APPENDIX D. ANNUAL REPORT OF MR. SAMUEL II. YONGE, DIVISION ENGINEER, 1892. MISSOURI RIVER COMMISSION, OFFICE OF DIVISION ENGINEER, COLONEL: I have the honor to submit my report of operations conducted in improving the Missouri River on Kansas City Division and First Reach during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892. REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE OF WORKS IN THE VICINITY OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI. The operations carried on under the allotments made by the Commission for Kansas City consisted in completing the revetments at Little Platte Bend and Harlem, in repairing the Kaw Bend and East Bottoms revetments, in extending the Kansas City and Harlam Dikes, and in strengthening the dikes at Little Platte Bend. Little Platte Bend Revetment.—The plant required for construction work at Little Platte Bend was towed there from Harlem, Mo., by the towboat Alert, July 9 and 10. On account of the high stage of water, however, work could not be begun until July 23. Its progress was interrupted by high water and stormy weather, on account of which it had to be temporarily suspended twice. The work consisted in protecting the 1,450 linear feet of bank situated above and adjacent to the revetment of 1889 by a revetment of the standard type. The mattress was completed and the bank graded down to the water line by a hydraulic grader August 25, when the party and plant were moved to Kaw Bend by the Melusina. Work was resumed October 8 and the bank grading finished by shovels, after which it was ballasted up to a stage of standard high water. The work was completed October 30. The total length of revetment constructed at Little Platte Bend in 1887, 1889, and 1891 amounts to 7,770 feet; its cost, to $53,121.31, or $6.83 per linear foot. The following statement shows the details of cost and extent of the revetment constructed during the fiscal year of 1892: Little Platte Bend dikes.—The four dikes constructed at the upper end of Little Platte Bend in 1889.were fully described in my report for that year. On account of the stream ends being gradually scoured out and undermined by the current, it became necessary, in order to preserve the dikes, to construct at the outer end of each of them a willow mattress apron. This work was done in August. The aprons were about 100 feet long by 65 feet wide, and extended 40 feet beyond the outer bent of piles. The total area of mattress woven and sunk at the four dikes amounted to 24,070 square feet. Some slight repairs were also made to the bracing on some of the dikes, The total cost of the work, including all labor, materials, steamboat service, etc., amounted to $1,309. Repairs to Kaw Bend Revetment.-The length of revetment constructed in the lower part of Upper Kaw Bend in 1885 was about 10,000 feet. About 2,000 feet of the work in the lower part of the bend had to have extensive repairs made to it in 1887 and 1889. Only slight repairs, however, were made on the remaining 8,000 feet. In the spring of 1891 it appeared, on examination, that the old mattress had pulled away from the bank at five places, forming breaks from 120 to 225 feet long. It was therefore thought advisable to risk the revetment through another period of high water without reconstructing parts of it and making general repairs to the entire work. Repairs were commenced August 26. They consisted in driving anchor piles and constructing new sections of mattress at the toe of the bank, where the old mattress was broken at the water line; in removing the stone ballast; in regrading and reballasting the bank; and in filling up holes with brush. The mattress was made sufficiently wide to lap over the inner edge of the old one. Its width varied from 28 to 48 feet. The subaqueous part of the work and hydraulic grading were completed September 8, and the shovel grade in October. Work was then suspended until an extreme low stage of water should occur, so that the ballasting could be made as thorough as possible. Work was resumed February 8 and completed February 28, 1892, during which period the ballasting of the bank was carried to the stage of standard high water. The details of cost and extent of the work are shown in the following statement: Statement. Harlem revetment.