The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1914-01-01

attempt was made to prevent slides by
plaStering the sides of the cut with
concrete. but the experiments were
futile. There were between fifteen
and twenty important slides on both
sides of the Iline mile cut. the largest
being OH the west side of the canal
near the town of Culebra and embrac
ing sixty-three acres. Around the
towns Of Culebra and Empire were
many smaller slides that give much
trouble to the engineers. Steam shov-
els. locomotives and fiat cars have been
caught In these slides. but. singulariy.
few lives have been lost.
Sometimes the pressure on the sides
of the canal operated to make the earth
bulge up In the bottom of the cut Di-
vision Engineer Gaillard devised the
plan Of terracing the sides of the cut
to relieve this pressure, with the result
that much extraneOus naterial has
been prevented from sliding into the
cut. Engineers who formerly stood
stanchly for the sea level type of ca
nal after seeing the slides Of the pres
ent eighty-tive foot level lock type
were forced to admit that the attempt
to sink Il cut through the isthmus for
a sea level channel would be attended
by such prodi.ious earth movements.
necessitating such IN inestimable ad
tlitional excavation. as to make it We'll
nigh impossible For Il sea level canal
the Culetra cut would have t" go
cighty-tive feet deeper than in the
present plan. whicli would require both
a wider bottom and indefinitely wider
surface opening. and then the slides
would be immeasurably greater than
at present The best years work IN
the Culebra cut was l6.5St.S91 yards.
Slides first and last have added more
than that amount to the total estimate
of excavation for the division. YET the
Increase in efficiency. Of the organiza,
tion has ela ,led the workers to handle
the extra amount within the time and
cost estimated for taking out the orig
inal yardage.
Three methods of excavation have
been employed in digging the seven
lantic side and the eight miles of sim,
liar channel on the Pacific side Steam
sh0vels dug down on the Atlantic side
| to forty feet below sea level with great
dikes to hold out the water, and dredges
have done the remainder of the exca
waiting. On the Pacific side. in addi
| ton to dredges and shovels, the hy
draulic method has been used. This
| method consists Of playing Il powerful
| stream Of water on the 0.rth and drain
ing the water with the soil in a tiu(
state to selected dump which ha,
been boarded. the water being drained
off when the mud has deposited. Th,
| Atlantic entrance required an excava
ton of 47.523.OOO cubic yards and th'
Pacific entrance 5S.2S7 900 yards.
1t Is planned to take the great dredg'
Corozal through the channel and lock
UP into the Culebra cut for the worl
Of handling slides and silt after tn
water is turned into the cut.
Terminal works at Balboa requirin:
more than S.OOO.OO0 yards excavation
and finishing details of the canal chan
mel proper will bring the total excava
ton by March. 1914. when the cana
is expected to be in regular commeI
cial use. to 221 100000 cubic yards
In the late spring of 1912 the pres
in the United States exploited the dis
eovery Of volcanic formations In tb
bottom of the Culebra cut. The eng
neers have not been alarmed by thes
vaporous emissions. which were caus
ed. according to the commission geo
ogist, by the warm atmospheric effec
upon pyrite material.