Recourse has been had, almost yearly, to a system of sheet and timber piling to prevent a breach in the banks, which, should it occur, I do not hesitate to say would prove the most disastrous and expensive in the history of the canals. The remedy lies in the building of a substantial vertical retaining wall, laid in cement, on both sides of the canal, and this I most earnestly recommend. I also recommend the raising of towing-path on the Rocky Rift feeder level, a distance of one foot, at a point beginning just west of lock 33. Also the construction of a substantial combined wasteweir and spill-way to regulate the volume of water discharged by this feeder into the canal on this level. Altogether the most important work, after constructing wall near Schenectady, to be placed on the Erie canal, is the dam at Little Falls across the Mohawk river. The present structure, four hundred and thirty feet long and a little more than four feet high, is of great age and has been patched and repaired until it is but little more than a partial obstruction to the stream. It is composed of slab and drift-wood, brush, rotten timbers, rubble-stone and mud. It leaks at every conceivable point, and more than half the volume of water which should be retained for a reliable feed during the ordinary season, or more particularly in a great emergency, is spent through the imperfections of the structure. I would recommend the construction of a dam of cut stone to be placed a short distance below the present one where the rocky bed of the river would supply a most secure foundation. It is understood, from advices received at this office, that if the work proposed be undertaken by the State, the citizens of Little Falls, who are largely interested in manufactures as well as the prosperity of the canals, would contribute one-half the cost of its construction. I would state that the approximate estimated cost of the work above referred to would not exceed $15,000. On the Champlain canal there are many places that require improvement. For the present, I would recommend the following only, as amongst the more important to insure safe navigation for the approaching season: On the short level between the two locks north of Waterford the water, when frequent locking of boats occurs, moves with such speed and volume that the earth is being washed very rapidly away, constantly weakening the artificial banks on either side. A substantial slope or vertical wall at this point would render the banks permanently secure against the action of the water. For a distance of a half mile, beginning at a point two miles east of Mechanicville, the high bluff along the berme-bank is constantly slacking and filling the canal. This has continued until it is with extreme difficulty that two boats can pass at any point along the base of the hill. I would recommend that the excavation of the earth be made at that point, which could be done most efficiently with a dredge, and a permanent wall constructed to retain the bank. A somewhat similar condition of the canal on tow-path bank exists for nearly three miles, beginning south of Fort Edward. The bank is of a peculiar clay, and parts of it are constantly giving way, taking with it into the river very frequently the entire path, for long distances, together with docking or retaining walls. There I would advise the construction, at the base of the bank, of cribs of hemlock timber, and the filling them with rubble stone, as the most substantial and permanently secure method of repair. LIST OF STRUCTURES. At the end of this report will be found a complete list of all the structures on the canals of this division, excepting the locks and some minor bridges across spill-ways, which I have not thought worthy of mention. This table has been prepared with considerable care, and it is believed that it, for the first time, exhibits not only an accurate list of structures, but shows, with great minuteness, the details necessary to a perfect understanding of their location and present condition. GENERAL CONDITION OF THE CANALS. The repairs have been judiciously done, the levels well kept up, and good navigation maintained, uninterrupted during the entire season, on both the Erie and Champlain canals. The repairs that have been completed were done with great thoroughness, leaving the work, when finished, in the most perfect and substantial condition. That work which, from long neglect, or by reason of continuously superficial repairs, was found to most endanger the surety of steady navigation, received my first attention. Much has been accomplished within the year, and much remains to be done. The great age of some of the more important structures on the canals, the constant action and pressure of the water sustained at proper levels during the ordinary season for navigation, is constantly disclosing unsuspected points of weakness that no experience of public works can certainly forestall. Notwithstanding the natural causes constantly operating to thwart the best directed efforts of vigilant public servants, it is gratifying to be able to state that the general condition of the canals under my charge is such as to warrant the assurance that practical progress in promoting their efficiency has been made. In conclusion, I desire to bear testimony to the intelligent and hearty co-operation of the superintendents of repairs of the various sections of the canals in all iny work for the fiscal year. Very respectfully, JAMES D. HANCOCK, |