The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1916-05-25

Completion of Work Will Bring an Elk
penditure of Close to Cocoon
tract for Open Work Is Let by
Auction After Bids Are Refused.

Work will be commenced within
thirty days on the Root River drainage
ditch nearly eighteen miles long to re-
claim approximately seven thousand
acres of wet and swampy land in Ra-
cine and Kenosha counties. The con-
tract for the open ditch work was
awarded yesterday afternoon in Racine
to Cole Bros, of Napanee, Ind, a firm
which has been engaged in drainage
work for many years and which COM
pleted ditch a few miles west of this
city not long ago. The contractors
agreed to start the work at the Keno
sha end Of the contract within thirty
days. Three large land dredges will
be used on the work which will be
completed not later than January 1,
1918. Hundreds Of men will be mploy-
ed on the job and the contractors be-
lieve they will be able to secure the
necessary labor to complete it on time
despite the fact that there is an unusu-
al demand for common labor at this
time. The open work will cost in the
neighborhood of thirty-fve thousand
dollars and the complete drainage plan,
including laterals and concrete high
way bridges, will cost about eighty
FIVE thousand dollars.
The contract for the open work was
let at auction yesterday afternoon at
til ae3 h0asc Elm Attorney
Peter lveyy. representing the drain
age board Of commissioners. The con
tractors all objected to the specifea-
tions which required to complete the
work regardless of the character of
the material encountered. Some of the
bids provided for a price of one dol
lar and twenty-five cents a cubic yard
for rock and hard pan work. All
Of the bids were rejected by the
commissioners.
There were nearly = dozen bidders
present, all having failed to come with
in the specifications. For that reason
the board of commissioners decided to
let the contract for the open work by
auction. The bidding was spirited at
times, but Cole Bros. won out and the
commissioners placed the entire open
work contract to that firm which was
found after a personal investigation
to be competent and responsible.
The Racine county end of the open
ditch is a trife over twelve miles long
and passes through the west end of
the town of Yorkville and Raymond
emptying into Root river. In some
places the ditch is four and in other
places thirty feet wide at the bottom
Tt ranges from eight to eighteen feet
in depth with sloped sides. The Ke-
nosha county portion of the ditch will
be seven miles long.
There are two other large contracts
still to be awarded in connection with
this great drainage project. There
will be about fifteen miles Of laterals
and thirteen concrete bulk heads >locat-
ed at the points where the tiled laterals
connect with the open ditch. In add
ton there will be a number of con
crete bridges to be constructed at
points where the ditch crosses the high
ways. These bridges viii cost about
ten thousand dollars.
The laterals will cost the district
about forty thousand dollars, the con
tract being one of the largest provided
for in this section Of the state for
many years. The largest tile to be US
ed is twenty inches in diameter. Of
this size there will be thirteen hundred
and eighty feet. The amount and size
Of other tile which enters into the la
terals construction follows: Eighteen
inch, 1920 feet; sixteen inch, 5000
feet; fifteen inch, 500 feet; fourteen
inch, 16,420 feet; twelve inch, 22,897
feet; ten inch, 1920; eight inch, 1857.