APPENDIXES TO THE REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES ARMY. FORTIFICATIONS, ETC. APPENDIX No. 1. SEA-WALL AT DAVID'S ISLAND, NEW YORK HARBOR-SEA-WALL AT GOVERNOR'S ISLAND, NEW YORK HARBOR. REPORT OF COLONEL DAVID C. HOUSTON, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, OFFICER IN CHARGE, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1889. IMPROVEMENTS. a. Sea-wall at David's Island, New York Harbor. ENGINEER'S OFFICE, U. S. ARMY, New York, July 13, 1889. GENERAL: I have the honor to transmit herewith * annual reports for sea-walls at Governor's and David's islands, New York Harbor. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, The CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, U. S. A. D. C. HOUSTON, 457 I A. SEA-WALL AT DAVID'S ISLAND, NEW YORK HARBOR. This island, which is occupied by the recruiting service of the Army, lies at the head of Long Island Sound and about opposite New Rochelle, N. Y. In 1883, upon recommendation of the depot surgeon, an estimate for the sea-wall was transmitted to Congress, papers concerning which were printed in House Ex. Doc. No. 205, Forty-eighth Congress, second session. This recommendation was renewed in 1884. The object stated in the first recommendation was to prevent the collection of garbage and refuse matter upon the shores; the second recommendation stated as an additional and important object the preservation of a fresh-water pond from overflow of the sea at high tide, the water of the pond being a reservoir from which the cisterns of the island were filled during dry seasons. An additional object is the reclamation of a rather important tract of land lying back of the proposed wall. A revised estimate presented in 1886 placed the cost as follows: 1,000 linear feet of wall, at $35 per foot 40,000 cubic yards earth embankment, at 30 cents per cubic yard.. Total...... $35,000 12,000 47,000 The plan was to build the wall of masonry and to carry it to 12 feet above mean low-water level. The mean rise of tide is 7.3 feet. OPERATIONS DURING THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1889. From the appropriation made by Congress for sea-walls and embankments, approved September 22, 1888, allotment was made of $35,000 for the sea-wall and $12,000 for the earth embankment. As the stringent regulations now being enforced in relation to the dumping of garbage in the harbor of New York and adjacent waters will prevent such garbage becoming a source of nuisance and possible ill-health, a vertical wall seemed no longer necessary, and with approval of the Chief of Engineers the design of the wall was modified to a wall of riprap, with outer slope of 1 on 2 and inner slope of 1 on 1, rising to 10 feet above low water, the whole to be capped with dimension stones 2 feet thick, making the top of the wall 6 feet wide. This plan was recommended as being more economical and equally efficient. After duly advertising and receiving proposals, a contract dated April 13, 1889, was entered into with John Sheehan, of New Rochelle, N. Y., for constructing the wall as designed, at the rate of $1.50 per gross ton for riprap stone delivered and properly placed, and rate of $7 per linear foot for the capping stone. Work under this contract was begun May 4, 1889, and up to the close of the fiscal year 4,046 tons of riprap had been placed in the wall, building up 747 linear feet of it to different stages of completion. The length of the completed wall will be about 980 feet. Proposals for the embankment behind the wall were advertised for and opened May 16, 1889, and under date of June 1, 1889, a contract was entered into with John Sheehan for furnishing and placing about 35,000 cubic yards of filling in the embankment at the rate of 40 cents per cubic yard. Work was begun June 25, and 625 yards of embankment were placed during the fiscal year. The available funds will be sufficient to complete the work under these contracts. Abstract of proposals for construction of sea-wall at David's Island, New York Harbor, opened March 28, 1889, by Lieut. Col. D. C. Houston, Corps of Engineers. Abstract of proposals for embankment at David's Island sea-wall, New York Harbor, opened May 16, 1889, by Lieut. Col. D. C Houston, Corps of Engineers. SEA-WALL AT GOVERNOR'S ISLAND, NEW YORK HARBOR. The shores of this island were frequently covered with offal and garbage, which, drifting up at high water and decaying in the sun as the tide fell, were (in summer) a source of constant danger to the health of the garrison. In 1865 a project was adopted providing for enclosing the entire island by a masonry sea-wall, to be built at or near low-water line, in order to prevent the lodging of such refuse matter. Under an allotment made in 1865, 700 linear feet of masonry wall were built on the southwest side of this island in 1866; and under other smaller allotments, 399 linear feet were built, making a total of 1,099 feet. This was subsequently extended as a temporary dry wall nearly along high-water mark to Castle William, covering the entire southwest side of the island. By the act approved August 7, 1882, $39,000 were appropriated "for completing a sea-wall already commenced on the southwest side of Governor's Island, New York Harbor, and constructing a sea-wall on its southeastern portion." Under this appropriation and one of $15,000 made in the sundry civil bill, approved March 3, 1883, the wall was extended 206 feet along the south side of the island and 1,502 feet along the east side to the coal wharves. From this point the island is inclosed by wharf-fronts and by the "ordnance wall," extending around the northeast side and along the northwest side to within about 1,075 feet from the engineer wharf and the Castle Williams wall. In 1884, an allotment of $500 was made for completing the filling and grading behind the east wall, left unfinished on account of exhaustion of funds. Under the appropriation of September 22, 1888, $50,000 was made available for this work, and after duly advertising proposals were opened March 11, 1889, and a contract dated April 4, 1889, was entered into with Francis H. Smith, of New York City, to construct a masonry wall on the north shore of the island from the existing ordnance wall to the Castle Williams wall, a distance of about 1,075 feet, at a rate of $14.70 per cubic yard of concrete foundation, $15 per cubic yard of wall, and 25 cents per pound for dowels, if required. The wall is to consist of a concrete foundation to a height of four-tenths of a foot above mean low water, the depth of the foundation, being determined by the character of the bottom, varies from 1 to 8 feet. Above the foundation is a wall of cut stone, backed with concrete, 10 feet high. Preliminary work, consisting of the erection of derricks, tool-house, sleeping quarters for men, etc., was commenced by the contractor April 2, 1887. Substantial sheet-piling of 3-inch spruce plank, supported by round piles and stringers, was driven for a distance of 137 feet on the rear line of the wall, and 141 feet in front of the wall, just east of the engineer wharf. A clam-shell dredge, and a 10-inch wrecking pump, were employed in excavating between this sheet-piling. A number of large bowlders were removed from the line of the wall by blasting. The work of construction of the sea-wall was begun the 1st of May at the end nearest Castle Williams and is still in progress. To June 30, 338 cubic yards of concrete foundation were put in, and 277 cubic yards of cut-stone wall were laid. The foundation was completed a distance of261 feet from the Castle Williams wall, and the cutstone wall for a distance of 180 feet, some of the lower courses being laid for a further distance of 50 feet. A Reihle cement-testing machine was purchased, and numerous tests have been made of the cement used in construction of the sea-wall and also of cement for work on the mining casemate at Fort Wadsworth. Three hundred and fifty-eight briquettes were broken in testing nine different brands of cement. Bids for placing filling back of the sea-wall were opened May 16, 1889, and the contract awarded to Michael Donnelly, of Brooklyn, N. Y. No work has as yet been done under this contract, but the contractor is about to commence work. In order to complete the project adopted in 1865 for inclosing the entire island, there is yet to be built, in addition to the work provided for under existing contracts, about 1,500 feet of sea-wall south and east |