The New York herald., 1920-01-04

cutting is being made. The new canal will
enter Lake Ontario at the mouth of Ten Mile
Creek. about three miles east OF Port Dalhousie.
the terminus of the present canal. This new
cutting. with the construction of new port on
Lake Ontario involves much the greater part
of the work. including. as it does, all seven
lift locks. Tho contracts that have been let
cover great deal Of this work, much Of which
has already been done.
In asnitude. this tremendous task is second
only to theacuttng of the Panama Canal But
further complications than are apparent have
developed among which the crossing OF
the Wellsnd River. the construction of a new
harbor on Lake Ontario the difficulty of find
ing good sand for construction work, and the
disappointing discovery that much of the rock
excavated was unfit for crushing. il proved
ficultes have all been overcome, however. and.
given freedom from labor troubles progress
will henceforward be rapid.
The present canal is carried over the Weand
the height of the river will be raised to that
of the summit level of the canal by the con-
structon of dam With an overflow and reg
ulating weir. enough water being let through
to keep the river clean This dam will flood
500 acres of low land along the Weland
River and the turning of the river into the
canal will pollute the waters which are used
by nearby towns for domestic purposes. This
disadvantage will be obvia ted by the construc-
ton Of pipe line to Lake Erie to serve these
towns
The CONSTRUCTION of the harbor. called
Port Weller at the mouth Of Ten Mile Creek
on Lake Ontario. has not been easy. There is
no natural harbor here, so two embankments
are being run mile and half into the lake
and dredging to depth of thirty feet is being
done between them. Trestles were erected
into the lake. and excavated earth from the
canal run out these and dumped off to build
up the embankments As these progressed into
the lake the emba nkmens were built up un-
der water by dredges Dredging was made diff
ficut by the hard cemented sand and clay en-
countered which necessitated drilling. Storms.
too washed away some of the work before it
had been protected. Cribs OF reinforced con-
crete were made al Port Dalhousie. three miles
away. floated into position and then sunk
where required at the entrance to the harbor
and along its interior.
For some time the only sand obtainable was
very uneven in quality and generally unsatis-
factory. This serious situation as so
much required for concrete work. Finally,
however an excellent supply found in
Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Niagara
River. Much of the rock encountered proved
disappointing both because it disintegrated on
exposure to the air and because it water
soaked. 1t feared that water pressure
through this rock might disturb the foundations
of the locks. where they rested on it. They
were therefore anchored together securely and
at the same time drill holes Were made in the
rock and cement grout forced in under pres
sure This made ii inpervious TO water Owing
to the tendency of the rock to soften in the
air it was not stripped until necessary So all
danger from future trouble from this source
obviated
The remainder OF the work consists in the
widening and deepening of the existing canal
and strengthening its course somewhat in
places Also Fort Colborne the Lake Erie
terminus is being improved. the harbor dredged
and the breakwater extended to make the
water in the harbor calm during the greatest
storms
Thus is Canada doing her part to make come
true those dreams from which not Canada only.
but also the UnitcI states. shall benefit. The
Wclland ship Canal will make the Great Lakes
continuously navigable by big steamers There
viii then remain only the ST. Lawrence Rapids
to prevent the cities the Great Lakes from
entering into their destiny the great inland
seaports of the world