July 1, 1884, amount available Amount appropriated by act approved July 5, 1884. $739 88 35,000 00 July 1, 1885, amount expended during fiscal year, exclusive of outstanding liabilities July 1, 1884 35, 739 88 $20,482 87 July 1, 1885, outstanding liabilities.. July 1, 1885, amount available (Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project 1,648,662 05 Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1887 100, 000 00 Submitted in compliance with requirements of section 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867. (See Appendix F 15.) 16. Mattawan Creek, New Jersey.—The project for this improvement was adopted in 1881, the object being to afford a channel 100 feet wide and 4 feet deep, mean low water, from the mouth to Winkson's Creek, and thence to head of navigation at Long Branch Railroad crossing, 75 feet wide and 4 feet deep, a distance of 2 miles from the entrance, at an estimated cost of $33,120. The original depth was 2 feet, mean low water, in a narrow channel, and it was not therefore available for commerce. The range of tides is 4.7 feet. The amount expended to close of year ending June 30, 1884, was $21,000. No work of improvement was done during the year. There is now an improved channel affording 4 feet depth, mean low water, 60 to 100 feet wide from the entrance to a point 600 feet above the Brick Factory, and thence 30 to 50 feet wide to the head of navigation at Mattawan. The amount that can be profitably expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1887, if appropriated, will be used in making the improved channel 75 feet wide and 4 feet deep, mean low water, to the head of navigation. This improvement will make the navigation of the river much more convenient, and will materially increase the commercial importance of Mattawan. The area drained by the river and particularly benefited by the im provement contains 50 square miles and a population of 9,000 souls. The average tonnage carried for a series of years is 130,000 tons, which has an estimated valuation of over $2,000,000.. (Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project $12, 120 00 Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1887. 9,000 00 Submitted in compliance with requirements of section 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867. (See Appendix F 16.) 17. Keyport Harbor, New Jersey. The present project was adopted in 1873, and provides for a chanuel 200 feet wide, 4,700 feet long, and 8 feet deep at mean low water, from Keyport Wharf to the 8-foot curve, mean low water, of Raritan Bay. The original condition of the navigable channel was a depth of only 5 feet, mean low water, and was not, therefore, available for commerce at half tide. The range of tides is 4.7 feet, approximately. The amount expended to June 30, 1884, was $29,172.06. At that date there was an improved channel 4,700 feet long, 200 feet wide, and 8 feet deep, mean low water, except for a short distance on the inside, where the width was only 160 feet. The amount that can be profitably expended during the year ending June 30, 1887, if appropriated, will be applied so as to give the im proved channel a uniform width of 200 feet throughout, and also to remove any deposits that may have caused shoalings since the work of improvement was suspended in 1883. The gross tonnage of the vessels using the channel is estimated at 1,800,000 tons, having an estimated valuation of $5,000,000. Three steamboats and over 100 sailing vessels, with a tonnage vary. ing from 15 to 100 tons, do the carrying trade of the harbor. Över one hundred and fifty thousand passengers were carried by the steamers during the year. The benefit to be expected from the improvement for which an appropriation of $10,000 is recommended is a more convenient navigation of the improved channel, whose existing width on the inside is insufficient for easy handling of vessels. July 1, 1884, amount available July 1, 1885, amount expended during fiscal year, exclusive of outstanding liabilities July 1, 1884 $1,302 94 320 75 982 19 July 1, 1885, amount available Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project 10,000 00 10,000 00 (See Appendix F 17.) 18. South River, New Jersey.-The project for this improvement was adopted in 1880. The original condition of the navigable channel was a false direction of the canal mouth, with a depth there of 3 feet at mean low water; thence up to Little Washington, depths varying from 3.1 to 11.6 feet at mean low water; thence to Bissett's Brick-Yard, depths varying from 2.8 to 10.1 feet at mean low water, and thence to Old Bridge, depths varying from 2.1 to 12.5 feet at mean low water. There are several sharp bends above Little Washington, where it will be expedient to straighten the course occasionally by cuts. The originally adopted project, which has not been modified, was, to change the outlet of the river below Pettit's, to dike and to dredge in order to obtain 8 feet at mean low water up to Little Washington; thence to straighten the course, dike and dredge up to Bissett's Brick-Yard in order to obtain 6 feet at mean low water, and, finally, to straighten the course, dike and dredge to Old Bridge, in order to obtain 4 feet at mean low water. The range of tides is 5 feet approximately. The amount expended to the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1884, was $55,617.37. At that date the several dikes projected for the improvement of the canal and of the South River below Washington, aggregating 5,896 feet