COMMUNICATION FROM THE STATE ENGINEER AND SURVEYOR, IN RESPONSE TO RESOLUTION OF THE CONVENTION OF date July eighTEENTH, GIVING THE ESTIMATED COST OF IMPROVING THE VARIOUS CANALS OF THE STATE. Office of the State Engineer and Surveyor, Albany, N. Y., August 1, 1894. Hon. Charles E. Fitch, Secretary : Sir. I have the honor to submit the following report, pursuant to a resolution of the Convention, of July 18, 1894, requesting the State Engineer and Surveyor and the Superintendent of Public Works to obtain and report to it, by August first, detailed estimate of the cost of improving the various canals of the State: Owing to the limited time available for the preparation of the several estimates called for in your resolution, it is quite impossible to do more than to call your attention to the most important features of each of the several items, and to present such data as has already been collected by this department, with such modifications as seem to be warranted by present prices and circumstances. 1. Deepening canals to nine feet. There is no data bearing on this subject in this office, except for the Erie and Oswego canals, hence the estimate for the other canals must be treated only as rough approximations. It should be understood that all former estimates bearing on this subject have contemplated only the raising of all banks, etc., one foot, and deepening the bottom one foot between structures. The purpose of such improvement was not to permit the passage of boats of greater draft, but to facilitate the passage of the boats already in use, by increasing the sectional area of water and thereby decreasing the resistance to traffic. This improvement would doubtless allow the boats now in use, without increasing their size, to carry fifty tons additional. Fifty tons added to the load of a horse boat, carrying two hundred and fifty tons, would add over one-fifth to its paying load. An increase of one foot 'draft to a propeller and its consort, would enable them to carry an additional load of one hundred tons. If the boats should carry only the loads they now take, they could, with this improvement, save nineteen hours between Buffalo and West Troy, and single boats with twenty-five tons more load than at present, with same draft on horses, could save about six hours. It is evident that any propeller, however actuated, would have greater power from deeper immersion. The most serious obstacle, except of embankments, to raising the banks as proposed, would be the raising of all bridges and the changing of street grades, especially in the cities and larger towns. In any radical plan for the improvement of the canals, the sources of water supply are of the first importance, but it is believed that the present sources would be adequate for the above improvement. However, some of the feeders have only a very slight fall toward the canal, and it would doubtless be found necessary to raise the dams at the source of supply in a few cases, and it would probably be necessary to utilize to a further degree the supply from the Genesee river. To raise the water surface of these canals two feet would probably cost three times the amount of the estimate as shown, and to lower the bottom two feet would unquestionably increase the estimate ten fold, as it would necessitate taking down and rebuilding nearly every structure on these canals. It would hardly seem that either of these latter plans would be judicious, in view of their great cost and the comparatively small benefits to be derived therefrom, as it would in either case still be neces sary to transfer all cargoes from lake ports at Buffalo, the same as under existing conditions. The additional handling of through freight is a large item in the cost of its transportation, and it would seem that any radical plans for canal improvement should aim to avoid the cost and delay incident thereto. I am convinced that any plan for canal improvement, more radical than the one first above discussed, and less radical than for a ship canal of twenty feet draft, would not produce results commensurate with their cost. As to the cost, etc., of such a ship canal, I will make a separate report in the near future. On the Champlain canal, the present depth of water is five feet, except along the portions recently improved (about twentyfive miles or one-third of the total length), where the depth is six feet. To obtain nine feet of water in this canal, would practically mean the annihilation of the present waterway and the rebuilding of an entirely new canal, as nearly every structure would have to be rebuilt and for economical reasons it would undoubtedly be found desirable to change a great portion of the present route. Many of the structures are already worn out and practically none of them would admit of enlargement for nine feet of water. Moreover, it would be necessary to raise the dams at Northumberland and Cohoes, and it is almost certain that their present construction would not admit of their being raised, without practically rebuilding them. The above will