APPENDIX M M. IMPROVEMENT OF HARBORS ON LAKE ONTARIO, EAST OF OAK ORCHARD, NEW YORK. REPORT OF CAPTAIN CARL F. PALFREY, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, OFFICER IN CHARGE, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1888, WI IH OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE WORKS. IMPROVEMENTS. 1. Charlotte Harbor, New York. 4. Little Sodus Harbor, New York. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, SIR: I have the honor to present herewith annual reports of the harbors under my charge. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, The CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, U. S. A. MM 1. IMPROVEMENT OF HARBOR AT CHARLOTTE, NEW YORK. OBJECT. To secure a navigable channel at the mouth of the Genesee River, on Lake Ontario. PROJECT. 1829.-To obtain a channel 480 feet wide and 12 feet deep, formed and protected by parallel piers extending to deep water of the lake; executed 1834. 1881. To secure and maintain, by pier extension and dredging, a channel of navigable width and 15 feet depth of extreme low water. No dredging has heretofore been done, the channel having been formed and kept open by the current of the Genesee River. PRESENT WORKS. (1) West pier, 3,257 feet long, 20 feet wide, with shore return 137 feet. Substructure cribs, superstructure of timber-work continuous upon each section, as described below: Section A, from shoulder of return, at shore-line of 1829, 554 feet, cribs built 1829-1834; superstructure rebuilt 10 feet wide 1869, decayed to ordinary low-water level (2 of gauge). Section B, 564 feet, cribs built 1829-1834; superstructure rebuilt 1885 by Ontario Beach Improvement Company. (Sections A and B form the water-front of accretion since 1829, owned by New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company, and leased and occupied by the Ontario Beach Improvement Company. Sections following are in the lake:) Section C, 1,402 feet, cribs built 1829-1834; superstructure rebuilt 1887-88. Section D, 235 feet, cribs built 1829-1834; superstructure rebuilt 1864-1872. This section terminates old pier. Section E, 303 feet, cribs and superstructure built 1883-84. Superstructure carried back over 11 feet of preceding section. This section carries light-house. Section F, 199 feet, cribs and superstructure built 1884-'85. (2) East pier, 2,896 feet long, 20 feet wide, with remains of a former shore connection 402 feet long, of which superstructure has not been renewed since 1834, and which is now entirely under water. Substructure cribs, superstructure timber-work continuous on each section, as below: Section A, from pile at south end of work now visible, 325 feet, cribs built 1829-1834; superstructure rebuilt 1864-1867, decayed to ordinary low-water level. Section B, 100 feet, cribs built 1829-1834; superstruct ure rebuilt June, 1887, by U. S. Life-Saving Service. (Sections A and B are the water-front of private land and U. S. Life-Saving Service. The following sections are in the lake:) Section C, 225 feet, cribs built 18291834; superstructure rebuilt 1864-1867, decayed to ordinary low-water level. Section D, 797 feet, cribs built 1829-1834; superstructure rebuilt 1886-1887. Section E, 995 feet, cribs built 1829-1834; superstructure rebuilt 1868-1870. Section F, 303 feet, cribs and superstructure built 1883-84. Section G,150 feet, cribs and superstructure built 1884-'85. CHANNEL. Soundings taken May 14, 1888, show 12 feet at extreme low water in a crooked channel having one narrow reach. During the navigation season of 1887 the actual stage of water made navigation possible, though not easy, for vessels drawing 14 feet. At the present stage (2) this draught can be taken in and out of this harbor only in still water and by careful towing. OPERATIONS. (1) The rebuilding of superstructure on 1,400 linear feet of west pier section C; cost of material and labor, $9,642.27. (2) Repair of breach below water in section C, west pier; cost of material and labor, $287.65. (3) Reballasting one pocket in section F, east pier; cost of labor, $102.10. (4) Repair of breach below water in section D, west pier, by storms of 1887-88; cost of material and labor, $9.50. (5) Removal of 156 sunken piles standing detached from piers, drives 1828-1834; cost of labor and repair of plant, $1,849.90. (6) Gauge-readings of water-levels, in continuation of work of Lake Survey, have been taken three times daily during the year; cost of la bor, $120. The rebuilding of superstructure was begun October 15, 1887, and ended January 5, 1888. Operations were delayed both by the late high water and by the delay of the contractor in furnishing timber. The late work was difficult and expensive on account of the cold and the accumulation of snow and ice. The additional expense from the delay was fully covered by a rebate on the price of the timber for delay in delivery which was provided in the contract. The breach below water noted above as in this section determined a greater extension of this work than was originally intended, as a breach of the superstructure near the shore-line made it necessary to begin work there, and there was no superstructure sound enough to bond into between the two breaches. As plank could be obtained late in the season and, large timbers could not, cross-ties were made of built beams of which the plank are laid flat because of the dovetailing of the tie-head; this is the only particular in which the work has suffered by the delay. These ties are used only in the top course. The extra stone needed for ballasting was taken from decayed portion of the pier well within the present shore-line. The old guide-piles were solidly driven in sand and mud, and have been silted up more or less since driving. After ineffectual attempts to draw them by leverage and tackle, and by screw-jacks with a trussed beam, two 20-ton hydraulic jacks were used, one on the pier, the