October 15, 1906, amount transferred to Capt. G. R. Lu- July 1, 1907, balance unexpended__. July 1, 1907, outstanding liabilities. July 1, 1907, balance available___ $198.00 5,628. 49 Amount that can be profitably expended during fiscal year ending PLANT, FIRST AND SECOND DISTRICTS. July 1, 1906, balance unexpended. Amount allotted from appropriation for “ Improving Mississippi Amount transferred to Capt. G. R. Lukesh, Corps of $5, 826. 49 6, 617. 12 217. 12 6, 400.00 5,000.00 $2, 465. 47 35, 000, 00 75, 000, 00 25.00 316.50 112,806. 97 Amount that can be profitably expended during fiscal year ending 57, 519. 71 50,000.00 MISCELLANEOUS. August 13, 1906, amount received from the Chicago, Rock Island $45.00 316.50 30.00 March 7, 1907, amount received from the West Kentucky Coal Company for rent of Government floating dock__ 50.63 March 21, 1907, amount received from B. F. Dame for rent of island in Mississippi River near Australia, Miss., for year ending February 24, 1908_. 1.00 443. 13 August 13, 1906, amount deposited to credit Treasurer United States 45.00 316. 50 February 26, 1907, amount deposited to credit Treasurer United 30.00 50.63 1.00 443. 13 Abstract of contracts in force June 30, 1907, "Improving Mississippi River." first and second districts. Roach & Stansell... 100,000 cubic yards levee i c. 2495 Sept. 8, 1905 Sept. 1, 1905 Mar. 1, 1906 work, station 75/26 to APPENDIX 3. REPORT OF CAPT. G. M. HOFFMAN, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, ON OPERATIONS IN THE THIRD DISTRICT. MISSISSIPPI RIVER COMMISSION, THIRD DISTRICT, Vicksburg, Miss., May 31, 1907. COLONEL: I have the honor to submit the following report of operations in the third district, improving Mississippi River, for the year ending May 31, 1907: The third district extends from the Coahoma-Bolivar County line on the left bank (365 L.) and the mouth of White River on the right bank (393 R.) to the latitude of Warrenton, Miss. (607 L.). The work on this section of the river includes bank revetment at Lake Bolivar front, Ashbrook Neck, Greenville, Longwood, and Fitlers Bend, Mississippi; Lake Providence, Louisiana Bend, Delta Point, and Reid-Bedford Bend, Louisiana; the systematic improvement of Lake Providence reach, which has been discontinued, and levee construction in the Lower Yazoo and Upper Tensas levee districts. PART I.-CHANNEL WORK. Lake Bolivar front, Miss. (417 L.).—(For description and previous history, see Report Chief of Engineers, 1903, Supplement, p. 220.) The work at this point consists of revetment, begun in 1888-89, to hold the caving bank and prevent the destruction of a large levee across the head of Lake Bolivar, which would have necessitated the building of a long and very expensive loop back of the lake. The effective revetment (see map No. 1, herewith) is 2,580 feet long, about 1,400 feet having failed recently. The subaqueous mattress for 860 feet is of the old woven type and for 1,720 feet is of the old type reenforced by the fascine type. All of the fascine mattress was constructed during the season of 1905-6, reenforcing the lower end of the old work. For a number of years prior to 1905 the revetment was not subjected to a direct attack by the current, a narrow bar having formed a short distance out from the work and the tendency of the river being to make a channel outside this bar. Continued scouring away of Island 76 above and yielding of a hard point below altered conditions; the protecting bar was washed away, the main bar opposite built out, and the work at the lower end was exposed to the attack of a strong current. Owing to this attack, about 100 feet of the upper bank paving caved in and the indications were that the old mattress was breaking up along this section. In 1905-6 2.120 feet of fascine mattress was placed, reenforcing the lower end and extending the revetment 400 feet downstream. Operations during the past season consisted of minor work necessary to repair defects along the reenforced section. On October 5, 1906, a small force began the work of repairs to the break at station 30, which was found impracticable to repair last season on account of the high stage of water. This break had increased in size since the revetment repairs were made. A small pocket mat was constructed containing 136 squares, between stations 29 and 31, and the upper bank slope regraded and repaved. On October 15 a cave occurred in the lower part of the slope, at station 14, just where the reenforcing work of 1905-6 terminated. An effort to regrade the bank without putting in a shore mat proved unsuccessful at first, but at a lower stage of water a fairly good connection was made, and the broken slope regraded and repaved. On November 10 an extensive settlement at the lower end of the work, stations 4+70 to 3+70, took place, which afterwards extended and involved the last mattress constructed in 1905-6. This settlement was probably due to the washing out of the substratum of quicksand underneath, leaving a void, and as a result the bank settled bodily. The location of this break is immediately in front of