-The construction of revetment below Harlem, Mo., was begun in the latter part of the last fiscal year, but had to be entirely suspended after completing 700 feet of mattress on account of high water. The working party and plant were brought from Kaw Bend to Harlem on September 8 and 9 by the Melusina, and work resumed on the revetment September 10. On According to the original project, the revetment was to be 2,740 feet long. account of shallow water, however, 80 feet of mattress at the downstream end could not be constructed. About the time that the work proposed in the project was completed as far downstream as possible, it became necessary, on account of the bank cutting above the revetment, to extend the work 385 feet further upstream than had been intended. Subsequently, with your approval, Dike X was constructed about 185 feet below the end of the revetment, between which and the dike the bank was ballasted. Notwithstanding these extensions and the higher prices paid for labor this and last year, which were about 25 per cent in excess of those paid in former years, the cost of this work is about $5,000 less than was estimated, on account of no expense being incurred for towboat service. The cost per linear foot of complete revetment is $5.34. The mattress and grading were completed October 17, and all other work November 10. The following statement shows the details of cost and extent of the Harlem revetment: East Bottoms revetment.-Slight repairs were made by replacing some of the stone ballast on the East Bottoms revetment, the cost of which work amounted to $116.18. Kansas City and Harlem dikes.-Dike work was resumed on the Kansas City dikes in September. It was then found that the position of the channel had changed to such an extent since the project for dike work had been approved that Dikes I and II could not be extended, as proposed, without completely closing navigation. For this reason Dike I was only extended 60 feet instead of 160 feet; Dike II 262 instead of 300 feet. Dike III was extended to its proposed full length, by constructing 371 feet of double-row dike and 222 feet of triple-row dike. The unfinished porton of this dike, constructed in June, 1891, consisting of 630 feet of single row and 228 feet of double row dike, was also completed. The extensions of Dikes I, II, and III are parallel to the old work and lap over it two bents, to insure good connections. It proved impossible to proceed with the construction of Dike IV, on account of the shallow water at its site. Dike IX, 280 feet long, was constructed, and a new dike, No. X, was, with your approval, added to the Harlem system. The latter dike is 130 feet long, and is situated between the lower end of the Harlem revetment and Dike V. Dikes IX and X are triple row. The details of the dike work are the same as used in 1890, excepting that whiteoak piles, instead of cottonwood, were used for the outer ten bents of the dikes. The shore connections of Dikes VII and VIII that were washed away during the June rise of 1891 were rebuilt. The cost of dike work is as follows, viz: Completing 630 feet of single-row dike, begun in June, 1891 Repairs to Dikes VII and VIII Constructing 431 feet of new double-row dike Completing 228 feet of double-row dike Constructing 993 feet of new triple-row dike Total..... $184.38 189.78 270.98 1,605. 69 7, 154. 35 9, 405. 18 The following statements show the cost and extent of double and triple row dike, constructed during the fiscal year of 1892: Statement of cost of constructing 431 linear feet of double-row dike. Statement of cost of constructing 993 linear feet of triple-row dike. To complete the Kansas City and Harlem dikes and to make them secure, Nos. L and II should be extended 100 feet and 40 feet, respectively, and a new dike constructed near the Winner Bridge, above No. I. The outer ends of all the dikes should be buttressed by wings similar in construction to the main bodies of the dikes. The necessity for this precaution is apparent from an inspection of Plate IV, which shows the shape of the bottom at and under the ends of two of the Harlem dikes. It is believed that the plan proposed of extending a wing downstream about 80 feet, or until shoal water is reached, will, in most cases, prevent the ends of the dikes from being overturned. Construction materials.-In conducting operations in the vicinity of Kansas City, Mo., during the fiscal year of 1892, 2,518.5 cords of willow brush were used. Of this quantity 455 cords were on hand at the close of the last fiscal year and 2,063.5 cords procured during the fiscal year of 1892. Of the latter, 1,129.5 cords were purchased, delivered on the river bank, and 1,369 cords procured by hired labor. The average cost of brush, loaded on barges, procured during 1892, was $1.7176 per cord. Eleven thousand six hundred and forty-seven and thirty-six one-hundredths cubic yards of stone were used in constructing works of improvement, of which 417 yards were on hand at the end of the last fiscal year and 11,230.36 yards purchased at an average cost of $0.94423 per yard. Seventeen thousand seven hundred and twelve linear feet of cottonwood piles were on hand at the beginning of the last fiscal year, and 8,200 linear feet purchased at 10 cents per linear foot. Eight thousand nine hundred and forty linear feet of native oak piling were purchased at the mouth of Grand River, at 11 cents per foot, and 8,396 feet of white-oak piling at Kansas City, Mo., at 16.6 cents per foot. The yellow pine lumber used for bracing the dikes was purchased during the last fiscal year. |