Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1920-07-09

Cost Is Estimated at $4,000 600, but
May Exceed This Figure Before
| Work Is completed-WiII Be Three
Miles Shorter Than Present Canal
and Have Minimum Depth of rs
Feet.
While the Panama canal will al
ways rank as one of the worlds great
| est artificial waterways and probably
the greatest engineering feat of all
time, Canada is to have a canal that
will run 1t close second. In fact
there Is one lock with three lifts In
the new Welland canal that Is higher
than any in the Panama canal. The
whole construction is massive and the
| cost Is to be stupendOus-the estimate
is $9O,OOO,OOO, and the builders figure
on the job lasting four or five years
longer; so there Is chance for costs
to pile up in ways not now dreamed of.
There has been a canal connecting
Lakes Erie and Ontario for three
quarters of century, but the present
project is virtually new one, although
in the greater part of its length 1t oc-
cupies the original sites. Since the
canal was first opened ii has been en-
larged from time to time until when
the new work was started In 1913 Ii
had a depth Of IA feet, with % locks,
each capable of handling a vessel 27O
feet long. When finished this time II
will be about three miles shorter, have
a depth of % feet at the shallOwest
point, be 200 feet wide at the bottom,
and instead of % locks will have a
total of seven, each large enough to
handle vessels 800 feet long. Each
lock will lift a boat 461a feet, and one
with a triple lift, has a combined
height of 1914 feet, which is greater
than any Panama lock.
Opens Way for Ocean Ships.
The portion of the canal that is en-
tirely new begins at Port Dalhousie,
the present Lake Ontario terminus.
and strikes the old route about five
miles inland. From there on to Lake
Erie the work is reconstruction, strict
ly speaking. The country through
which the new part has been cut COM
prised some of eastern Ontario's best
fruit farms before 1913.
Ocean-going freight ships can come
from any port In the world direct to
any great lakes port when the canal
is completed, and certain dredging OPP
erations now in progress in the st.
Lawrence river are done. Lake Erie
is 326 feet higher than Lake Ontario,
and before the first canal was built
Niagara falls barred direct water traf-
'fic between the two.
The CANAL is wholly in Canada and
uns almost due north and south
about dozen miles west Of Niagara
river. At present the time of transit
required for boat, which must not be
more than go feet long nor of more
than II feet draft, Is 10 to Is hours.
In 1.-The new canal boats 800 feet long
and of % feet draft can be transferred
from one lake to the other in eight
hours II Is estimated that boat can
be run into lock. the lock filed, and
the lift completed In 20 minutes.
A Big Figure Project.
Some idea Of the magnitude Of the
undertaking can be gained from the
following Specifications printed In the
Toronto Globe: AT TOrold the flight
Of three double locks and fourth lock
just above them, with total depth
of 1856 feet, must be hewn from solid
rock. At Port Weller, one of the
largest harbors i'm the world Is being
constructed. 1t Is artificial In every
respect Two earth embankments made
from excavations, extending a. mile
and half into Lake Ontario, giving
basin with 80 feet Of water at the
lowest stage. The harbor will re-
quire the placing of 100000 cubic
yards Of material. At the outer end
Of the embankment piers 700 feet long
will be built, laying 400-fOot passage
for the entrance of vessels. For
mile from the Port Weller entrance the
canal will be 800 feet wide at the bot
tom, with minimum depth of %
feet. pier 5000 feet long will ex-
tend to the first lock and be used for
dockage purposes. The entrance piers
are founded on concrete cribs as big
as dwelling houses. Nineteen of these
cribs are already completed and In
position. At least 30 more will be re-
quired.
The present Lake Erie terminus at
Port Colborne will be retained, with
few changes, large when viewed alone,
but insignificant when looked at from
the standpoint of the undertaking as
a whole.
All locks are to be built as twins so
as to allow ships to pass each other
without waste of time.