the old outlet of Lake Bolivar. In December, after a sharp rise had taken place, a portion of the revetment gave way on account of the continual caving back of Island 76, which has been in progress for several years, unmasking and exposing the old revetment of 1888-89 to the direct action of the main current of the river. The destruction of the revetment extended from the upper end of the reenforcing work put in last season, upstream about 1,000 feet. Fifteen hundred feet or more of new revetment should be built this season to render this point secure. The exact length can only be determined after a survey. The field cost of the repairs made to Lake Bolivar front for the season was $7,518.29. (For details of work done, cost, etc., see statement No. 1, hereto appended.) Ashbrook Neck, Miss. (446 L.).—(For description and previous history, see Report Chief of Engineers, 1903, Supplement, p. 220.) The work here (see map No. 2, herewith) consists of 10,100 feet of bank revetment built to prevent a cut-off. It has been necessary from time to time to reenforce and extend the original mattress, which was of the old-style woven type. There still remains 1,000 feet of the old work not reenforced; of the balance, 8,600 feet is reenforced with standard fascine mattress, and 500 feet is fascine mattress extension. As no repairs had been made to this revetment the previous season, on account of high stage of water after repairs at Bolivar were finished, the breaks in the upper bank slope which had been developed the previous season between stations 147-149 and stations 100-98, had both enlarged particularly the upper. necessitating a much greater amount of work than if conditions had been such that repairs could have been made during the preceding low-water season. The upper break had extended upstream to station 151 and below to station 146, and the cave had extended both above and below and had worked back until a deep pocket was formed. The break in the upper bank revetment, stations 100-98, had also enlarged considerably. In the upper pocket a shore mat was constructed 425 feet long, containing 668 squares, and on the outside, lapping this and connecting with the original mattress, a channel mat 150 feet wide and 500 feet long was constructed. The pocket not being exposed to the current, as an experiment a heavy layer of spalls was used without any large stone as a covering for the upper bank, except that at both ends, where the points were exposed and would be subject to the impact of the current, a layer of large stone was placed on the spalls in the usual manner. At the lower break, stations 100-98, soundings indicated that the original mattress, both above and below, showed signs of failure, and it was deemed best to build a channel mat from station 105 to station 93, so as to complete the reenforcing work along this section of the revetment. A channel mattress 1,200 feet long and 250 feet wide was built and 174 squares of pocket mat constructed to reenforce this part of the revetment. The upper bank along the entire length of the revetment was cleared of all timber and large brush so as to prevent the accumulation of sediment during high water, the weight of which on the upper bank had, in several cases, caused slipping in of the upper bank slope. An inspection made early in May, 1907, showed the entire work to be in good condition. No damage had apparently been done during the past high water. The field cost of this work was $42,737.26; length of bank protected, 1,750 linear feet; cost per linear foot, $24.42+. (For details of work done, cost, etc., see statement No. 2, hereto appended.) Greenville Harbor, Miss. (478 L.).—(For description and previous history, see Report Chief of Engineers, 1903, Supplement, p. 221.) The town and harbor of Greenville and the levee along its front are protected by bank revetment having an effective length of 12,100 feet, of which 1,400 feet is of the old woven type and 10,700 feet of such type reenforced with standard fascine mattress. (See map No. 2, herewith.) The work done in 1905-6 consisted of the repair of a large break of the bank paving at stations 37-41 at the sewer outlet and the repair of a small break at stations 140-142. The damage to this revetment during the high water of 1905-6 consisted of a break in the upper bank slope, due, it is thought, to the location of the old abandoned levee at the head of the revetment concentrating an abnormal flow with a rapid current over the bank at that point, which attacked the revetment from the rear. Gaps have been made in these old levees so as to allow the water, formerly impounded in the bend above at high stages and which entered the river again at the head of the revetment, to flow along the main levee and relieve the former conditions, thus preventing a recurrence of the trouble. A channel mat 200 feet wide, made in two sections, was sunk in front of the damaged part of the revetment, and the bank regraded and paved. The length of bank protected by these repairs is 600 feet; total field cost, $16,120.24; cost per linear foot, $26.87- Some minor repair work will be necessary in cleaning out ditches and repairing washes in the upper paving on exposed points; otherwise the entire revetment appears to be in good condition. This repair work will soon be undertaken at an estimated cost of $1,000. (For details of work done, cost, etc., see statement No. 3, hereto appended.) Longwood, Miss. (500 L.).