The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1921-03-16
FIGHTING POWER
OF GULF STORMS
Galveston's Great Sea
Wall One of Wonders
of Age
RAISED CITVS GRADE
Causeway Destroyed by Storm
of Five Years Ago Is Built
Stronger Than Ever

GALVESTON, Texas, March 10
Work on the east end extension 10
Galvestons great sea wall, designed
TO protect this island from gulf
storms. will proceed with redoubled
vigor this winter. according to Major
J.. NJ. Adams. United States ongi-
neer 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
20 appropriate Sl,jOO,000. Major
Adams hopes TO tear away the last
form by August /.
with the building Of approx
mately six and one-half miles OF sea
wall, two OF the trinity OF GalVeston's
great engineering projects Will then
have been completed. In 1910, after
six years work, the citys grade was
raised l2 feet. The third municipal
enterprise under way is the repair
ing OF the two-mile concrete cause
way connecting the island with the
Texas mainland. A portion OF this,
battered to debris by the storm Of
1915, still Is unfinished.
The extension to the sea wall IS
replica of that completed in Oc-
tober, 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 l6 feet, sloping backward
from the gulf to n top width of .
feet, the wall is reinforced at inter
walls OF ten feet throughout its
length with steel rods half an inch
"A 70 long IInUa
granite boulders for ma rip-rap az
us foot.
In the assaults of the 1915 storm,
these big rocks, many of them
weighing tons, were picked up by
tho waves and hurled again and
again against the sea wall, In spite
OF this bombardment the damage to
the wall was almost negligible ac-
Cording to engineers.
The second engineering project
by which this city literally lifted It
self by its own boot straps-was
that OF raising the grade an average
uf II feet. Approximately 10000
600 cubic 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 its water
way. The Job of raising Galveston
was begun in July, 1904, and com
pleted in July, 1910. II cost citl-
zons of the city and county s2,OOO'-
600.
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 a series OF arches
in the center, the causeway prior 10
he storm was considered impregna..
BILE. Each end was filled with SAND
and earth, over which was construct
ed railway, interurban and vehicu =
lar traffic roadways. The assault or
the storm, however, broke through
tho armor and speedily washed
away the sand and earth filling az
ur which the shell collapsed.
In the rebuilding Of the cause =
way, the arch type of construction
Is being followed out exclusively.
Engineers in charge expect to com e.
plete the repairs 10 this structure
within twelve months.