San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1924-03-23
MAKE RAPID
PROGRESS At
POINT ISABEL
2000 Feet Of Inner Chan
mel and Turning Basin
Dredged.
HIT HARD LAY
Engineers Also Find Sub
stance Believed to Be
Gypsum.
HIT HARD CLAY

brOWnSyl1le, rex. March ~
Over 1000 feet Of the inner channel
~ well as the turning basin have
been dredged at Point Isabel, and
rapid progress is now being made de-
spite the fact the dredge has struck
the hardest clay to be found in Texas.
Throughout the winter, day after day.
working three S-hour shifts, the dredge
las been engaged in the channel work,
and during the entire period only a
few hours were lost because of wealth
er conditions. Dredgemen and en-
gineers state that there is no other
port on the Texas coast where this
record could have been made. De-
spite heavy "northers" and high seas
on the gulf, the dredge working in
the most completely landlocked port
project Oh the coast, has been uu-
hampered by weather conditions.
A breakwater of solid clay is being
built I'D By the dredge in Laguna
Madre st a point 200 feet from the
inner channel. The clay is of diff
ferent nature from that found on any
other section of the coast, being eI-
tremely heavy, and when exposed 10
the air soon attains almost the hard
ness of concrete. With this for
midable bulwark protecting the chan.
mel on the bay side, sitting will be
practically eliminated, engineers state,
and they predict that the Point Isabel
harbor, IN addition 10 being the most
landlockel and protected harbor OIL
the gulf coast, can also be maintain
ed at a minimum expense.
Tests made last week showed no
evidence of sitting in the turning ba-
sin. the dredging of which was COM
pleted several weeks ago. Several hard
"northers" have occurred in that per-
iod. but there is no evidence of sand
drifting into the turning basin, and
the huge banks of clay, dredged from
the basin, are apparently almost as
solid as rock. and show no effects
of wave action.
Find Peculiar Formation.
Parties who have made several IN
spections since the dredging was
started last fall. state they have been
unable to observe any effects by the
water upon the banks Of solid clay
which act as q breakwater to pro-
tect the turning basin.
A rather peculiar formation Of what
IS apparently gypsum was recently
encountered in the channel. The
strata was about 40 feet in width and
the dredge apparently struck it at an
angle. Specimens of the rock. which
greatly resembles mica. were brought
TO Brownsville, and will be sent to the
geological department of the Texas
University for analysis. If it is gyp-
sum the find may prove OF great
value to the agricultural interests Of
the valley as gypsum is used extern
srre1v 20 ,,n,,trnlsza o1lya1s ~ en;1 n
has repeatedly proven its value 10
the citrus districts of California.
Plans for dredging the outer chan
mel are making rapid progress and
work will be started in time to have
o. the outer channel completed simultan-
eously with the inner channel. Prog
ress on the inner channel has neces-
earily been slow, owing to the nature
Of the clay, and the shallow water in
the bay, but as the dredge proceeds
toward the mar the depth will con-
stantly increase and the work will
proceed more rapidly.
Best Port In Texas.
That many of the big shipping con-
Germs Of the South are keeping in
close touch with the progress Of the
work has been evidenced by the fact
that many of them have sent repre-
eentatives to Point Isabel to inspect
the work, and it is understood that
several large oil companies have made
tentative offers for sites for storage
tanks. Several coastwise shipping
companies have also investigated the
situation relative to making Point
Isabel a regular port of call as soon
rs the channels are completed.
"There will be no port on the Texas
, coast that can compare with Point
Isabel when the port is fully devel-
oped," was the comment of an en-
gineer who spent several days at
Point Isabel on q recreation trip.
az know the gulf ports, and l pre-
dict that within three years there
will be % or 30-foot channel run
ming to the Point Isabel wharf. There
is no other port on the Texas coast
that Is so completely landlocked. 50
free from storms, or one more con
yeniently located. And TO supplement-
this, the port will draw tonnage frori
the most productive section Of tho
Sapth-the Rio Grande Valley-and
IT will comprise in its territory all Of
South Texas and Northern Mexico
1T does not require a prophet Ia
forecast the future of the valleys port
Its future is already assured in tho
tremendous tonnage the Lower Ri
Grande Valley itself can produce. Al
that is needed TO make it the greatest
port on the lower gulf coast is direct
rail connection between Brownsville
San Antonio and that great section o.
Scuth TcvaS tho mort will Sarvo