OCR Text |
Show river. The project is being used for purposes for which constructed. The estimated ratio of benefits to cost prior to construc- tion was 6.1 to 1 and afterward proved to be 5.5 to 1. No collateral or incidental benefits were estimated or realized. Th.e basis for justifying the improvement of Huron Harbo>r, typical of similar analyses of Great Lakes ports, seems to be reasonable and the benefits being real- ized are comparable to those expected. Future investiga- tions of proposed improvements should take full cognizance of the trend toward larger bulk cargo carriers, and that the highest degree of improvement which is economically justified be adopted. 12. The Warrior and Tombigbee Rivers, Ala.-The original Fedexal project for improvement of navigation on the Warrior and Tombigbee Rivers began with minor work adopted by Congress in the act of 1875 and con- tinued until initiation of the existing project in 1887. The present project provides for a navigable channel 9 feet deep and 200 feet wide by canalization, from Mobile 472 miles up the Mobile, Tombigbee, and Warrior Rivers into north central Alabama. In addition to the 15 dams and 16 locks involved, dredging and snagging operations are carried on to maintain 9-foot-channel depths as required. The project has met the area's need for economical transportation of bulk commodities such as coal, cement, and petroleum products. The water- way was generally completed by about 1915 and its growth and extension kept pace with type and equipment in use up to 1929. Modifications completed since that time, now under construction, and contemplated in the future are needed to replace obsolete structures and modernize the waterway to meet the growing tendency toward larger tows. Although the waterway has not been used to its fullest capacity, favorable benefit-cost ratios have existed, the average for the past 20 years being about 1.9 to 1. The tonnage hauled during the depression and World War II years declined., but present high labor and other costs have revived demand for cheaper water transportation. Importation o£ ore from South America into the Birming- ham industrial area will create additional commerce not anticipated prior to World War II. The waterway has proved its val~ue in the development of a large area of Alabama. Changes in operators' equipment and expected growth in commerce indicate a need for improvement and modernization of this waterway. 13. Illinois Waterway, Illinois.-The original Federal project for iinprovement of navigation on the Illinois Waterway was adopted by Congress in the River and Harbor Act of 1852 and was continued under the acts of 1869, 1870, 1880, and 1907, at a Federal capital cost of about $2,500,000. The State of Illinois, through a bond issue of $20,0C0,000 in 1908, constructed several locks and dams to innprove the waterway. These were trans- ferred to the United States in 1927. The present Federal project authorized initially by the River and Haarbor Act of 1927, and modified by subse- quent acts provides for a waterway 9 feet deep from the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan at Chicago, and cost to 1948 amoianted to about $26,300,000 more. The project involves improvement of the Illinois and Des Plaines Rivers "by means of locks and dams and dredging; and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on the South Branch of Chicago River. The total channel length is 336 miles. The project has accomplished its design pur- pose. Traffic has increased from 1.7 million tons in 1935 to 12.3 million tons in 1948, far exceeding the original esti- mates. It is contemplated that when widening and deep- ening of the Calumet-Sag connecting waterway now under construction is completed, the potential traffic will more than double the present tonnage. If this much traffic had been fully anticipated prior to authorization, duplicate locks might well have been included. The tangible annual benefits in 1948 were over three times the annual cost, including interest, amortization, maintenance, and operating costs. The project is oper- ated free of tolls. The project permitted vessels con- structed on the Great Lakes to be transported to the Gulf for utilization during the war. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation 14. Orland project, California.-Authorized in 1906, construction of the Orland project was initiated in 1908 and water deliveries started in 1910 for 14,000 acres of irrigable land included in the project. Storage facilities were increased on two subsequent occasions; the first per- mitted extension of the system to 20,000 irrigable acres, and the second provided supplemental water which a series of unusually dry years during the early 1920's indi- cated ta be desirable. Although some operational difficulties and added cost have been occasioned by the original design of gates in the first storage dam constructed (East Park), by lack of facilities to sluice debris from behind a diversion structure, by the character of canal lining employed, and by the lack of inadequate access roads for canal maintenance, the project features are adequately serving their design pur- poses. No major inadequacies in design have been re- vealed during 40 years of operation. Operation and maintenance responsibility has been retained by the Government, but drainage was made the responsibility of water users. In the absence of a financially responsible water users organization, the in- dividual water users have not been able to cope with the drainage problem as a whole, and needed remedial meas- ures have been planned. Estimates of anticipated benefits in relation to costs were not made prior to project construction, but results achieved indicate a highly satisfactory outcome. The value of crops raised on the project to date aggregates $27,000,000, which is more than 10 times the total con- struction cost. Project lands have increased in value from $25 per acre in 1908 to as much as $750, and the project has given rise to a city service center where nonfarm employment supports approximately 5,000 persons. About 50 percent of the total construction cost ($2,448,- 000) has been returned by the direct beneficiaries, the water users, and the remainder is to be returned by 1977 through their continuing payments. 15. Rio Grande, New Mexico, and Texas.-Construc- tion of the project was initiated in 1912. The key struc- ture, Elephant Butte Dam, and other major features were completed in the succeeding 4 years. With additions and improvements subsequently made, construction was inter- 392 |