Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-07-23
DREDGING DANGERS
IN N. Y. CHANNEL
Death by Dynamite or
Drowning Possible in Build
ing Outlet to Sea.

NEW YORK. July 90 (by the Asso-
ciated s).-Death by drowning or
|dynamite-these are chief among the
dangers facing men who are dredg-
ing the East river to Long Island
sound that New York may have an
other deep-sea passage to the At
lantic.
How this undertaking, which will
require fifteen to twenty years and
an expenditure of s55.O00,0 900 to $75.-
100000, is being carried on was told
here by officials of the dredging COM
pany which is doing the work
Most of the work must be done
during the slack-water period at the
change of tides and as there is gen.
orally from 500 to 1000 pounds of
dynamite aboard each drill boat the
craft and sent to the bottom is COM
plicated with the possibility of being
blown into the air" one official said
DemoIishing Hell Gate Reef.
I'm He'll Gate we are demolishing
Frying Pan reef, which is $50 feet by
| $50 feet. From eight to ten months
will be required to complete this task
A drill boat is being warped across
lit in parallel paths thirty feet apart
drilling holes into which from 100 to
/ $50 pounds of dynamite is packed and
exploded. A dipper dredge, following
the drill boat. loads the blasted rock
| into scows for dumping into holes
Seventy-five feet deep or more in the
river. This leveling of the river bot
tom removes the source of eddies
smoothing the current.
pot rock, another reef in He'll Gate
will be destroyed next. Because o.
ftreacherous currents for which it i.
responsible Pot rock is known as thu
Iwickedest spot in American waters
| 1.-THE longest slack-water period
REGISTERED in He'll Gate during the
Hast forty years was tWenty-three min
Iutes. 1t is within that slack perlos
THAT drilling points, must be located
charges planted and fired and the po
sition of the plant changed. Diver:
on this work are generally unable tt
spend more than fifteen minutes un
der water at a time, SO that they Wori
but half an hour in Il twenty-four'
hour day.
Beware Of Dredging Plants.
"As a precaution against being ram
med by passing craft the Navy Depart
iment and customshouse officials have
warned operators and owners of YES
sells to keep safe distance from
idredging plants. For non -complla nce
with this warning eighty-five captains
were arraigned recently within pc
riod of ten days. Many were suspend
| ed for from ten days to six months
| "When the collision signal is sound
ed on one of the dredging Vessels
each of the dynamite crew, wearing
llifebelts, grabs a box of the explosive
and stands by to jump overheard.
''The project of dredging the East
river to the sound was first under
taken forty years ago to provide New
| work harbor with an entrance which
would not require continuous dredg-
ing like Ambrose channel, where nve
government dredges are constantly
removing the inf1ltrating sands. Flooo
| rock in He'll Gate, was then removed
and some lesser work accomplished
before the appropriation was ex-
lhausted."
| When Flood rock was blasted q
charge of 100000 pounds of dynamite
was fired, the official said. Launches
| on the river a mile away were lifted
three feet out of the water, but nc
damage resulted.