Smyrna times., 1927-02-09
LANDSuDES ALONG THE BANKS
FOLLOW WAKE CANAL LOWERING
PROPERTIES AT DELAWARE CITY
AND ST. GEORGES SETTLING
Bridge at Delaware City Closed To
Vehicular Traffic on AccOut of the
Danger-Speeding Canal Work


Landslides along the banks of the
old canal at Delaware City Wednes-
day and Thursday followed in the
wake of the receding water as it set
tied to the level of the sea weakening
the foundations of buildings stand
ing on the edge of the waterway to
such an extent that they are momen-
tarily expected by the United States
engineer to topple into the basin.
Up to a late hour Sunday night the
water had dropped from its original
twenty-seven foot level to seventeen
feet, and with the gradual recession
of the waters there was a great many
cave-ins along the water course
The freight house of the Baltimore
and Philadelphia Steamship Company
at Delaware City, used by vessels Of
the Ericsson Line, has been under
mined by slides and has been declared
unsafe by canal officials. The bank
along the canal side of the freight
house has been carried away by the
receding water half way beneath the
foundations, leaving the building half
way over the bank and apparently
ready to fall into the canal
The gas and oil tank wharf and the
water supply tanks of Mayor George
N. Bright are also in a dangerous
position from slides beneath their
foundations. The property of Mayor
Bright is located directly below the
freight house of the Erickson Line.
The old Fifth street bridge, span
ming the canal, has been closed to all
vehicular traffic following an order
issued Thursday by the United States
Engineering department declaring the
structure unsafe for use. Foot traf-
fic will be permitted for the present.
The foundations on the Delaware City
side Of the span, it was said by canal
officials, had been weakened by the
dropping of the watermark. The wat
er has dropped below the concrete
foundations, which may be seen rest
ing on few unsubstantial pilings.
Several buildings at st. Georges
are said to be in a precarious state
owing to the landslides following the
gradual lowering Of the water to tide
level.
Boats all along the canal from Del
aware City to the Chesapeake that
We're left in the basin during the lev
cling process are now resting in mud
dy strips left in the wake of the drop
ping water.
Dredges Of the United States En-
gineer Corps, it was announced We'd
nesday by Colonel Earl l. Brown, in
charge Of the operations, will be
swung into position at once to re-
pair the havoc wrought BY the slid
ing canal banks.
Speedy deepening of the old en-
trance to the Delaware and Chesa-
peake Canal at Delaware City to con
form with the sea level depth of the
new entrance at Reedy Point, two
miles below the town, was promised
Wednesday by Colonel Earl |. Brown,
United States district engineer, in
yielding to the requests of the Della
ware City business interests that the
old entrance be not abandoned. The
Delaware City merchants had claim
ed that if the canal passing through
the town were abandoned, thousands
of dollars Of business done monthly
with vessels using the ditch would be
lost.
Colonel Brown stated Wednesday
that as soon as all distractions have
been removed from the rest of the
canal and the water is flowing freely
from bay to bay, he will concentrate
his attention on the dredging Of the
old Delaware City entrance to the
canal
The question Of building a new
bridge over the canal at Delaware
City was dismissed by Colonel Brown
with announcement that the present
structure would be repaired imme-
diately and put into commission. a
new span, he said, may be construct
ed at some future date.
Before the old entrance is dredged
it will have but a depth Of three feet
at mean tide, but completion of the
digging will bring the depth to nine
feet, at low tide, making it suit
able basin for boats with small draft.
The new entrance two miles below the
town at Reedy Point, it was pointed
out, would be deep enough to accomo-
date oceangoing vessels.
The dredging Of the old entrance to
the ditch, Colonel Brown said, would
extend from the mouth at Delaware
City for a distance of two miles to
the point where it forms an angle
with the western beginning Of the