Smyrna times., 1924-08-20
NEW D.8 c. CANAL TO Be READY
FOR USE BY JANUARY |, 1926
BUILDING RAILROAD AND HIGH
WAY BRIDGES WILL TAKE TIME
Dredging Well Under Way to Deepen
and Widen Old Canal to Accommo-
date Big Ships-COst $4,000 900

1"tS DAS Oll pS-GOSL CJ.UUU.UOO
The $9,0OO,OOO project of changing
the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
from a lock to a sea-level channel and
OF deepening it from ten to twelve
feet, work on which was begun in
1919 and now is 80 per cent completed
was inspected Thursday by J. Hamp-
ton Moore, former Mayor of Philadel-
phla. 1t was through his efforts as
a Congressman that the improvement
was authorized by Congress five years
ago. The inspection journey through
the canal, in company with Colonel
Earl l. Brown, of Wilmington, United
states Army engineer, in charge of
the work, was in preparation for re-
ports to be presented by Mr.. Moore
and Colonel Brown at the seventeenth
annual convention of the Atlantic
Deeper Waterways Association of
winch Mr.Moore is president, at New
ark, N. j., September 16 to 10. Thurs
days journey showed that were it not
for delays necessitated by the build
ing of railroad and highway bridges
the project could be completed bv
next January. However, the canal
will be completely changed from lock
to sea-level type and ready for use bv
January l, 1926. Already use of the
canal saves 320 miles in water trim
from Philadelphia to Baltimore. With
the abolition of the use of locks a
year and four months hence, the time
required to pass through the thirteen
and a half miles of the canal will be
reduced by an hour and a half. Still
more important, the deepening of the |
canal and the elimination of locks |
greatly will increase the capacity. bv
admitting larger boats. Colonel |
Brown estimates that tonnage ham
died annually then will double. AL
ready the monthly tonnage through
the canal is $4,000 to 10000 tons val
ued at $3,500,00O. Because the locks
will not admit a boat more than
twenty-three feet in beam nor more
than 22O feet over all, the canal at
present can be used only by craft of
limited size and capacity The work
now fOur-ffths complete, however,
Will widen the channel from a min
imum of thirty-four feet to ninety
feet, as we'll as deepening it from ten
to twelve feet.
thursdays inspection journey in
the United States Army Engineers
boat Josephine began with inspection
OF the new entrance for the canal, of
which two miles have been compelled,
with only half mile remaining to be
dredged. This new entrance is at
Reedy Point The new route avoids
The necessity Of continual dredging of !
the channel from the Delaware. Also {
It furnishes additional protection {
from Fort Delaware by opening a +
'hannel south of the fortifcation. I
Wednesday a break occurred in the I
south bank of the channel. Thursday
men were at work repairing that
'reak and checking the current that
vas washing through.
Encouraging Report to Convention
At the convention of the Atlantic =
)eeper Waterways Association Sep =
ember 10 to 19, report on the canal G
'roJect will point out that by an ex- =
Of only $4,5OO,OOO, in addi- !.
ion to the S9,00O,OOO already appro- Il
riated, the canal could be deepened I
o twenty-five feet. All the work that =
as been done on improvement of the ~
anal has been planned so as to IA
llitate this further improvement at "
ONE future time. The line of the y
anal has been Strengthened out in =,
lany places, old sinuosities being =
one away with. All dredging and ~
ling have been so conducted that
rom an engineering point of view the :,
redging necessary to deepen the !;
anal to twenty-five feet would be a "
cry simple undertaking. The hoped 4,
'r further deepening greatly would ~
lcrease the serviceability of the =,
anal, points out Mr.. Moore, since a :;
cry small proportion of cargo boats =,
ow in use draw more than twenty w
We feet
DO Delegates Will Attend Convention g,
At the convention, which will be at ~
.nded by some 800 delegates from -.
tates all the way from Massachu- %
tits to Florida, the delegates from -
lch State will report on the progress
improvement of its coastal inland r.
aters. The object in view is to fur ~
Ter action for immediate improve -.
ent of existing channels so that
BATS drawing twelve feet will be
Die, unimpeded by low tides, to
urney from Boston to Jacksonville ou
ithout being obliged to enter the w w
zen ocean. 1t will be pointed out ", NJ
lat this would mean not only avoid w
ice of interference with commerce N
Z stormy weather, but also great w
ilitarw aduantanns 70 thn nn,,rtr.. l.. as