Evening star., 1933-06-19
Navigation Facilities of River
to Be Improved Under
Public Works Program.
DEEPER AND BROADER
SHIP PASSAGE PLANNED
Gravelly Point Will Be Built Up
With Sand, Gravel and Silt
From Potomac.

Improvement of navigational facilities
on the Potomac River leomed today as
one of the local benefits from the public
works program.
Mai. Joseph D. Arthur, jr., district
engineer for the War Department for
the Washington area. announced that
instructions have been received from
the public works administrator to pre-
pare specifications, preparatory to call
ing for bids to deepen the Georgetown
Channel from the normal "a feet to
% feet, and to widen the navigational
channel from 400 feet to 600 feet.
officials calculate that, through this
navigational expansion here, the Gov
ernment will be saved money on future
maintenance. The work Is to be done
by private contract, with the Govern
ment calling for bids, as soon as funds
are made available under the public
works program.
Will Defer Dredging.
At present, Maj Arthur explained, 1t
is necessary, because of the sand, gravel
and silt swept down from the Potomac
town Channel every two years. BY the
prospective new work, it is anticipated
that this periodic dredging will be de-
ferred from two to four years.
AS Columbia Island is no longer
available as a dumping ground for this
sand, gravel and silt that impedes the
navigational channel. due to the present
Arlington Memorial Bridge development.
Maj Arthur pointed out that it will now
be necessary to use a bucket dredge,
instead of the hydraulic pipe line
dredge, which the Government has used
in this work The material removed
from the channel will be placed aboard
scows and taken to Gravelly Point and
dumped there.
The excavated material will be
dumped in the area where holes were
made in the river bottom, when the
Mount Vernon Memorial Highway was
being built The remainder will be
Gravelly Point Airport.
Will Throw Up Levees.
This work may be, in effect, the be-
ginning of the Gravelly Point Airport,
as levees will be thrown up to retain
the material to be taken from the
Georgetown Channel.
Observers today commented on the
fact that this work may again focus
attention on the proposed Gravelly
Point airport, which may possibly have
a chance of realization, under the pub
lie works act. No decision was reached
by Congress on a proposal to have the
Government take over the Washington
Hoover Airport, either through leasing
or by some other arrangement. OBJ
servers say that if the airport is started,
with the groundwork of excavated ma
terlal from the Georgetown Channel,
1t would give employment to a num-
Der of people, not only for the dredges-
four or five dredgeS going steadily on
the job Tor good part Of the year
but for extensive grading, drainage
work, construction of all terminal IA
cllitieS and improvements.
Built Stone UnderpasA
Officials interested In this develop
ment today pointed out that when the
Bureau Of Public Roads of the DEPART
ment Of Agriculture laid out the Mount
Vernon Memorial Highway, it built
monumental stone underpass under the
highway at approximately the central
section Of the proposed Gravelly Point
airport. This structure cost around
$780, 900 and impressed Government
officials as being wise planning, on the
part of the Bureau of Public Roads.
In line with the improvement of the
channel at Washington, Maj. Arthur
today sent out a survey party to check
the condition of the different bars In
the lower Potomac River, to find out if
dredging of these menaces to naviga-
ton is warranted at this time. Mai.
Arthur's office has been advised that
funds for dredging those bars will prob
ably be forthcoming. out of the public
works treasury if this work Is now nee
essary. A survey party of eight men
will be engaged week or more In
making sounding on these bars to de-
termine how rapidly they are being
built up by the action of the water and
becoming hazard to ships.