also apply to the Black River canal, which is believed to be in worse condition, physically, than the Champlain canal. The Cayuga and Seneca canal already has the same form of prism and depth of water (seven feet) as the Erie canal, and presents no more serious obstacles to enlargement to nine feet of water, than the Erie canal. The Oneida River canal from Brewerton to the Oswego river, about twenty miles, now has four and one-half feet depth of water, and if this be increased to nine feet, the greater part of the work must be done by deepening or else by an entire change of route. Of the Chemung canal, all except the Seneca lake level, from Watkins to Havana (2.53 miles) has been abandoned, and as less than a dozen boats traverse this section annually, no estimate is here made for its improvement. The following estimate indicates approximately the cost of obtaining nine feet of water in the several canals. In former estimates for deepening the Erie and Oswego canals, much work was contemplated that would have been of a somewhat temporary character, while a great deal of work that would of necessity have to be done, was entirely omitted. The above estimates contemplate the most permanent work possible, to the end that the cost of repairs shall be reduced to the minimum. 2. Cleaning the canals to seven feet depth of water. The several canals of the State are supposed to have the following navigable depths of water, which depth is in each case regulated and defined by statute. Erie canal, seven (7) feet. Oswego canal, seven (7) feet. Champlain canal, 25 miles, six (6) feet. Cayuga and Seneca canal, seven (7) feet. Oneida River canal, four and one-half (4 1-2) feet. To obtain seven feet of water on such of the above canals as are not already designed for that depth, would necessitate a vast amount of new construction, equivalent in some cases to actually rebuilding the entire waterway. However, I infer that such was not the purpose nor intention of this inquiry, but that it was simply your intention to inquire as to the cost of cleaning the canals to their present depth. I submit the following estimate for both plans: I have tried to name amounts which should not under any circumstances be exceeded, but it should be borne in mind that the above figures cover such minor repairs as should be made to structures, etc., which work is fully as important as the cleaning of the channel. 3. The probable cost of lengthening all locks not already lengthened to a uniform depth. I infer that this relates only to the Erie and Oswego canals, as no systematic lengthening has been done on any of the other canals. On the Erie canal proper, there are seventy-two locks, of which thirty-nine have already been enlarged at an average cost of about $35,000. Contracts have already been awarded for lengthening Erie lock No. 20, which practically makes forty locks already enlarged. Of the remaining number, five are in the series at Lockport and sixteen are in the series known as "the sixteens," between West Troy and Cohoes. Nothing has been done with these series heretofore, as the various State Engineers have not thought it advis able to ask for the necessary appropriations, nor to recommend the work, because the benefits to be derived therefrom, did not seem to warrant the expenditure. The intention has been to lengthen such single locks as occurred between levels of considerable length, and to leave till the last, such locks as occurred in series. The series of locks ("the sixteens") are far enough apart to be lengthened according to the standard plan without serious diffi culty except cost, but the lengthening of the series at Lockport presents a different problem. It will be very expensive (they originally cost $686,000), but an equally serious difficulty seems to be that the entire improvement must be made between the closing and opening of navigation. Owing to the concentrated character of the work and the limited available working space, this subject will tax the energies of all concerned. On the Oswego canal there are eighteen locks, eleven of them have been enlarged to the standard Erie size of 22 by 18 feet, at about the same cost as those of the Erie canal. On the "West Troy side-cut" there are two locks, and two more on the "Port Schuyler side-cut" which, in my opinion, should be lengthened if all others are lengthened. I estimate the cost of lengthening the above remaining fortythree locks to be $2,755,000. 4. As to the probable cost of building retaining walls, wherever necessary, for the most effective service. This question hardly admits of an intelligent answer, as it does not specify whether it applies to all the canals or only to the Erie, and as the canals have been successfully operated year after year, with less of these walls than at present, it is impossible to place the limit of "most effective service." However, it is a well known fact that many places are now in a dangerous condition from lack of such walls, and that serious breaks and continuous leakages, are being caused from the same |