The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1920-07-17
lBreakWater
Construction
Is Changed
United States Will Use Crib
Instead of Bubble Mound
CONSTRUCTION at Harbor.

CONSERVATION plans for the break
ra+er al the entrance to the hafoot
Al Indiana Harbor have been changed
g.. bas besn announced. and the part
Tho structure which is Yet to ne
t,7+ ain be of crib construction IN
sts.5 Of the rubble mound coustruc-
.,r A. originally planned The change
as made necessary because Of the
facu1tv IN getting the monstrous
Stone blocks which were used IN 'He
,,rne~ constructure of the breakW ater'
The change in construction Is look
IA upon in varying lights by ciuSe"s
indiana Iarbor. some thinking that
rhe crib construction is not as en-
during as the rubble mound conStruc-
ton and others thinking Of the more
rapid progress which VIII now DC
made. The rubble mound censtruc-
-io7 calls for a base of loose stones
and riT-raff dumped into the lake un-
Til the mound reaches a height seVerai
fee- below the water level Upon TINS
haeA are then laid huge stone blocks
Wei Ching between i've and ten tons
which bind the base and rise TO the
required height above the water III
fba CRIB construction boxes or cribs
,
teen feet high and sloping from
tvventv-two foot base TO a twelve foot
ton are sunk and then nled With SAND
or concrete. concrete top sur
mounts this crio.
The Indiana. Harbor breakwater was
auth orized by act Of congress of March
1913. at an estimated cost Of S1.oS8.-
a0c. a part Of which was appropria-
ted al tina thine. This authorization
nrovided for two converging arms.
the north one to be 1850 feet long and
the south arm to be geo feet long. The
entrance will be 500 feet wide. Con-
gtruction work was begun in 1915 on
The mort harm Of the breakwater and
nv the end OF 1918 there had been
completed ! 1000 feet with 2.So0 addi-
tional feet up 10 the water line and
ready for the top part. During 1913
the work continued eastward until
now there is approximately $500 feet
completed.
The stone blocks which have been
used in the rubble mound construc-
tion have been obtained from Bedford,
hIt since the switchmen's strike and
ensuing railroad transportation delays
il has been almost impossible to get
the stone fast enough to continue
work without interruption. The cribs
which viii now be used are made by
the government and towed to Indiana
Iarbor where the Great Lakes Dredge
and Dock company take charge ~
them and sink them at the desired
place The company then fills the cribs
and will use nodded concrete for the
upper tiers. This method will be
much more rapid and the work should
progress much faster than during the
-TTaET five years. The new construction
win also be less costly.
connection with the breakwater
construction it Is interesting to note
the increase in shipping from the In
q 4ha Harbor harbor and through the
canal The harbor has always been
fairly busy with receiving ore and
ooaI boats for the Island and the
Stkel and Tube. but until this year
hsre has been but little ut-bound
sh tipping The number of boats which
have discharged their cargoes in the
hasb6r has increased this year over
thks number last year by a good per-
cehtage. but the growth in outbound
cargoes is remarkable.
An even hundred vessels, an avera ge
of more than three a day. cleared the
hafbor during the month or June
Twelve TO fifteen has been a fair av
ersge for the heavy shipping months
until recently. These shipments are Of
ou@from the Standard oil and Sin
CLAIR and of cement from the Portland
C nnent company at Burlington. The
oil&shipments have naturally shown
anEincrease during the past years,
bukthe large increase this year is due
10 She shipments of cement. No ce-
ment shipments. TO speak of, were
made by the company until the time
az the switchmen's strike. but then
boats Of all descriptions from forty
fodts sailing vessels to passenger
steamers taken from passenger service
we've pressed into service and are max
Ing. regular clearings.
II is also interesting to note that
the'~ government is now engaged in
dredging the channel of the canal. the
frsS time that the channel has been
dre3ged since it was opened TO navi-
gat4en about ten years ago. The fact
thate it has been in use for ten years
without dredging is surprise to
many who asserted that the sand
banks of the canal would cave in and
make the channel unnavigahle.