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Show In addition to these existing projects, 193 have been authorized by Congress, but not yet initiated, and 40 more have been found justified and recom- mended by the Army Engineers for adoption, but not yet authorized by Congress. All of these projects are indicated on Figure 14. A num- ber of proposed and uncompleted waterways which may give promise of important benefits, and which are currently under investigation, in- clude the following: St. Lawrence Seaway. New York Harbor-Delaware River Canal connection across New Jersey. Canal connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio River improvement. Canalization of the Big Sandy River and its forks into the West Virginia-eastern Ken- tucky coal-producing area. Enlargement of canal connecting the Upper Mississippi with the Illinois Waterway. Extension of navigation on the Missouri River above Sioux City. Canalization of the Arkansas River into the Midcontinent coal and oil fields. Canalization of the Trinity River to Fort Worth, Tex. Continuation of the Intracoastal Canal along the west coast of Florida from Tarpon Springs to Apalachee Bay. Canalization of the Connecticut River to Hol- yoke, Mass. Canalization of the Cooper-Santee-Congaree waterway from Charleston Harbor to Co- lumbia, S. C. Canalization of the Altamaha River to the vicinity of Macon, Ga. Canalization of the Chattahoochee River to Atlanta, Ga. Canalization of the Alabama and Coosa Rivers to Rome, Ga. Extension of the Cumberland River Waterway above Nashville, Term. Canalization of the White River into the Ozarks of Arkansas and Missouri. Extension of the Ouachita River waterway from Camden to the vicinity of Hot Springs, Ark. Extension of the authorized Red River Water- way through Louisiana to the vicinity of Sherman, Tex. Enlargement of comprehensive plan for the multiple-purpose development of the Colum- bia River Basin including canalization of the Willamette and Snake Rivers. To the extent that these waterways may be found economically justified, they would provide a network of low-cost waterway trans- portation, on 9-foot or deeper channels, serving not only the East and South but penetrating thou- sands of miles into the West, where high freight rates have, among other factors, largely inhibited industrial development up to this time. The Commission is not, of course, expressing an opinion on the merits of any of these projects. It is clear from the facts stated that the im- provement to modern low-cost standards of in- land waterways in the United States (except the Great Lakes System) is a very recent undertaking, and the system is capable of continued extension. Approximately 75 percent of the total expendi- tures have been made since 1920. A large per- centage of the total represents expenditures on current improvement projects which have not yet been finished. Adequacy and Economy of Our Waterways Questions as to the adequacy and economy of our waterways system center mainly around the inland waterway developments, on which 1.8 billion dollars of Federal funds has been spent in the 125 years from 1824 to June 30, 1948. This represents 52 percent of the total of all river and harbor expenditures. Of the remainder 1.3 billion dollars-37 percent-was spent on the ocean harbors and 363 million dollars-11 per- cent-on the Great Lakes. 200 |