in length, were completed, though not entirely filled with stone, and the artificial cut-off called "Little Ditch," near Washington, was closed. year. No part of the channel either in canal or in the river proper had been deepened by dredging. No work of improvement was done during the The amount that can be profitably expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1887, if appropriated, will be used in deepening the canal, whose banks have been protected by dikes, and in removing the shoals in South River below Washington, abreast of Dike "F,” so that vessels drawing 8 feet may reach Washington at low tide. The commerce of the river amounts to 397,000 tons annually, with an estimated valuation of $1,852,000. It is composed chiefly of brick, coal, lumber, fertilizers, fruit, and general merchandise. It is expected that the completion of the improvement will consider ably increase the tonnage of the river by the encouragement given to the erection of new manufactories. July 1, 1884, amount available July 1, 1885, amount available .... $382 63 382 63 138,695 00 (Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project .. Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1887 25,000 00 Submitted in compliance with requirements of section 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867. (See Appendix F 18.) 19. Gedney's Channel, New York Harbor.-The present project was adopted in 1884, and provides for the formation of a channel through the shoal in the west end of Gedney's Channel 4,000 feet long, 1,000 feet wide, and 28 feet deep, mean low water. The original condition at the entrance was a navigable channel with a minimum width of 1,200 feet, in which the maximum depth on the bar was 24 feet, mean low water, approximately, and the minimum depth 23.7 feet, mean low water. The first appropriation for the improvement of the channel was made by act of July 5, 1884, appropriating $200,000. It was not based on any previously approved project, nor had the War Department been previously directed to make a survey of the channel with the view of submitting plan and estimates for its improvements. To determine the condition of the lower bay and that of the several channels over the bar, a survey of the entrance from Coney Island to Sandy Hook, extending eastward to the 12-fathom curve and westward to the " west bank" was directed by the Secretary of War, August 5, 1884, on the recommendation of the Chief of Engineers after reference to, and favorable report from, the Board of Engineers for River and Harbor Improvements. The survey was begun in August, 1884, and completed in November, 1884, and the illustrative chart was transmitted to the Chief of Engineers accompanied with a report in which it was recommended that Gedney's Channel be improved by opening a cut through the obstructing shoal in the west end 4,000 feet long, 30 feet deep, mean low water, and of a width dependent on the price bid for removal of material. The report and estimates were referred to the Board of Engineers, who approved the general project, but limited the depth to be gained to 28 feet, mean low water. Their suggestions were directed to be carried out, and on January 15, 1885, sealed proposals, solicited by public advertisement, according to law, were opened and a contract awarded. The contractor began work on March 24, 1885, and continued operating until May 13, when he notified the officer of engineers in charge of the work that he found it impracticable to deepen the channel by the methods he used, and asked that the contract be canceled. Proposals again invited were opened June 23, 1885, and a new contract awarded July 31, 1885. No diminution in depth has occurred in the channel during the year, and vessels drawing 22 feet can pass through the channel at low stage when the sea is quiet. The average range of tides at Sandy Hook is 4.8 feet. It is proposed to apply the appropriation in this way because Congress specifically designated Gedney's as the one to be improved. If the act had been worded differently so that the money could have been applied in improving the bar at the entrance without specific reference to any one channel, no work would probably have been begun in Gedney's Channel, but measures would have been proposed for the construction of permanent works of improvement, which would have based the deepening of the water over the bar upon works of contraction at the entrance. In this connection the Board of Engineers for Fortifications and for River and Harbor Improvements made a report December 23, 1884 (which was transmitted to the House of Representatives and printed as House Ex. Doc. No. 78, Forty-eighth Congress, second session), upon the general subject of obtaining a depth of 30 feet over New York Bar. Their views are entitled to careful consideration, and although additional study as well as experience will be necessary to define in all their detail the precise dimensions and other features of the work of construction necessary for the permanent improvement of the bar, yet sufficient is known to justify this office in recommending a large appropriation, not less than $1,000,000, for the commencement of a permanent improvement. With regard to the improvement of Gedney's Channel, ordered by Congress, and which can be undertaken at the present time by the means of some form of dredging, no additional estimate is submitted on account of the purely experimental nature of the undertaking. The amount reported below as expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1885, was for surveys, engineering, and inspection. Amount appropriated by act approved July 5, 1884........ July 1, 1885, amount expended during fiscal year, exclusive of outstanding liabilities July 1, 1884 July 1, 1885, outstanding liabilities.. July 1, 1885, amount available.... (See Appendix F 19.) $200,000 00 $13,480 65 13,530 65 186,469 35 20. Removing sunken vessels or craft obstructing or endangering naviga tion. The contractor for removal of the wreck of steamer Nankin, lying in the Swash Channel at the entrance to New York Harbor, continued work during the year under his contract, and removed 375 tons of iron, making the total removed since he began work 805 tons. The amount of iron yet to be removed is 200 tons, approximately, and of ballast 100 tons. The contract was extended to August 1, 1885, by the Secretary of War January 16, 1885, without change in the stipulation that monthly payments shall be made to the contractor proportionate to the quantity of iron removed, and that the aggregate of the advance payments shall not exceed $27,000, the gross sum which shall be paid to the contractor for wholly removing the wreck, in accordance with the original contract, dated July 19, 1883. The total of the advance payments made to the contractor to date is $8,087.40, the retained percentage of which is $1,665.60. The wreck is embedded in 5 to 8 feet of sand, and there is a depth of 23 to 25 feet of water over it at mean low water. As it lies on the west side of the axis of the channel, it will not be a dangerous obstruction to navigation so long as it is properly buoyed. It is expected that the wreck will be entirely removed before the close of the present summer. (See Appendix F 20.) EXAMINATIONS AND SURVEYS FOR IMPROVEMENT TO COMPLY WITH REQUIREMENTS OF THE RIVER AND HARBOR ACT OF JULY 5, 1884. The following locality was examined by the local engineer in charge and not recommended for improvement: 1. Baldwin River, New York, at Baldwin Station, to connect with Long Beach. The report on this examination was transmitted to Congress and printed in House Ex. Doc. No. 71, Forty-eighth Congress, second session. (See also Appendix F 21.) And it appearing, after preliminary examination by the local engineer, that the locality was worthy of improvement by the General Government, Major Gillespie was charged with and completed the survey of 1. Hudson River, on the New Jersey side, from Weehawken to Bergen Point, Hudson County, New Jersey, with a view to deepening the water at the wharf on that side.-(See Appendix F 22.) IMPROVEMENT OF DELAWARE AND SCHUYLKILL RIVERS AND OF NORTH BRANCH OF THE SUSQUEHANNA-OF RIVERS IN NEW JERSEY-HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS IN DELAWARE RIVER AND BAYCONSTRUCTION OF PIER AT LEWES-DELAWARE BREAKWATER. Officers in charge: Maj. W. H. Heuer, Corps of Engineers, until January 20, 1885; Lieut. Col. Henry M. Robert, Corps of Engineers, since that date. 1. Delaware River from Trenton, New Jersey, to its mouth. The project for the comprehensive improvement of the Delaware River between Trenton and the upper part of Philadelphia has not yet been considered. Efforts in the past have been directed toward relieving commerce from the obstructions which exist in the upper 8 or 10 miles of the river or that part between Kinkora Bar and Trenton. This part of the river was originally obstructed with shoals which reduced the available depth at low water to from 3 to 4 feet. By dredging, a depth of from 6 to 7 feet has been obtained in this upper 10 miles of river, except at Periwig Shoal, which is about 24 miles below Trenton, where there is at present a depth of only 3 feet at low water. A detailed survey of the river between Bridesburg and Trenton is now in progress for the purpose of obtaining the necessary data for determining upon a comprehensive plan for the permanent improvement of the river between Trenton and the upper part of Philadelphia to meet the requirements of commerce, and the plan adopted for the improvement of the river at and below Philadelphia. The efforts of the past to improve the river between Philadelphia and the bay have been confined to dredging, except at Schooner Ledge, where solid rock has been removed, under appropriations for special localities and also under general appropriations for the Delaware River below Bridesburg. At some of the special localities where improvements have been made the original depth was from 16 to 18 feet at low water, as at Mifflin Bar, Schooner Ledge, and Cherry Island Flats. A Board of Engineers, convened by direction of the Secretary of War for the purpose of considering the subject of the permanent improvement of Delaware River and Bay, recommended, under date of January 23, 1885, the formation of a ship-channel from a point opposite Philadelphia and about midway between the American Shipbuilding Company's yard and the Gas Trust wharf to deep water in Delaware Bay, having a least width of 600 feet and a depth of 26 feet at mean low water. The formation of such a channel is to be obtained except at Schooner Ledge, where rock would require to be removed, by regulating the tidal flow by means of dikes, with recourse to dredging where necessary as an aid to such contracting and regulating works. The estimated cost of obtaining a channel of the above dimensions is about $2,425,000, which covers the estimated cost of the permanent improvement of the Delaware River,between the upper part of Philadelphia and |