F 13. IMPROVEMENT OF COHANSEY CREEK, NEW JERSEY. The river and harbor act of March 3, 1881, made appropriation of $7,000 for continuing the improvement of Cohansey Creek, and further provided for a re-examination of the stream. The accompanying report of this, dated February 8, 1882, exhibits the history and present condition of the navigation. In response to advertisement dated August 31, 1881, no proposals were received for continuing work upon the stream, and it was decided to postpone operations until it should be ascertained what action Congress would take at the ensuing session with regard to continuing the improvement. The city authorities have notified me of their intention to lower the pipes crossing the stream, which have prevented operations in the upper part in accordance with the project. At the date of this report no action has been taken by Congress. Cohansey Creek is in the collection district of Bridgeton, N. J., which is the nearest port of entry. Total amount appropriated to June 30, 1882... July 1, 1881, amount available. Money statement. July 1, 1882, amount expended during fiscal year, exclusive of outstanding liabilities July 1, 1881 July 1, 1882, amount available.... Amount appropriated by act passed August 2, 1882. Amount available for fiscal year ending June 30, 1833.. Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project.... $31,000 24, 501 $7,003 01 504 60 6, 498 41 5,000 00 11, 498 41 5,000 00 5,000 00 EXAMINATION OF COHANSEY RIVER, NEW JERSEY. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Philadelphia, Pa., February 8, 1882. SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report on the exami nation of Cohansey Creek, New Jersey, in compliance with the requirements of the river and harbor act of March 3, 1881. As the stream has been under improvement for several years, and surveys have been made at various dates, no further field work was necessary than a reexamination of the localities where obstructions were known to exist, to determine what changes, if any, had occurred. Cohansey Creek drains the northern part of Cumberland County, New Jersey, and has a navigable length of about 20 miles from the Delaware Bay, into which it discharges, to Bridgeton, lying at the head of navigation. The entrance to the creek is across a wide flat of sand and mud, having a mean low-water depth over it of 5 feet, the rise of tide being about 6 feet. Owing to the extent of this flat, the semi-fluid character of the bottom, and the exposure to the storms of the bay, dredging operations alone would be unavailing to create a greater channel depth, and exten sive permanent works would be needed to prevent a dredged channel from rapidly refilling. Furthermore, the existing low-water depth is only about 2 feet less than the ordinary draught of vessels trading to the creek. For these reasons no attempt has been made to deepen the entrance, which shows no indications of notable change since 1872. The navigation upward to within a short distance of Bridgeton, though tortuous, as is usually the case with tidal streams flowing between banks of salt-water marsh, is of ample depth and capacity. Approaching Bridgeton the depths rapidly decrease, and along the city front the bed of the stream, owing to the accumulations of sand and gravel from surface and street washings, was in 1872 nearly bare at low-water, although, owing to the favorable character of the naviga tion below, the rise of tide is greater than at the mouth. The river and harbor act of that year ordered an examination, which was made in August following, and report thereafter submitted. The original project had in view the construction of a channel 4 feet deep at mean low-water, and 130 feet wide, at an estimated cost of $30,000. As the work progressed under successive appropriations, aggregating $24,000, it became evident that an increase in the depth of channel was necessary for the commerce of the stream, and as meanwhile the city of Bridgeton had adopted effective methods of intercepting further de posits, in June, 1880, an amended project, submitted to the Chief of Engineers and approved by him, proposed bringing the 7-foot low-water navigation from deep water below the lower steamboat wharf upward as far as the Commerce street bridge, and thence to the nail-works bridge a low-water depth of 6 feet, the channel to be 100 feet wide at its lower end and decrease to 50 feet at the upper bridge. An addition of $11,000 to the original estimate was made necessary by the change in dimensions. At the cessation of work in October, 1880, a 7-foot low-water channel had been made to Broad Street Bridge, with an average width of 70 feet, and