The Daily Alaska empire., 1946-10-01
ON
 G0LDCREEk
 LAST NIGHT
Lining of Stream Channel with Concrete Adyo-
 ldfed 10 Engineers

(dfed 10 tngIneerS Delayed by late arrival from Se- attle of Col. L. H. Hewitt, Seattle District Engineer, and George F. Hopkins, engineer in charge of riv- CT and harbor and flood control reports, Seattle Engineer District, the hearing on Gold Creek flood control measures got under way here in the City Hall at 7:30 o'clock last evening.
 The City of Juneau's case for a flood control project here was out lined in report prepared by City Engineer J. L. McNamara and sub mitted in March of last year That report listed 368 residences in a 48- city block area subject to damage by Gold Creek rampage. Total estimated value of properties with in that area, based upon assess ments for tax purposes then in eff feet was put at $2,330,000. Recom- mended to solve the Gold Creek flood threat was lining the bottom and side walls of the present stream channel with smooth concrete, to allow a faster run of water and clear way for large boulders to be carried out by the stream. A lin ear distance of 1,300 feet would have to be lined, at an estimated cost of $l75,000
 Values Are Up
 Mayor Waino Hendrickson point ed out that property values in the threatened area have since risen considerably. He agreed to furnish individual present assessment fi- gures on each piece of property within the area.
 Engineer McNamara stated that the type of yearly maintenance now being carried cn by the City is filling all unde2euts of the re- vetment with solid concrete. Those concrete sections are standing up well. He and c. H. Keil,. of sem mers Construction Company agreed that the present check dams in the stream course should be eliminated. Worst undercutting of the revet- ment occurs just below the check dams, McNamara stated.
 Floods that do some damage, if only to stream structures, are an occurrence of nearly every other year, iMcNamara declared. The maximum damage that could oc- cur from any one flood, he said, would result from break in the channel wall at Eleventh street, which would permit Gold Creek to seek it's old course down Eleventh street to the Boat Harbor. That is also the probable location of a ma jor washout, he said.
 Slides Bring B0ulders
 Felix Toner, City Engineer at the time of the last serious flood in 1943, disclosed that some investi- gation had been made toward in- stalling grizzlies" above the Cal houn Avenue bridge, to keep large boulders out of the stream. This appeared feasible, he stated. How ever, Toner was contradicted by Keil, who said no consideration should be given to upstream catch basins. Snow slides from the noun tains are definitely the source of the boulders, Keil held, and slides would keep bringing the boulders in too great quantities to be handled in that manner. He favored the concrete lining of the channel, de- claring he thought mass concrete better than reinforced concrete, with smooth lining speeding up the flow of water, thus carrying away the rocks and handling more volume of water without enlarging the channel. All engineers agreed that the present type of channel lining is poor.
 Burr Johnson, put valuation of $20,000 on Sommers Construction Companys enlarged equipment de- pot and repair shop on Eleventh street, with equipment stored there being valued from $120,0OO to $780,, GOO.
 Ralph Mize and Fred Geeslin ap- peared for the Alaska Native Ser vice, that agency's hospital on Will loughby avenue being principally threatened by the last flood and
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