other on a scow, with a beam composed of two oak sticks 12 by 12 and 12 by 14 inches, placed to give 26 inches of depth. In this combination, the 12-inch stick showed signs of yielding, and it was re-inforced with one of 10 by 12 inches. The piles yielded very slowly, and seldom started without heavy battering from a floating ram. Of the three sticks used in the straining beam, the 14-inch is shaken to the degree of separating into small sticks; the 12-inch is broken; the 10-inch has been crushed at one bearing. This work was begun May 8, and continued to the end of the fiscal year. All operations at this harbor were by purchased material and hired labor. REMARKS. At this port since the commencement of work in 1829, the shore-line has advanced against the west pier about 1,100 feet, against the east pier about 700. The land so formed on the west side has been improved and cultivated by the Ontario Beach Improvement Company, who have rebuilt along their river front the superstructure of about 500 feet of the old pier. Of the land formed on the east side, a plat was given to the United States Life-Saving Service for their station, and they have now rebuilt superstructure on their river front, and also protected their lake front against encroachment by waves. The portions of the old pier so occupied, and those inshore therefrom, are no longer essential to the harbor works. The superstructure of section D of the west pier, from 16 to 24 years old, receives some protection from the former light-house pier built 1880–281, and also from some piles and another outside work now partly destroyed, which break the force of the waves. Otherwise it could hardly have stood so long. Its timbers are badly decayed. Section E, west pier, has settled 1 foot along the channel-face for 60 feet. Section C, east pier, is liable to be breached by a northeast storm. Such a breach, as it is just at the shore-line, would lead to great injury to the channel. Section E, east pier, is for its outer 200 feet almost a wreck. The repairs of 1870 still hold the remaining portion together. Section F, east pier, has settled toward channel 1 foot for 100 feet, and toward lake 2 feet for 60 feet. The works thus call for complete renewal of superstructure on 1,455 feet of pier, and for beveling up one course on 160 feet, two courses on 60 feet. In the low water of this season the need of dredging is very great. The bed is soft sand and semi-fluid mud. No dredging which does not nearly clear the whole span between the piers is of permanent effect. Unless a channel navigable for vessels having a draught of 14 feet is maintained the commerce of the harbor (which consists largely in the shipment of coal to the upper lakes via the Welland Canal) is crippled. This channel has never been dredged. The Genesee River brings little sediment and has current sufficient to keep its bed clear. The bar near the present shore-line appears to have been formed by the wind-drift of sand over the piers (now nearly checked by the cultivation of the ground by the Ontario Beach Improvement Company) and by the sand swept in at the breach of the west pier in the spring of 1886. The successive charts show this bar swept lakeward and distributed over its channel by the current of the river. It may be reasonably expected that a good channel once dredged between the piers will not require frequent re dredging. Dredging of harbor material will also be required outside the piers to secure safe draught of 14 feet. The harbor of Charlotte has, besides its commercial importance, a great value as a harbor of refuge. The trend of the lake shore to its westward gives it a better shelter from westerly storms than is enjoyed by any other harbor on Lake Ontario, and the resulting ease of access, together with its position midway of the lake-front, have led to its frequent use. The year 1881, when the present project was adopted, had an excep tionally large tonnage; the commercial statistics presented are there. fore to some extent misleading. A full examination of the commercial statistics of ten years past shows a general increase. Name of harbor, Charlotte, N. Y.; collection district, Genesee, N. Y.; nearest lighthouse, Genesee, N. Y. (at Charlotte), a fixed red light of the fourth order on crib 300 feet inside of outer end of west pier. Forts Niagara and Ontario, N. Y., are the nearest works of defense. Money statement. July 1, 1887, amount available. July 1, 1888, amount expended during fiscal year, exclusive of liabilities outstanding July 1, 1887. July 1, 1888, outstanding liabilities.. July 1, 1883, balance available.... Amount appropriated by act of August 11, 1888.. Amount available for fiscal year ending June 30, 1889 $20,739.35 $15,084, 53 901.70 15,986,23 4,753, 15 45, 000, 00 49,753, 15 $28,000.00 (Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30,1890 28,000.00 Submitted in compliance with requirements of sections 2 of river and harbor acts of 1836 and 1867. COMMERCIAL STATISTICS. Amount of commerce and navigation when the work of improvement began under the present project in 1881. Arrivals and departures of vessels during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1888. To furnish a protected channel of navigable width and not less than 10 feet deep at the mouth of Salmon Creek, Wayne County, N. Y. PROJECT. The present project provides for a breakwater running easterly from the west shore; a west pier thence northerly into the lake; an east pier parallel to it and 200 feet eastward. Also a dredged channel between the piers, behind the break water, and 400 feet up the creek. It was proposed in 1884, in order to make dredging of any permanent effect, to build a sand-tight pier parallel to the breakwater and 100 feet southerly from it. PRESENT WORKS. (1) West breakwater, 330 feet long, 15 and 20 feet wide as below; substructure cribs; superstructure continuous in section as below. |