Smyrna times., 1926-01-27
SHAPING PLANS FOR OPENING
OF ENLARGED c. 3 D. CANAL
FIRST OF BRIDGES, ST.GEORGES.
TO BE FINISHED BY MARCH 1ST
Delaware City, Summit and Chesa-
peake City, to Be Completed Soon
After-Opening Ceremony in June

Delaware City, Summit and Chesa-
peake City, to Be Completed Soon
After-Opening Ceremony in June
Only few months intervene until
one of the biggest maritime events in
the history of two Saskatchewan
and Maryland, will occur, when the
reconstructed Chesapeake and Della
ware Canal, a $9,OOO,OOO operation
will be officially opened to navigation.
While no date has been set, the cere-
monies attending the canal opening
probably in June, will be of a nation
al significance. The program will be
In charge of a joint committee COM
prising the Chamber of Commerce of
Wilmington, Philadelphia and Balti-
more and the Atlantic Deeper Water
ways Association, aided by the United
States Engineering Department, VIII
mlngton district, of which Colonel
Earl l. Brown is district engineer.
With these ceremonies the great re-
construction work which has extend
ed over a period of six years, will
have come to a close. The improved
canal, when completed, will accomrno-
date any ships that draw less than 12
feet of water at any width and will
be a sea-level tidal body of water.
Incidental to the opening of the canal
an item which will have an important
bearing on the states highway facili-
ties are five modern steel bridges,
now under construction, at a cost of
S1,3OO,0O0. Four of these bridges are
being built by the United States Gov
e1nment, while the fifth, which spans
the canal between Mt Pleasant and
kirE1wood, is being built by the Penn
sylvamia Railroad Company. Each of
the five bridges is rapidly nearing
completion. The first and largest, at
st. Georges, will be opened to traffic
on March 1. The bridge at Chesa-
peake City, similar in construction to
that at st. Georges, will be opened
April 10. Monday, from o'clock in
the morning until in the afternoon.
canal traffic at that point was closed, /
when the span was set in position.
For the purpose of avoiding traffic de-
lay, this span was constructed on
barges. The swinging in position of
this bridge was an engineering feat (
The span, which weighs $50 tons, was /
afloat on the barges on which it was
built, and it was swung into position |
on a favorable tide by the contractor.
the Phoenix Bridge Co. The supports /
were ready, and when the bridge was
moved to its place it was attached to /
the cable supports and raised to the /
tops of the towers, where it will re- |
main until it is ready for use. J. A.
Bader & Co.,of Wilmington, who have
the contract for the concrete work.
have, in conjunction with the Phoenix
Co, finished their part of the contract
so far as the bridge supports are con
cemed, and they will have a share in
the credit for the success of this un-
usual method of bridge building. Sum-
NIT Bridge will, in all probability, be
ready for use by June l, according to
Colonel Brown. Foundations for the
railroad bridge have been completed
and the structural steel work will be
started at once. The five iron bridg-
es, of the lift type, are being built by
the Phoenix Bridge Company of
PhOeniXville, Pa. This work was
started about year ago. Probably
the most important of these bridges
IS that at st. Georges, accommodating
north and southbomd traffic on the du
Pont boulevard. Traffic is exception
ally heavy at this point.