The sun., 1919-05-25
New York's $751;
100000 w ter
way Offering Re-
lief Along Most
Co ngested Line
of Transportation
In spires Predic-
ton New Projects
to Meet Demands
of Middle West

TIME Barge Canal, New York !
States sl55,oOO,OoO contribution
L to the nations transportation
system, is now open to navigation.
This should mean much to the people
Of the nation and the State. as aside
from it's value to the commercial in
terests of New York, its worth as
transportation route on the most con-
sested line Of traffic in the United
States is already apparent.
This great canal system is second
only to the Panama Canal in impor-
lance and as an engineering feat il
is unequalled. 1t was started in 1905
and was practically completed last
summer, the total expense being some
what in excess of s155.OOO.OOO.
The barge canal. however, is the
one channel, as many believe, but con-
sists Of four different branches. These
are: the Erie. crossing the State from
Troy, on the Hudson River, to Buffalo,
on Lake Erie; the Champlain, extend
ing northward along the Hudson VAL
ley from Troy to Lake Champaign;
, the Oswego, branching from the Erie
at Syracuse and running northward
TO Lake Ontario, and the Cayuga-
Seneca, leaving the Erie west of the
Oswego junction and connecting the
two large southern lakes from which
il derives its name.
These four branches have a total
length of more than 532 miles and
have been constructed without Federal
aid. the funds being provided by the
people of the State of New York.
Uniformity in Dimensions.
The same general dimensions gov
ern all of the different channels. The
minimum depth is twelve feet and the
width varies from seventy-five feet in
earth sections of the land line or ar
tificial channel to a minimum OF 200
feet in the canalized rivers and lakes
which constitute by far the greater
part of this modern waterway.
In basic idea and design the new
canal differs radically from all Others
in this country. These early canals
were constructed on what was techni-
cally termed the hillside route" and
were located above the natural rivers
and streams. The barge canal, how
ever, avoids the higher ground
wherever practicable and is located in
tho beds OF the natural watercourses
which have been "canalized" by the
construction OF massive engineering
works. Foremost among these mod
ern structures in point Of interest are
the dams. which are of two types,
namely, fixed and movable.
BY reason OF their imposing appear
ance and the fact that they are unique
IN this country, the movable dam is
most interesting to the layman who
visits the canal These gigantic
structures OF concrete and steel pre-
sent the appearance of bridges. Closer
observation, however. shows that they
have no approaches. but that. sus-
pended from the downstream side of
each. there is a series Of heavy steel
frames.
The upper ends of these are con-
nected to the superstructure by
hinges and the bottoms rest in a con-
crete sill that extends across the bed
or the river. A number OF steel gates
placed in tiers Of two. rest on these
frames and can be moved up or down
by operating a number of chains
which are easily connected with cleo
trio winches that run along the bridge
floor of the dam. The lower series
of gates rest in the concrete sill, while
the upper tier forms the crest of the
dam.
Eight OF these structures are located
in the canalized Mohawk River be
tween Rome and Schenectady and an
other is being constructed at Roches
ter. This form OF dam was adoptet