Canarsie Landing to deep water in Jamaica Bay, besides several minor improvements not contemplated in the original project. The expenditures during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, amount to $202.37, for surveying and office expenses. An appropriation of $5,000 was made in the act of September 19, 1890, and a project for its expenditure in dredging the channel to the full dimensions required by the project was approved October 20, 1890. The work was advertised February 3, 1891. Bids were opened March 10, and a contract entered into March 20, 1891. Work under the contract will be begun upon the completion of dredging at Shoal Harbor and Compton Creek, this work having also been included under the same contract, and is now being prosecuted with fair prospect of completion during the month of July, 1891. The commerce of Canarsie Bay is reported for the calendar year 1890 to be 50,898 tons, against 26,262 tons reported for 1889. July 1, 1890, balance unexpended............. Amount appropriated by act approved September 19, 1890..... June 30, 1891, amount expended during fiscal year. July 1, 1891, balance unexpended.............. July 1, 1891, amount covered by uncompleted contracts.. July 1, 1891, balance available... Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project.... (See Appendix F 2.) $514.01 5,000.00 5, 514. 01 202.37 5, 311.64 3, 185.00 2, 126. 64 40,000.00 10,000. 00 3. Sheepshead Bay, New York.-The original condition of the navigable channel was, for the entrance a depth of a little over 2 feet at mean low water, and for the interior channel not less than 4 feet, except at two narrow bulkheads across said channel. The originally adopted project (1879) was to deepen the entrance by means of converging jetties, and to improve the interior channel by longitudinal dikes, so placed as in some instances to form tidal reservoirs for the scour of the channel. The project was revised in 1881, and provides for excavating a channel at the outlet 100 feet wide and 6 feet deep at mean low water, to connect the bay with Dead Horse Inlet, and to dredge the interior channel; this was modified in Febru ary, 1889, the modified project contemplating a channel 5,350 feet long, 60 feet wide, and 5 feet deep, mean low water, from the town of Sheepshead to within 1,080 feet of Dead Horse Inlet, cut to connect with the channel of similar width and depth already existing at that point. The amount expended on this project to the end of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1890, was $25,286.52. With this amount a channel had been dredged 100 feet wide and 6 feet deep at mean low water, connecting the east end of the bay with Dead Horse Inlet, and the interior channel dredged 60 feet wide and 5 feet deep at mean low water, for a distance of 3,400 feet, from the town of Sheepshead toward Dead Horse Inlet. The first mentioned channel, from a survey made in 1887, was observed to have not maintained itself, having contracted to a width of 60 feet with an average depth of 5 feet mean low water; the condition of the more recently dredged interior channel, however, has been found by a recent examination to be highly satisfactory. The expenditures for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, amount to $497.74, for office expenses. July 1, 1890, balance unexpended June 30, 1891, amount expended during fiscal year. July 1, 1891, balance unexpended.. .... $713.48 497.74 215.74 Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project...... 8, 200.00 Submitted in compliance with requirements of sections 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867. (See Appendix F 3.) 4. Arthur Kill, New York and New Jersey.-A history of this improvement, which originated by special resolution of the Committee of Commerce in the Senate, is given in the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1889, part 1, page 819. The improvement consists in the removal of a point of land near and to the south of the Staten Island Bridge, for the purpose of straightening the channel, in order that the currents may be directed more truly in a direction perpendicular to the draw span of the bridge thus facilitating the passage of long tows. A statement of condemnation proceedings for acquiring to the United States the land needed for this improvement will be found in the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1890, part 1, page 843. The total amount expended on this improvement to June 30, 1890, was $3,135.50. This expenditure includes the part purchase of a tugboat, and the expenses incurred in the condemnation proceedings above alluded to, as well as certain administrative expenses. An appropriation of $7,000 was made in the act of September 19, 1890, and a project for its expenditure was approved October 4, 1890. This project contemplates the removal of the land forming "Steep Point," by successive parallel cuts, until the appropriation is exhausted. Sealed proposals for doing the work were invited by advertisement dated February 3, 1891. Bids were opened March 10, and a contract entered into March 21 with the Atlantic