The Penn's Grove record., 1919-10-03
Over The River
Canal Boosts Land In Delaware City


Residents of the vicinity of Della
ware City and Port Pen are expecting
to see an increase in the value of land
in that section due to the improve
ments to the mouth of the Chesapeake
and Delaware canal, which is planned
to be about 40 feet below the Fort du-
Pont reservation.
The government is planning to pur-
chase a strip of land 1000 feet in
width from the new mouth to the
canal at the "Wide Waters" This lot
of land will total about $50 acres and
will be purchased from the farmers OF
that section.
A survey of the land is to be made
at an early date and following it there
is little delay expected until the actual
purchase of this land is made. The
channel at the mouth of the canal IS
planned to be 300 feet in width, and
to be that width so a to provide a
harbor for vessels at the entrance TO
the waterway. This width will be con-
tinued for about $500 feet inland to
the point where the canal will narrow.
At the point where the canal narrows,
a new steel bridge is planned to be
erected over the waterway. :,
According to the plans that Will
likely be adopted, the Port Penn road
will be done away with. At the
present time this road is covered with
water and traffic over it has been i'm
possible for over a year. The Dutch
Neck road from Delaware City, which
is partially covered with water will be
raised and it is this road that will con-
tinue over the steel bridge that is to
be built. This road will branch off on
the west side of the canal and then go
towards Port Penn as well as contlnu-
ing the Dutch Neck Road.
Piers are to be erected at the en-
trance to the waterway. These piers
will be built at the direction of the
government which will grant permits
for the piers. These piers and the
fact that a harbor is to be established
at the entrance are the principal rea-
sons that many people expect to see
a big increase in the value of real
estate.
The bridge that is planned will be
one-fourth mile northwest of the
present Port Penn road. The reason
that no bridge will be made connect
ing the Port Penn road is that the
bridge would be too long and would
require the expenditure of a large
amount of money for its construction.
The fact that the canal will have It's
entrance at the proposed point IS IN
teresting the farmers of that section,
the greater portion of whom have had
their farmlands flooded eve since the
river bank broke above Port Penn. AS
the canal will have to be ~dredged, the
plan is to deposit this material on the
adjoining farmland. This will make
a considerable portion of land very
valuable even as farming land, for at
the present time, there are several
thousand acres that are flooded with
water, and which cannot be used for
agricultural purposes. This land will
be made high and solid fast land and
should greatly increase the value, for
there is a possibility that a large
amount of this land will be sought by
industries for manufacturing sites
1t has also been reported that n
drydock concern has already made an
effort to secure some of the land for
the purpose of building a drydock
when the entrance is completed. This
information has been learned from re-
liable authority and the developments
are being watched with especial in
tereSt.