crack than
II II were bnilt In one solid. continuous
wall This may be appreciated when 1t
is understood that at Gatun the locks
form concrete wall about $500 feet
long. or considerably more than half q
mile The nsable part Of each lock is
1000 feet ia,lI. and there are three In
flight $3.50 = Z
In each Of the outside walls and IN
the center wall tunnels eighteen feet
In diameter were constructed for use
in flling and emptying the locks with
water during the pr,N'esses OF raising
and lowering ships Smaller tunnels
run out from these main longitudinal
tunnels. under the floors Of the locks.
with openings through which the water
is turned into or withdrawn from the
lock chamber BY grayitation. Valves
operated by electricity regulate the
flow of the water The water for
operating the locks starts from the
Gatun lake und flows through the tun-
nels down grade through the three locks
until II tnnlly Is used In the. lowest
lock. when II In spilled into the sea
level channel. 7. "Tf.'
The first concrete for the Pacific side
locks was laid at Pedro Miguel on
Sept. I. 1909. seven days after the be-
ginning of operations at Gatun. II
was In February. 1910. that concrete
work was started In the two locks att
Mirafor For all twelve locks 4.48O-
600 cubic yards Of concrete were re-
quired.
For the three locks at Gatun 2o00.-
900 cubic yards of concrete were requir.
ed. for the one lock at Pedro Miguel
921 900 cubic yards and for the twol
locks at Mira6ores 1.504.000 cubic
yards. A contract was awarded for
100000 barrels Of cement. with the
privilege of increasing this order BY 10
per cent, and In 1912 another O00.0O0
barrels were bought to complete the
canal.
All twelve locks were half done as |
regards the concrete work about May
|, 1911. The best months record for
laying concrete was made In April.
1912. in the Pacific division. when 91.-
735 cubic yards were laid The con-
.rete Is all of re-e1forcpd construction.
and an unusual feature has been the
placing of rocks weighing many tons
the walls. The lock walls
at Pedro Miguel were not built In Sec
lions. az ut Gatun. but az one solid
piece of masonry more than 1000 feet
ong At Mirahores the two locks were
built In sections. as at Gatun.
The gates for the locks were con-
tracted for. In 1910. to cost $5.374.-
474.S2. Their construction and erec-
don are by the McClintic.M Marshall Con.
struction company of Pittsburgh. un-
der the inspection of the commission.
This concern in 1918 had more than
900 men at work and was rushing
IL. Ia