—(For description and previous history, see Report, Chief of Engineers, 1905, Supplement, p. 198.) Bank revetment was placed in the rapidly caving bend here in 1904-5, to prevent the destruction of a large levee, comparative studies having shown conclusively that a loop around the threatened section would be far more expensive. The work has an effective length of 4,200 feet and is of the standard fascine type. (See map No. 4, herewith.) Conditions in the bend have improved; there is a deposit over nearly the whole of the revetment, while the bar opposite has receded all along the work, the recession varying from 600 feet at the lower end to 1,800 feet at the upper end. Immediately below the work the bank has receded about 150 feet, though farther downstream there is a hard point which has changed but little; still farther down, caving has been very active and has breached a section of the old levee which fortunately had been well covered by a new loop. Though an allotment of $35,000 for the extension of this revetment had been made in 1905, no work was then inaugurated because the plant was fully occupied elsewhere, and the indications since have been that such extension can be postponed, perhaps indefinitely. No work was done last season. Louisiana Bend, La. (522 R.).—(For description and history, see Report, Chief of Engineers, 1903, Supplement, p. 221.) The revetment of the caving bank in this bend was built in 1889 and 1893, and partly repaired in 1896-97; it was undertaken with a view of obtaining greater permanence of the channel throughout the reach below. About 4,000 feet of the lower end has been destroyed; this was of the old style woven type mattress except for 600 feet which had been reenforced with fascine mattress. Over half of the 11.820 feet of mattress still in place is covered by a bar at the upper end. (See map No. 5, herewith.) This revetment is in about the same condition as last season. No work has been done since 1897. Lake Providence reach (517–552 R.).—(For description and history, see Report, Chief of Engineers, 1903, Supplement, p. 221.) This section of the river was selected by the Commission soon after its formation for improvement of the low-water channel by means of contraction works and revetment of caving banks. Though marked deepening of shallow crossings resulted, the work was finally discontinued because of the lack of funds and the enactment of a law limiting the use of bank revetment. Most of the structures which were comparatively weak have been destroyed, but a much improved low-water channel still obtains. In later years active revetment work was resumed at Louisiana Bend and Lake Providence, but with special objects in view. Lake Providence, La. (540 R.).—(For description and previous history, see Report, Chief of Engineers, 1903, Supplement, p. 222.) The bank revetment here (see map No. 6, herewith) protects the town of Lake Providence and the important levee across the foot of the lake. It has an effective length of 12,600 feet, of which 2,200 feet is old type woven mattress, 700 feet is woven mattress reenforced with fascine mattress, 5,000 feet is fascine mattress reenforced with fascine mattress, and 4,700 feet is original fascine mattress. No construction work was done in 1905-6, on account of the short season and the more urgent need of the plant elsewhere. The damage done during the high water of 1905-6 consisted of the scouring out of a deep pocket, stations 67-75, and also a break in the upper bank slope and the settling of the mattress between stations 28 and 20-part of the old mattress work that had not been reenforced. A mattress 680 by 200 feet was constructed in front of the pocket to cover the defects which had developed in the main mattress, as shown by surveys (see map No. 6, herewith), and a large pocket mat built in the pocket itself. This work was finished December 23, 1906. On December 28, as there seemed to be a prospect of a decline in the river, which was then nearly at a bank-full stage, the construction of a channel mat 230 feet wide was begun at station 28 to extend over the original revetment as far down as station 20. Early in January a rise was in sight that would go over the bank, and it became necessary to sink the portion of the mattress already constructed in order to prevent loss. This was done January 7, and mat building suspended for the season. The entire shore line along the revetment was cleared of trees and large brush, similar to the work done at Ashbrook Neck. The field cost of these repairs was $26,180.67; length of bank protected, 700 linear feet; cost per linear foot, $37.40+. (For details of work done, cost, etc., see statement No. 4, hereto appended.) |