Dredging Company, the lowest bidder, at 24 cents per cubic yard. Operations were begun May 29, and finished June 25, the amount of material removed being 22,000 cubic yards, giving an additional width of 60 feet to the already m proved channel, with a depth of 13 feet at mean low water, the amount of land removed being one-half an acre. The expenditures as shown for the present fiscal year amount to $7,205.09 Of this amount $6,815 was due for work performed under contract in the previous fiscal year, and reported in Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers, 1890, part 1, page 844. July 1, 1890, balance unexpended Amount appropriated by act approved September 19, 1890... $6,864.50 7,000.00 13, 864.50 7,205.09 6,659.41 July 1, 1891, balance available...... Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project.... (See Appendix F 4.) ENG 91-7 5, 396.00 1,263.41 9,500.00 9,500.00 5. Channel between Staten Island and New Jersey.-Before this improvement was undertaken by the United States there was a navigable channel having a minimum depth of 9.2 feet from the deep water in Newark Bay to Elizabethport. The first project for the improvement of this channel was made in 1873. This provided for dredging it to a depth of 16 feet for a width of 150 feet at its shallowest part, and protecting the cut by parallel dikes. The estimated cost of this was $443,210. Fifty thousand dollars of this amount, appropriated in 1874, was spent in 1874-75 in the construction of 2,237 feet of the south dike, opposite Elizabethport. Great opposition being made to this plan by oystermen and towboatmen, it was decided to modify it, and the project was therefore changed in 1880 so as to dredge a channel 400 feet wide and 13 feet deep over the middle 00 feet of its width, leaving it but 12 feet deep over the remaining widths of 100 feet on each side. The estimated cost of this work was $125,705. In addition to this it was proposed, should it be found necessary, to build four detached dikes along the line of the channel, two on the north and two on the south side, the estimated cost of which was $60,000, bringing the total estimated cost of the proposed improvement up to $185,705. Subsequently it was decided to give the channel 13 feet depth for its full width of 400 feet. A modification of this project, having in view the abandonment of the dikes, was submitted May 9, 1889, and was approved by Department letter dated May 15, and a further modification, calling for a uniform channel depth of 14 feet at mean low water over the entire width of 400 feet, was approved October 20, 1890. The amount expended to June 30, 1890, was $183,627.15. With this amount 2,237 feet of dike was built, the channel given depths of from 13 to 20.7 feet mean low water throughout its length, and with widths of from 250 to 350 feet, the narrowest portion being in the vicinity of the Corner Stake Light. The expenditures during the past fiscal year amount to $6,983.91. A project for the expenditure of the appropriation of $15,000 in the act of September 19, 1890, was approved October 20, 1890. Sealed proposals for doing the work by dredging were invited by advertisement dated February 3, 1891. Bids were opened March 10, and a contract entered into March 23, 1891, with Thomas H. Benton, at 26 cents per cubic yard. Work under this contract was begun April 20, and completed June 29, 44,820 cubic yards of material having been removed. Under this contract the channel has been increased in width by 100 feet for a distance of 3,000 feet, the depth being from 13 to 14 feet at mean low water. This dredging has resulted in considerable improvement of the channel in regard to width, which, because of the sharp turn at the Corner Stake Light, should be as great as is consistent with the maintaining power of the current. The reported increase in the commerce making use of this channel for the calendar year is 348,543 tons. July 1, 1890, balance unexpended Amount appropriated by act approved September 19, 1890.. $372.85 15,000.00 15,372.85 6,983.91 8,388.94 5, 891. 32 2,497.62 $61,000.00 (Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project... Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1893 30,000.00 Submitted in compliance with requirements of sections 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867. (See Appendix F 5.) 6. Passaic River, New Jersey.--This river is being improved under two separate projects, the first applying to the river below Centre Street Bridge, Newark, to and beyond the shoals in Newark Bay, a distance of 71⁄2 miles, and the second to the upper course of the river from Centre Street Bridge as far as Passaic, a distance of 8 miles. a. Below Newark.