between Broad and Commerce Street bridges a narrower one of the same depth. At Broad street a space was left undredged, in order not to endanger the gas and water mains of the city, which cross the creek at this point. The existence of these pipes in the bed of the stream is referred to in the annual report of the Chief of Engineers for 1880, page 590. The depth of water over them at low-water is only 4 or 5 feet, and it was essential to the further progress of the improvement that they should be sunk to such depth as would admit of free passage of vessels without danger of striking. The attention of the city authorities was officially invited to the matter by this office, and an urgent demand made by the citizens of Bridgeton most interested in the navigation for action by the council, but up to the present time nothing has been done. There are no engineering difficulties in the way, and $1,500 would probably cover the cost. It appears, therefore, that in the judgment of the city council, as at present advised, the value of the improvement by the United States of the navigation above Broad street is not worth the expenditure of that sum by the city. Under these circumstances the application of the $7,000 appropriated by act of March 3, 1881, has been suspended to await the decision of the city with regard to the pipes and the further action of Congress. In July, 1881, the re-examination required in act of March 3, 1881, was made, the results of which are shown on the accompanying tracing. This is substantially a 7-foot low-water channel from the deep water of the creek below Stony Point upward, but of insufficient width at some points. Above the upper steamboat landing the channel dredged has shoaled somewhat in assuming its new dimensions, but exhibits good indications of permanence. The annual report Chief of Engineers, 1881, page 790, estimates a further appropriation of $10,000 as being needed to complete the improvement in accordance with the revised estimate of 1880, which made the total cost $42,000; of which there has been appropriated $31,000; expended, $24,000; balance on hand, $7,000; required to complete, $10,000. The expenditure of this amount is, however, contingent upon the action of the city with regard to the lowering of the pipes. Should this not be done, the balance of $7,000 now on hand would probably be most advantageously expended from the upper steamboat wharf downward, and accomplish all that is needed at the present time for the improvement of the navigation in that section of the stream. Bridgeton is the port of entry for the collection district of the same name. The collector reports that no great changes have taken place since the commercial statistics of the port were prepared as printed in the Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1880. The data there furnished are appended. Respectfully submitted. WILLIAM LUDlow, The CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, U. S. A. COMMERCIAL STATISTICS OF COHANSEY CREEK, NEW JERSEY. The Cumberland Nail and Iron Company's works' consist of rolling, pipe, and nail mills, employ four hundred hands, run twenty furnaces, two sets rolls, one hundred and two nail machines, and produce yearly 100,000 kegs of nails, and 1,500,000 feet of gas-pipe; and in addition to this product, freights by water 15,000 tons coal, 8,000 tons pig-iron, 3,500 tons iron ore, and 10,000 tons furnace cinder. The production of three glass factories, amounting to 30,000 tons, and of two fruitcanning establishments, 1,000 cords of oak and pine wood, 100,000 bushels corn, 3,000,000 shaved hoops, are shipped annually. There are received by water, and not otherwise noted, 5,000 tons anthracite coal, 2,000,000 feet lumber, and a large amount of oyster shells, lime, stone, and general merchandise The steamer Artisan makes regular semi-weekly trips between Bridgeton and Philadelphia. The amount of tonnage registered in the custom-house at this port is as follows: One hundred and thirty-two vessels, under 20 tons, 1,656 tons, owned in all parts of the district and engaged in the oyster trade; twenty-five small sloops and schooners, 1,000 tons; thirty coasting schooners, employed chiefly in the coal trade, 8,000 tons; one hundred schooners and sloops engaged in the oyster trade, 3,000 tons; twentyfive schooners and sloops engaged in the carrying trade between Bridgeton and Philadelphia, 2,000 tons. Total number of vessels, three hundred and twelve; total tonnage, 15,656. F 14. IMPROVEMENT OF SALEM RIVER, NEW JERSEY. Prior to 1880 the amounts appropriated for the improvement of this stream had been applied near the mouth, in Salem Cove, and resulted in the