MAIN CHANNEL 150 FEET WIDE AND 10 FEET DEEP AT MEAN LOW WATER. ROCK CUTTING 40 FEET WIDE. MAIN CHANNEL 100 FEET WIDE AND 10 FEET DEEP AT MEAN LOW WATER. FEET WIDE. Mud excavation, 93,333 cubic yards, at 35 cents.. Gravel and sand excavation, 186,667 cubic yards, at 50 cents.. Rock excavation, 3,400 cubic yards, at $35...... ROCK CUTTING 40 $32,666 93,334 119,000 $245,000 A depth of 12 feet at mean low water (17 feet at mean high water) is doubtless required for the commerce of Pawtucket, and if we make a channel of this depth, it would probably be sufficient for many years to come. I am inclined to doubt, however, the necessity for making the width of channel as great as 150 feet, since the freights between the port of Providence and Pawtucket are almost exclusively propelied by steam. If the width in the first instance be made 100 feet; if we cut off the angles so as to widen the channel at these points, and place good range beacons on the shores of the river for marking the axes of the different reaches of the channel, I think it will be sufficient for the present. My judgment is, therefore, that the "improvement proper to be made” in this case is a channel 12 feet deep at mean low water, 100 feet wide from Red Bridge to the ledge opposite Grant & Co.'s Wharf, thence 40 feet wide to Pawtucket Bridge. The estimate of the cost of this improvement is $382,478. In view of the serious obstruction to the navigation of Pawtucket River by the present Washington Bridge, and of the delay in the appointment of two of the commissioners, under the recent act of the legislature of Rhode Island, which provides for the rebuilding of this bridge, with proper draw-openings and the removal of stone and other materials which have been deposited under and above it, it is recommended that the first appropriation for the work be accompanied by the following proviso: Provided that this appropriation shall not become available until the officer in charge shall have reported that the rebuilding of Washington Bridge, with good and sufficient draw-openings, has been commenced. It should be remarked, in conclusion, that in estimating the cost of the work allowance has been made for the difficulty of getting tows of scows containing the excavated material through the bridges near the mouth of the river, and for the long distance which they must be taken for dumping. The soft material should not in any case be dumped where it will be carried back into the channels to be excavated in this river and now excavated in Providence River. Possibly it may be safe to dump the gravel in the shoal places of Pawtucket River, but probably the whole of the excavated material will have to be towed to the dumping ground below Prudence Island, in Narragansett Bay, in the vicinity of Half Way Rock, which is now used in the improvement of Providence River, an average distance of about 22 miles. Respectfully submitted, GEORGE H. ELLIOT, Lieut. Col. of Engineers. Brig. Gen. H. G. WRIGHT, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. AN ACT providing for clearing the channel of the Seekonk River at India Point, in Providence, of obstructions, and for the construction of a bridge near the site of the Providence Washington Bridge. It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: SECTION 1. The city of Providence may elect, on or before the 1st day of July, A. D. 1883, to remove forthwith the stone and other materials deposited in the Seekonk River, under and near Washington Bridge, so called, at India Point, in said city, from said river, and cause the channel thereof under and around said bridge to be dredged and cleared of all obstructions to the flow of the tides into and out of said river, to a depth of 15 feet at low water, and reconstruct said bridge with a swing-draw in the main channel of said river, with an opening on each side of said draw, not less than 80 feet wide, for the safe and convenient passage of vessels navigating said river through the same, in such manner as the harbor commissioners shall approve. SEC. 2. If the said city council shall elect within the time limited in the preceding section to dredge and clear the channel of said river and reconstruct said Washington Bridge in the manner prescribed in said section, the city shall cause said work to be completed to the satisfaction of the harbor commissioners within one year from the time such election shall be made by said city council; and the obligations of said city under an act entitled "An act in relation to the Providence Washington Bridge and the draws in the bridges of the Seekonk River," passed at the January session, 1859, and accepted by said city April 12 1859, to maintain and keep in repair said Washington Bridge and draw, shall remain in full force in respect to said reconstructed bridge and draw. SEC. 3. If the city council of the city of Providence shall not elect within the time limited in section 1, to reconstruct said Washington Bridge in the manner aforesaid, a new bridge over said river, on or near the site of said Washington Bridge, shall be built, with a swing-draw therein, with an opening on each side of said draw not less than 80 feet wide, so located with reference to the channel and currents of the river as to be most safe and convenient for the passage of vessels navigating said river through the same, in such place and manner as shall be determined by five bridge commissioners, of whom two shall be appointed by the city council of said city, two by the governor, and one by the town council of the town of East Providence. And if said new bridge shall be constructed upon the site of the present Washington Bridge, the said commissioners shall first remove the Washington Bridge and dredge and clear the channel under and near the same of all obstructions to the flow of the tides and to navigation, to a depth of not less than 15 feet at low water. SEC. 4. The bridge commissioners so appointed shall cause, within two years from the time of their appointment, said new bridge to be constructed and com. pleted according to plans and specifications by them