The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1915-04-29
CANAL CONSTRUCTION
WAS A Big TASK

The Dalles-Celilo canal will make
possible all water transportation from
the upper Columbia basin Ito Astoria
| by boats of the Columbia river stern
wheel type.
A passageway around the natural
barriers in the river between the towns
of Cello and The Dalles. Oregon. it
does away with the necessity of trans
shipment by rail from one point to the
other.
The Dales- Cello canal is on the Or
egon side of the Columbia and parallels
the river for about eight and one-half
miles. 1t takes the place of the old
Portage railway.
Work of construction was begun in
1908 and has proceeded continuously to
the present time, with the exception of
Interruptions in 1912 and 1914 due to
failure of congress to make the neces-
sary appropriations. The total cost of
construction will be approximately $4,-
$50, 600, including $4,000 expended
for the Improvement of Three Mile
rapids, near The Dales.
The actual construction of the canal
has been done by the United States
government with hired labor, save for
a 4000-foot stretch at the upper end
completed by contract. The work has
been done under the supervision Of the
United States army engineer in charge
of the first Portland, Ore. district,
with other officers in actual charge OF
the field work.
Lieut.. Col. Jay J. Morrow has been
the supervising engineer officer in
charge, with Captain II, II. Robert on
the ground at the canal from 1910 to
May 1918, and Captain T. II. Dillon
from that time to the present. The
Captain has recently been transferred
to the Panama canal, in charge of the
locks, effective May !.
The Dales-C Cello canal is of the lock
type and drilled out of solid rock flor
half its length. Ii is lined with con-
crete where cut through sand and
gravel.
The principal of the five locks is at
Big Eddy, above The Dalles, where the
! three gates serve to form tandem
locks, or two locks that give a lift OF
J 70 feet in the 90-foot rise that the can
l al overcomes. Other locks are at Cell
: 10 falls, Ten Mile rapids and Five Mile
: rapids. One pair is used principally tt
regulate the stage of water in the
: canal.
The minimum depth of the new
! waterway is eight feet and as the locks
D are as feet in width and 300 feet ir
) length, with seven feet over the locks
sill the dimensions, 45x300x7, circum
t scribe the size of the vessels that may
go through the canal.
In the construction work drilling anc
: blasting, sluicing and undermining
| checking sand slides by placing exca
waited rock on top of the sandbanks,
2 and other engineering steps were nee
2 essary.
9 Eight steam shovels, % locomotives
0 200 cars, five concrete mixers and 81
5 miles of construction track were used
The largest number OF men employed
s at any time was 1900.
e It will require a force of Is men t
n operate the canal, when opened. to op
= crate the locks, which are run by ma
Q chinery, and care for the nine stee
swing bridges that go over the trade
: artery at as many places.
r Eight passing basins have been pro
D vided to allow boats going in opposite
y directions to pass one another, and it il
expected that the canal will always b'
open to navigation except possibly dur
ing maximum high water.
Here are a few figures that give
Y comprehensive idea of the construction
work performed: Solid rock excava
tion for locks, 100, 957 cubic yards; sub
aqueous excavation, 5000 cubic yards
s solid rock excavation for canal trunk
: $40. l56 cubic yards; common dry excs
:. walton, 504,S7l cubic yards: sand exca
: walton 536, ,267 cubic yards; concret
a and rubble masonry, 96. 744 cubic yards
t 1000 feet overhaul, 532, TT cubic yards
y reinforced concrete. So, 536 cubic yards
e 1t was necessary to bore 2709 feet 0
shafts, tunnels and filling ports. Tn
: locks and other metal work weig
= nearly 5000, 900 pounds.