-The lower portion of the river, from Centre Street Bridge to Newark Bay, was first surveyed by the Engineer Department, in 1879. The greatest depth in the channel, at a point above the Elbow Beacon, was only 7.1 feet, and in many places the greatest depth was 7.5 feet at mean low water. A project was adopted, based on this survey, providing for obtaining by diking and dredging a channel 200 feet wide and 10 feet deep at mean low water from the Centre Street Bridge to Newark Bay, at a cost of $232,875. This project was modified in 1884, pursuant to the river and harbor act of that year, providing for extending the dike at the mouth of the river into the bay, a distance of 12,000 feet, and for dredging a channel across the shoal in Newark Bay, 200 feet wide and 10 feet deep at mean low water, increasing the original estimate to $353,875. The amount expended to June 30, 1890 was $198,257.27. With this amount 6,205 feet of dike was built, the channel through the shoal in the bay, as also the channel up the river to, and 1,423 feet beyond the Newark and New York Railroad Bridge, dredged to the full dimensions as required by the adopted project. Thence a section 1,150 feet up stream was redredged and given a width of 180 feet, and from this point to Lister Dock, Newark, the river was regulated to a width of 100 feet, with a uniform depth of 10 feet at mean low water throughout. A recent survey of the portions of the river dredged by the appropriation of August 11, 1888, shows that the depths have been maintained unexpectedly well during the past winter. One thousand nine hundred and twenty-eight dollars and fifty-eight cents have been expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, in surveying the portions of the river dredged in 1889, and in necessary office expenses. Under the appropriation of $40,000, made in the act of September 19, 1890, a contract was entered into March 21, 1891, with R. G. Packard, for the removal by dredging of 110,000 cubic yards of material at 30 cents per cabic yard. Work had not been begun by the contractor at the close of the fiscal year, but assurance had been given of its commencement early in July. The commerce of this river was valued in 1889 at $44,722,750, and for 1890 it is given at $49,195,025. July 1, 1890, balance unexpended.... Amount appropriated by act approved September, 19, 1890.. June 30, 1891, amount expended during fiscal year July 1, 1891, balance unexpended............. July 1, 1891, amount covered by uncompleted contracts... July 1, 1891, balance available........ $1,241.73 40,000.00 41, 241.73 1,928.58 39, 313. 15 33,000.00 6, 313. 15 Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project... $114, 375, 00 b. Above Newark. -Before its improvement was undertaken, the upper part of the river had a navigable 6-foot channel except at Middle, Belleville, Rutherford Park, and Holzman Bars, where the depths were 4.5 feet, 3.9 feet, 3 feet, and 3.5 feet, respectively. The project of improvement was adopted in 1872 and provided for a channel across and above the shoals from 7 to 6 feet deep mean low water, and from 200 to 50 feet wide, to be obtained by dredging and diking, at a cost of $123,924. It was modified in 1885 by extending the channel below Middle Bar, 1,500 feet to the Erie Railroad Bridge, increasing the estimate to $129,000, which was further increased in 1886 to $133,762. The deposit of material from freshets, together with the difficult and costly nature of the dredging, prompted a recommendation to increase this last estimate to $193,822, which was approved October 6, 1890. The amount expended to June 30, 1890, was $129,702.28. With this amount, channels of the required depth had been dredged from 60 to 75 feet wide, excepting for a distance of 1,500 feet above the Erie Railroad Bridge. The expenditures during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, amount to $432.39, for office expenses. No work of improvement has been done on the upper river during the fiscal year, though a contract was entered into on March 23, 1891, with Richard Parrott for the removal, by dredging, of 13,000 cubic yards, more or less, of material. Work under the above contract will be begun upon the completion of dredging in Elizabeth River, New Jersey, as both works were awarded the same contractor and are included under one contract. The commerce, although by no means as extensive as that of the lower portion of the river, appears to be increasing rapidly; this was reported for the calendar year 1889 to be 315,437 tons, valued at $2,545,077. July 1, 1890, balance unexpended........ Amount appropriated by act approved September 19, 1890.. June 30, 1891, amount expended during fiscal year.. July 1, 1891, balance unexpended............ July 1, 1891, amount covered by uncompleted contracts.. July 1, 1891, balance available..... (Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project.... Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1893 Submitted in compliance with requirements of sections 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867. (See Appendix F 6.) 4,047.72 5,100.00 9, 147.72 432.39 8,715, 33 4,550.00 4, 165.33 54, 972.00 20,000. 00 7. Elizabeth River, New Jersey.-This stream, which is 25 miles in length from its mouth to the head of navigation at Broad street, Eliz beth, has a width of from 50 to 90 feet, and before its improvement the wharves in the city could only be reached at high water by vessels drawing less than 4 feet; its commerce was estimated at 45,000 tons |