approved; and when the same shall be completed and opened for public travel, the said commissioners, in case said bridge shall be on a site other than that of the present Washington Bridge, shall cause the present Washington Bridge to be removed from said river, together with the piers and piling thereof and connected therewith, and shall also cause the channel of said river to be dredged under and about said Washington Bridge and said new bridge, to a depth of not less than 15 feet at low water, and in such a manner as the harbor commissioners may direct, and deliver to said city the materials composing said bridge, piers and piling, for the use of said city. DEAR SIR: Your favor of May 22, addressed to the Pawtucket Business Men's Association, was duly received, and the undersigned, a committee appointed by said association to obtain the information desired, most respectfully submit the following statistics of the commerce in Pawtucket River for the year 1882: Long lumber.... .feet.. 9,000,000 ...do... 3,000,000 ...do... 2,000,000 Short lumber, as shingles, laths, clapboards, etc.. Spool lumber (about)..... The above merchandise was received chiefly by barges and sailing vessels carrying from 150 to 600 tons each, and drawing from 7 to 11 feet of water. The number of water-craft passed through the draw-bridges for the year 1882 was as follows: We would call attention to the fact that the commerce upon the river is steadily increasing; also that extensive manufacturing establishments are now being erected upon the banks of the river, which will greatly increase the commerce upon the same, and in order to meet the demand for transportation in large barges and sailing vessels, increased facilities to navigate the Pawtucket River should be made by widening and deepening the channel and removing the obstructions. We wish especially to call attention to an obstruction known as Seal Rock, lying nearly in the middle of the channel of the river at the head of navigation, and we hope that such recommendation will be made as will cause its removal. All of which is most respectfully submitted. GEORGE H. ELLIOT, Lieut. Col. of Engineers, U. S. A. GEO. E. NEwell, Committee. PAWTUCKET, August 2, 1883. DEAR SIR: We, the undersigned committee, beg leave to submit the following supplemental report in accordance with your request to furnish additional information respecting the commerce and manufactures that would be benefited by further improvement of the Pawtucket River. Pawtucket, situated at the head of navigation, 4 miles above Providence, becomes a distributing point for merchandise to supply an extensive inland trade. Among the towns which draw more or less of their supplies from Pawtucket, may be mentioned East Providence, Seekonk, Rehoboth, Attleboro', Mansfield, Wrentham, Franklin, Cumberland, Lincoln, Smithfield and North Providence. Pawtucket naturally commands the trade of the territory for half the distance to Boston and entire valley of the Blackstone River. One hundred and thirty trains over Boston and Providence, the Providence and Worcester, and the New York and New England railroads pass through this place daily. Its convenience for transportation by rail, the facility with which its citizens can reach all the large centers of business, together with its manufacturing and mechanical industries, have attracted people from various parts of the world to settle here. The growth of Pawtucket has been rapidly increasing. In 1865 there were 5,000 inhabitants; at the present time, 1883, there are between 23,000 and 25,000. If we include the immediate villages of Central Falls, Valley Falls, Lonsdale and Saylesville, we may safely say we have a population of upward of 35,000. Within these limits there is a great variety and a vast amount of manufacturing and mechanical industries carried on, and from which the General Government has in years past received large revenues. They paid during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1866, $636,691.98 into the office of the assessors for internal revenue for the first district of Rhode Island. The revenue from the Pawtucket post-office for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1882, was $12,298.28, which will give you some idea of the business which is transacted here at the present time. Pawtucket is largely a manufacturing community, and in the extent and variety of its manufactures is not surpassed by any place of equal size in the United States. It contains some of the largest establishments of their kind which are to be found in the country, among which may be mentioned the Conant Thread Company, manufacturers of the J. & P. Coats spool cotton, with a capital of $3,000,000, and employing over 2,000 operatives, and consuming in the single item of coal 20,000 tons annually. The W. F. & F. C. Sayles bleacheries, with their manufacturing establishments, employ over 1,500 hands, and their consumption of coal per annum is 15,000 tons. The Rhode Island Horse Shoe Company, situated in Valley Falls, in the immediate vicinity of this place, is the largest of its kind in the world, and calls for a transportation of 150 tons per day, with a consumption of 12,000 tons of coal per annum. Without entering further into detail, we would add that not less than $25,000,000 are invested in the different manufacturing industries, all of which could not fail of being benefited by the removal of the obstructions and the improvement of the channel of the Pawtucket River. The specific improvements needed to put the river in proper condition are the removal of the obstructions at the Railroad and Washington Bridges, the straightening, widening and deepening of the channel, so that when completed it shall have a width of 150 to 200 feet and a depth of 12 feet at low water; also the removal of Seal Rock, near the head of navigation. Provision has been made by the State government for the removal of the present Washington Bridge and the obstructions under the same, making a depth of water of not less than 15 feet at low water; also providing for five commissioners, to be |
