Evening star., 1924-08-23
GALVESTON RAISED
ABOVE SEALEvE[
City Lifted Almost Bodily
Since Tidal Wave Years
AGO Killed 5000.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

GALVESTON, Tex, August %
Raising Galveston from the sea has
been a momentous task. hut it's final
accomplishment is in sight. Since the
city was partly destroyed and 5000
lives were lost in the tidal wave and
tropical storm of "a years ago, many
millions of dollars have been expend-
ed in. protective works, including the
building of a l7foot sea wall along
the Gulf front several miles and ths
filling in of the grade of the city
from to II feet
Il is in this grade-raising work that
the most picturesque effects of the
improvements are to be seen. Giant.
serpentine pipe lines more than 900
feet long carry the filing material to
the area that is being raised Build
ings are hoisted high in the air to
meet the new grade line
Ihe first of the grade raising con-
tracts was carried out several years
ago and embraced the business part
OF the city and the older residential
district, all situated back of the origi-
nal stretch of sea wall. Gradually the
sea wall was extended until it in
Guided protection area for the
United States military reservation
and much other property situated ad-
Jacent to the closely built part of the
city.
Grade raising is now in progress
the full width behind the extension
of the sea wall. a distance of ap-
proXimately 1850 feet Following
the tlling-in process streets will be
repaved, sidewalks laid and trees and
shrubbery planted.
350.GOO Yards to Fill.
Approximately $4,000 cubic yards
OF hlling material has been pumped
behind the sea wall by dredges since
they began work there in May OF
this amount Approximately $4,000
cubic yards of material was pumped
from within the jetty before gap
mad been made in the rock to permit
the dredge to come through and be-
gin digging into the beach parallel
with the sea wall. It is estimated
that something more than 10000
cubic feet of filing material Will be
required to fill in behind the entire
length of the sea wall extension.
The fill behind the Government
reservation now being placed by the
dredge is 23S feet in width and grades
up to height several feet above the
sea wall itself. The high slope how
ever, will be graded down and dis
tributed over the full width and paw
ing laid
While the fill has been completed
filing material is on a gradual slope
for a distance of between 5000 and
5000 feet from the end of the sea
wall. With the exception of one sec
ton, leveeS which will confine the
f1ll to the desired strip behind the
sea wall have been completed vir-
tually all the way up to the juncture
with the old sea wall at Sixth street
and Boulevard.
DredEe Works "a Hours.
The dredge is working night and
day and is gradually eating it's way
into a broad eXpanSe of beach be-
tween the sea wall and the east
beach automobile drive, removing ma
terial to be dumped behind the sea
wall. While the dredge is pumping
into one section through pipe line
another line has just been laid to "A
more advanced section that there may
be no delay in jumping from one sec
ton to another as filling operations
progress.
In digging its way into the beach
the actual dimensions of the borrow
pitt are 130 feet in width on the bot
ton and - feet deep, but because of
the soft sand in which the dredge is
working, miniature slides have left
a bottom width of only about 100 feet
and a depth of only Is feet behind
the dredge.
This channel is being kept open
continuously so the dredge and all
floating equipment may be with
drawn imrh lately in case of stormy
weather Otherwise, with a good
blow, these dredges, barges and other
equipment might serve as floating
battering rams which would wreck
havoc in the Sea-wall extension and