The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1921-01-13
SEA WALL NEAR COMPLETION.
Work on Last Extension of Big Sea
Wall Will BE Rushed to Finish.

Galveston, Tex. Jan. S.-Work on
the east end extension to Galveston's
great sea we'll, designed to protect
this island from gulf storms, will pro-
ceed with redoubled vigor this Win
ter, according to Major L. NJ. Adams,
U. S. engineer in charge.
But 1900 feet of the big concrete
and steel battlement remain to be
constructed For the completion of
this stretch congress has been asked
to appropriate s1,5O0,000. Major
Adams hopes to tear away the last
form by Aug. /.
With the building of approximately
six and one half miles of sea wall,
two of the trinity of Galveston's
great engineering projects will then
have been completed.
In 1919, after six years work, the
city's grade was raised 2 feet. The
third municipal enterprise under way
is the repairing of the two7mile con-
crete causeway connecting the island
NTH the Texas mainland. A portion
of this, battered to debris by the
storm Of 1915, still is unfinished.
The extension of the sea wall is
replica of that completed in October,
1905, built jointly by the county and
federal governments.
The wall is II feet above mean
low tide and roughly 1.5 feet above
the high water mark Of 1900. With
a base of 16 feet, sloping backward
from the gulf to a top width of 8
feet, the wall is reinforced at inter-
walls of ten feet throughout it's length
with steel rods half an inch in diane
ter and ten feet long. Huge granite
boulders form a rip-rap at it's foot.
In the assaults of the 1915 storm,
these big rocks, many of them weigh.
ing tons, were picked up by the
waves and hurled again and again
against the sea wall. In spite of this
bombardment the damage to the wall
was almost negligible, according to
engineers.
The second engineering project
by which the city literally lifted it.
self by it's own boot straps-Was that
of raising the grade an average Of II
feet. Approximately 2O,0O0,O0O GU
bic yards of sand from the Gulf OF
Mexico was poured into the city by
huge dredges, which brought their
cargoes through canal dug across
the island for that purpose.
Houses, business buildings, street
car tracks, telephone and telegraph
poles were 'relentlessly wrecked or
moved to make way for it's waterway.
The Job of raising Galveston was be-
gun in July, 1904, and completed in
July 1910. 1t cost citizens of the
city and county s2,000,O00.
The third of the trinity of projects,
the causeway connecting this island
with the mainland, received a set
back in the battering administered by
the tropical hurricane of five years
ago.
Originally constructed of solid
concrete slabs set longitudinally at
both ends, with series of arches in
the center, the causeway prior to the
storm was considered impregnable.
Each end was filled with sand and
earth, over: which was constructed
railway, interurban and vehicular
traffic roadways. The assault of the
storm, however, broke through the
armor and speedily washed away the
sand and earth filling, after which the
shell collapsed.
In the rebuilding of the causeWay'
the earth type of construction is be-
ing followed out exclusively. Engl-
neers in charge expect to complete
the repairs of this structure within
fwn1vo months