(3) Dredging between Hartford and Middletown.-The operations which were in progress at the close of the last fiscal year under agreement with C. C. Goodrich, dated April 7, 1884, to dredge at 10 cents per cubic yard, were continued till July 23, when the funds were exhausted. When the appropriation of July 5, 1884, became available operations were resumed under authority from the Chief of Engineers, dated August 12, 1884, and were carried on under the same terms until September 23. The following table shows the amount of material removed: Cubic yards of sand. 16,674 12, 332 6,924 8, 103 11,984 At Hartford Bar Total removed.... water. 7, 809 2,907 66,801 The channels were uniformly 80 feet wide and 94 feet deep at low In April, 1885, it was found that ice-jams and freshets during the winter had caused bars to form again at certain points, with only 5 or 6 feet of water upon them, and C. C. Goodrich, representing the Hartford and New York Steamboat Company, whose boats were much delayed by these obstructions, renewed his offer of the previous year to do the dredging required at 10 cents per cubic yard, and as time was all-important and the offer was evidently economical and advantageous to the United States, it was accepted under the authority which had been previously received. Work under this offer was begun May 11, and was continued until the close of the fiscal year. The channels formed were from 75 to 80 feet wide and 9 feet deep at low water. The amounts of material removed were as follows, namely: The only work remaining to be done at the close of the fiscal year was one cut at Press Barn Bar, which then had a channel 50 feet wide which will be widened to 75 feet, and a short cut at Naubuck, which will be completed early in July. At the lower end of the Hartford Dike an old wing-dam projected into the channel 120 feet beyond the dike. To some extent it obstructed the current and so impaired the usefulness of the dike. This dike was removed by Mr. Goodrich in June at a cost of $400, 2,019 cubic yards of gravel, sand, stone, and bowlders being taken out. Under authority from the Chief of Engineers, dated October 1, 1883, and an agreement with Mr. Goodrich, some rocks, logs, and débris obstructing the channel near Chester Rock Shoals, 37 miles below Hartford, were taken out in August, 1884, at a cost of $150. The Connecticut River is in the collection district of Middletown. By the course of the river the distance from Holyoke Mass., to Hartford, Conn., is about 34 miles, and from Hartford to Long Island Sound about 50 miles. There is a light-house on Saybrook Point, on the west shore of the river, at its mouth. The nearest work of defense is Fort Trumbull, New London Harbor, Connecticut, about 16 miles east from Saybrook Point. July 1, amount available Money statement. Amount appropriated by act approved July 5, 1884.. $2,896 55 35,000 00 July 1, 1885, amount expended during fiscal year, exclusive of outstanding liabilities July 1, 1884 37,896 55 *$23.670 65 July 1, 1885, outstanding liabilities.. 8,412 39 32,083 04 July 1, 1885, amount available.. Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project. 5,813 51 195,000 00 100,000 00 COMMERCIAL STATISTICS. Through the courtesy of the mayor of Hartford the following statement of commerce at Hartford is furnished for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1885: Through the courtesy of the collector of customs at Middletown, the following is a statement of the commerce of that port for the fiscal year ending June 80, 1885: This river is formed by the confluence of the rivers Yantic and Shetucket, which unite at Norwich, Conn., whence it extends southward as a tidal stream 15 miles, to Long Island Sound. New London is situated about 1 mile above its mouth on the west bank. For the first 10 miles above its mouth the river has a depth of from 16 to 50 feet, averaging * Of this amount $23,639.45 was disbursed by Lieut. Col. Walter McFarland, Corps of Engineers, and $31.20 disbursed by the Treasury Department. over 30 feet for the first 4 miles. For the 5 miles below Norwich there was in 1829 a channel depth of 5 feet at low water, where there is now a depth of 12 feet. The work of improvement has been virtually confined to this stretch of 5 miles. Histories of the improvement may be found in the Annual Reports of the Chief of Engineers, for 1873, page 981, and for 1879, part 1, page 331. The first definite project, approved in 1836, provided for a channel 100 feet wide and 14 feet deep at high water, to be obtained by dredg ing, and by the construction of eleven piers and wing-dams, and by the conversion into T walls of the three piers already built by building cross walls at their heads running up and down stream. The desired results were obtained, but shoals subsequently formed, and in 1866 and again in 1873 it became necessary to deepen and widen the channels through them by dredging. In 1878, after more shoaling, it was decided to make the channel 14 feet deep below mean low water, instead of below mean high water, which would give an increased depth of about 3 feet. This, however, because of the continued shoaling afforded