New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-06-30
Officials Shown by Com
missioner Smith North
River Engineering Feat.
HUGE PROJECT
A DIFFICULT TASK
Work Is Third of Its Kind in the
COuntry-Built for New
1,000-FOOt Pier.

City officials and citizens were the
guests yesterday Of Dock Commission
err K. A. c. Smith on board the Chart
ties Department boat Correction. The
party sailed up the North River from
Pier A to Forty-sixth Street, where
appropriate exercises marked the let
ting of the river water through the big
cofferdam constructed for the building
of the new l.OOO-foot pier which will
afford transatlantic terminal.
A luncheon was served by Commits
ficials of several of the transatlantic
lines. army engineers and the officers
OF several civic organizations present.
Among those in the party besides the
Mayor and the Dock Commissioner
were K. {. Harrison. First Deputy
Commissioner Of Docks; Charles W.
Stamford, chief engineer, Dock De-
partment: Colonel c. II. McKinstry,
L. S. A., Corps of Engineers; Col
onel Frederic V. Abbot. L. 5. A.,
Corps Of Engineers: +. II. Outer
bridge president of the Chamber Of
Commerce; Charles r. Gwynne, secre-
tary Chamber of Commerce; S. V. V.
Huntington, president New York Board
Of Trade and Transportation; Frank 5.
Gardner, secretary New York Board OF
Trade and transportation; j. B. Nor
Iell. president Maritime Exchange;
Captain K. 7. Conner. L. S. A, Corps
Of Engineers; Henry W. Hodge, Public
Service Commissioner; p. A. S. Frank
lin, international Mercantile Marine
Company; A. G.. Smith, vice-presi
Ward Line; Charles p. Sumner, agent
Cunard Steamship Company; J. p.
Meyer, director Hamburg American
Line; Lamar Hardy. Corporation Coun-
sci; John J. Murphy. Tenement House
Commissioner: Alexander Brough. Dep
uty Controller; Charles Strauss,
president Board Of Water Supply; Cap
tain J. ". Oman. L. $. y. Supervisor
of Harbor; Nelson +. Lewis, chief en-
gineer. Board of Estimate; Calvin ID.
Van Name. President Borough of Rich
mond; George II. Bell, Commissioner
of Licenses; John A. Wilbur, secretary
Harlem Board of Commerce; Birch
Helms, secretary Advisory Council OF
Real Estate Interests; {. A. Harwood
A. r. Smith, John F. Sullivan, engineer
Bureau of Contract Supervision; c. II.
Callaghan. Joseph +. Kean. secretary
Central Mercantile Association; W. T.
Hahn, president New York Dock Com
pany: ". T. fairfield. fairfield, SOLAR
& Co; A. +. Stamford, vice presi-
dent Brooklyn Union Gas Company; T
O. McGill, Aldermen John +. McCourt
W. +. Quinn, A. NJ. Wise, Peter
Schweikert and ". 2. McGarry.
Mayor Mitchell opened the sluice
| gates which let the water through the
coirerdam. Commissioner Smith re-
viewed the magnitude Of the work, and
the Mayor replied, complimenting the
Commissioner and his department in
carrying out the project, which was
considered at the time Of its begin
ming, in April, 1914, a doubtful engi-
neering task
Prior TO this undertaking only two
dams of a similar design and Of any
extent existed. namely, the Black Rock
I dam, near Buffalo, and the Troy dam
In these dams the piles were less than
fifty feet in length and the foundation
was on hard river bottom. The Golfer
dam surrounding the Maine in Havana
harbor consisted of steel piles 20 feet
in length but they were spliced and
were supported against the sides Of the
battleship as the water lowered.
Unfavorable conditions were encoun-
tered at the outset in the construction
of the West Forty-sixth Street dam
Instead of a hard river bottom, it con-
sisted of rock with a thick layer OF
soft silt on top. Steel piles, 70 feet in
Tenth, were driven without splicing
AS the water was lowered the pressure
of the river on the dam was 90 tons
per linear foot. The top of the dam
moved over four feet under the ire
mendous pressure before it readjusted
itself About 55,O0O,0O0 gallons OF
water were pumped out of the area in
closed, which covered five and a half
acres.
The engineers said yesterday il
would take about eight hours to I'll the
great excavations with water on either
side of the pier The pier itself is ex-
pected to be finished and ready for use
in about year and a half.