construction of a channel 8 feet deep at mean low-water, with a width of 110 feet through a bar of clay, sand, gravel, and small bowlders, which had been an annoying and somewhat dangerous obstruction to the navigation. The appropriation of $3,000 in the act of March 3, 1881, was intended for the improvement of the upper part, or rather what had been the upper part of Salem River, but which some years previously had been separated from the lower part of the stream by a dam, and provided with a separate outlet by means of a canal. The improvement of the entrance would involve the construction of permanent works, the cost of which would have exceeded the interests concerned, and for this reason no project was submitted. The appropriation of $3,000 was therefore used towards the excavation of a channel through the shoals at Biddle's Landing. During the interval of three years since the original examination was made, these shoals had increased from the flow of the currents, and largely from the presence of the wrecks of two canal barges, which had caused additional deposits. A channel 60 feet in width and from 6 to 7 feet in depth at low-water was dredged from the head of the canal to a point about 200 feet above the landing, leaving about 700 linear feet of distance yet to be traversed to reach deep water below Hoxie's Landing. The cost of completing this channel and of removing the other shoals existing at other points will be from $4,000 to $6,000, depending upon the contract price that may be obtained for doing the work. Reference is invited to the report of the survey of Salem River which accompanies this Annual Report. Salem River is in the collection-district of Bridgeton, N. J., which is the nearest port of entry, the revenue collected there during the past fiscal year amounting to $3,317.49. The nearest fort and light-house are, respectively, Fort Delaware and Finn's Point range lights. Total appropriations to June 30, 1882.. $13,000.00 12,862 07 Money statement. July 1, 1881, amount available. July 1, 1882, amount expended during fiscal year, exclusive of outstanding liabilities July 1, 1881.... $3,027 14 2,889 21 July 1, 1882, amount available Amount appropriated by act passed August 2, 1882 137 93 1,500 00 Amount available for fiscal year ending June 30, 1883 1,637 93 Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1884. 4,000 00 Abstract of proposals received July 20, 1881, for dredging in Salem River, New Jersey. Abstract of contract entered into during fiscal year ending June 30, 1881, for improving Salem River, New Jersey. IMPROVEMENT OF CHESTER CREEK, PENNSYLVANIA. As reported last year, contract was made in July, 1881, under the ap. propriation of $3,000 in the act of March 3, 1881, for the construction of a channel 7 feet deep at low-water, with a width of 40 to 50 feet from the Third Street Bridge to deep water in the Delaware. The contractor was to have begun operations in November, but asked an extension of time for commencement until May, 1882, which was granted, with the understanding that the work should be completed before June 30, 1882. The contractor failing to comply with the terms of his agreement, further extension was refused, and operations were deferred until Congress should have taken action upon the additional appropriation now under consideration. This work is in the collection district of Philadelphia, which is the nearest port of entry, at which the revenue collected during the past fiscal year amounted to $11,969,231. Fort Mifflin and Schooner Ledge range lights are, respectively, the nearest fort and light-house. Total appropriation to June 30, 1882 Total expenditures to June 30, 1882 $3,000 36 Money statement. July 1, 1881, amount available.. July 1, 1882, amount expended during fiscal year, exclusive of outstanding liabilities July 1, 1881.... July 1, 1882, amount available.. Amount appropriated by act passed August 2, 1882. Amount available for fiscal year ending June 30, 1883.. $2,963 08 36 00 2,927 08 3,000 00 5,927 08 F 16. IMPROVEMENT OF RANCOCAS RIVER, NEW JERSEY. The original examination of this stream was made in 1880, and a report submitted under date of January 4, 1881, which was incorporated in the last annual report. The general project for the improvement was in effect an estimate of the cost of obtaining a 6-foot low-water navigation, with a width of 150 to 200 feet, from the mouth to Centreton, a distance of 74 miles, where the main business of the stream terminated. To comply with the requirements of the act of June 14, 1880, directing the survey, a continuance of the navigation to Mount Holly, 53 miles further, with a depth of 5 feet, was also estimated for. |