only temporary relief, and in 1882 the project was further modified under the recommendation of Major Barlow, Corps of Engineers, approved by the Board of Engineers, by providing for the construction of five training-walls along the outer sides of the channel curves, with the addition of low walls on the inner sides should they be found necessary, the width of water-way between them varying from 300 feet to 480 feet. At the same time the projected width of the channel was increased to 200 feet. The improvement was to extend over the first 4 miles below Norwich. The estimated cost of this project was $208,080, of which $80,000 have been already appropriated. The construction of the trainingwalls provided for by this project was begun in 1882, and has been continued as funds permitted up to the present time. One wall,2,370 feet in length, was completed in 1882, at Trading Cove, 23 miles below Norwich; another, 2,988 feet long, opposite Mohegan, 35 miles below Norwich, was completed in 1883; and a third, at Long Rock, 2 miles below Norwich, with a projected length of 2,800 feet, is nearly completed. Dredging in the channel was carried on while the first two trainingwalls were building, and the dredged material was deposited behind them. This saved the cost of towing it out to Long Island Sound, where formerly it had to be deposited, and permitted the work to be done at a lower rate. The Mohegan dike or training-wall is built of two rows of piles driven close together, 6 feet from outside to outside, filled with stone, and held together by two courses of longitu dinal stringers fastened to the piles by screw-bolts. These two lines of piles are held together by wooden cross-ties placed 10 feet apart. The upper end of this dike has been damaged by running ice, and will have to be repaired by extra piling. There has also been a marked scour around the head of the dike. The present depth of wa ter there is about 16 feet, where before the depth was only 11 feet. It is proposed to prevent further scour there by protecting the head of the dike with riprap. The amount needed will be about 150 tons. The Trading Cove dike is built, as all the others will probably be built, of rip-rap, without piling, the stones averaging one-fourth of a ton in weight. The work has settled somewhat since its completion, the top of the dike being now 1 to 3 feet below its original height at mean high water. This will be repaired. The amonnt of stone required is prob ably about 1,000 tons, and will probably cost $2 per ton. The operations for this fiscal year have been confined to the construction of the third training wall, projected on the east side of the channel at Long Rock, about 2 miles below Norwich. The proposed length is 2,800 feet. The width at top is to be 3 feet, and the side slopes about 1 upon 1. The top is to be brought to the mean high-water level. Proposals for the construction of this dike were opened September 22, 1884, after an usual advertisement. The following is the abstract of the bids received: Abstract of proposals for constructing a dike in the Thames River, Connecticut, under advertisements dated August 12, and opened September 22, 1884. No. Names and addresses of bidders. 1 Charles H. Edwards, Boston Mass.. 2 3 4 5 6 7 C. W. Parker, Rockport, Mass.; Alexander J. Howell, New York, William H. Molthrop, Gales Ferry, Ezra H. Williams, Hartford, Conn.. Charles C. Goodrich, Hartford, John R. Bouker, New York, N. Y... Franklyn Bouker, New York; Mr. Charles H. Edwards, of Boston, being the lowest responsible bidder, a contract was entered into with him, dated October 15, 1884. Work under this contract was begun November 19, and was continued to December 25, 1884, when operations had to be suspended on account of the ice. The work was resumed April 8, 1885, and was continued to the close of the fiscal year. The total amount of stone delivered under this contract is 11,254 tons, completing 2,500 feet of the training-wall, leaving 300 feet still to be completed. This will require about 500 tons of stone. Owing to shoaling along the line of the dike since it was projected, much less stone will be required to construct it than was originally provided for. From the character of the material of which the bottom is composed a good deal of settlement may be expected, as has already occurred with the Trading Cove dike. This shoaling of the water occasioned delays in the completion of the contract which rendered its extension necessary, and upon the recommendation of the officer in charge the time for the completion of the contract was extended from June 30 to July 31, under date of July 2, 1885. In order to secure the best results possible, the system of training-walls now in course of construction should be completed as rapidly as possible; $100,000 can be profitably expended on this work and in the necessary dredging during the ensuing year. The balance of the appropriation remaining after the close of the present contract will be applied to repairing the Trading Cove and Mohegan training-walls and to such dredging as may be needed. Appropriations for improvement of the Thames River have been made. as follows, viz: |