The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1921-01-10
GALVESTON STRIVING
TO FINISH SEA VAIL
Only 1000 Feet of Big Concrete and
Steel Battlement Remains
to Be Completed.

Galveston, Tex, Jan. l0.-Work on
the east end extension to Galveston's
great sea wall, designed to protect this
island from gulf storms, will proceed
with redoubled vigor this winter, ac-
cording to Major l.. NJ. Adams, Y. ;
engineer in charge.
But 1900 feet of the big concrete
and steel battlement remain to be con
! structed. For the completion of this
stretch Congress has been asked TO
appropriate $I,500,000. Major Adams
hopes to tear away the last form by
Aug. |.
With the building of approximately
six and oue-half miles of sea wall, two
of the trinity of Galveston's great en-
cheering projects viii then have been
completed. In 1910 after six years
work, the city's grade was raised IL
feet. The third municipal enterprise
under way is the repairing of the two
mile concrete causeway connecting the
island with the Texas mainland. A
portion of this, battered to debris hy
the storm of 1915, still is unfinished.
The extension to the sea wall is a
replace of that completed in October,
1905, built jointly by the county and
federal government.
The wall is II feet above near low
tide and roughly Is feet above the
high water mark of 1900. With a base
of 10 feet, sloping backward from the
gulf to a top width Of five feet. the
wall is reinforced at intervals of ten
feet throughout its length with steel
rods half an inch in diameter and ten
feet long. Huge granite boulders form
a rip-rap at its foot.
In the assaults of the 1918 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 bonn
b. rdment the damage to the wall was
almost negligible, according. to engi-
neers.
The second engineering proiect-by
which this city literally lifted itself
by its own boot straps-was that OF
raising the grade an average Of u
feet. Approximately 10000. 900 cubic
yards of sand from the Gulf of Mexi-
co was poured into the city by huge
dredges, which brought their cargoes
through a canal dug across the island
for that purpose.
Houses. business buildings, street
car tracks, telephone and telegraph
poles were relentlessly wrecked or
to make way for its waterway,
The job of raising Galveston was be
gun in July, 1905, and completed in
July, 1910. 1t cost citizens of the city /,
and county 81, zoo, 900.
The third of the trinity of projects,
the causeway connecting this island
with the mainland. received a setback
the battering administered by III
hurricane of five wears ago.
Originally constructed of solid con
slabs set longitudinally at both
,nds, with a series ef arches in the
the causeway prior to the storm
vas considered i~mpregnable. Each end
vas filled with sand and earth. over
which was constructed railway, inter
Irban and vehicular traffic roadways.
The assault of the storm, however,
through the armor and speedily
away the sand and earth fill
ng. after which the shell collapsed.
In the rebuilding of the causeway,
he arch type of construction is be.
ng followed out exclusively. Engineers
n charge expect TO complete the re-
'airs to this structure within twelve
months.