A LETTER FROM THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES ARMY, DATED DECEMBER 11, 1939, SUBMITTING A REPORT, TOGETHER WITH ACCOMPANYING PAPERS AND AN ILLUSTRATION, ON REEXAMINATION OF HAMPTON CREEK, VA., WITH A VIEW TO EXTENDING THE NAVIGATION CHANNEL INTO SUNSET OR HERBERTS CREEK, REQUESTED BY RESOLUTION OF THE COMMITTEE ON RIVERS AND HARBORS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, ADOPTED MAY 11, 1939 JANUARY 11, 1940.-Referred to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors and ordered to be printed, with an illustration WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, January 8, 1940. The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. DEAR MR. SPEAKER: I am transmitting herewith a report dated December 11, 1939, from the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, on reexamination of Hampton Creek, Va., requested by resolution of the Committee on Rivers and Harbors, House of Representatives, adopted May 11, 1939, together with accompanying papers and illustration. Sincerely yours, 203230-40 HARRY H. WOODRING, Washington, December 11, 1939. The CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON RIVERS AND HARBORS, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: 1. The Committee on Rivers and Harbors of the House of Representatives, by resolution adopted May 11, 1939, requested the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors to review the reports on Hampton Creek, Va., submitted in River and Harbor Committee Document No. 34, Seventy-second Congress, first session, with a view to determining the advisability of extending the navigation channel into Sunset or Herberts Creek. I enclose the report of the Board in response thereto. 2. After full consideration of the reports secured from the district and division engineers, the Board recommends modification of the existing project for Hampton Creek, Va., to provide for a channel in Herberts Creek having widths of 100 feet and 80 feet and a depth of 12 feet at mean low water, extending from the existing improved channel in Hampton Creek upstream to Jackson Street, generally in accordance with the plans of the district engineer, at an estimated first cost of $15,000, with annual maintenance of $1,000, in addition to that now required, subject to the provisions that local interests furnish, free of cost to the United States, suitable spoil-disposal areas for new work and for maintenance, when and as required, and hold and save the United States free from claims for damages resulting from the improvement. 3. After due consideration of these reports, I concur in the views and recommendations of the Board. Very truly yours, J. L. SCHLEY, REPORT OF THE BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARPORS WAR DEPARTMENT, BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS, Subject: Hampton Creek, Va. To: The Chief of Engineers, United States Army. 1. This report is in response to the following resolution adopted May 11, 1939: Resolved by the Committee on Rivers and Harbors of the House of Representatives, United States, That the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors created under section 3 of the River and Harbor Act, approved June 13, 1902, be and is hereby, requested to review the reports on Hampton Creek, Virginia, submitted in River and Harbor Committee Document Numbered 34, Seventysecond Congress, first session, with a view to determining the advisability of extending the navigation channel into Sunset or Herberts Creek. 2. Hampton Creek flows southward 3 miles in the lower Virginia Peninsula to Hampton Roads at a point 11⁄2 miles west of Old Point Comfort. Herberts Creek, its principal tributary, flows eastward for nearly 1 mile along the southern city limits of Hampton to Hamp ton Creek near its mouth. Improvement authorized by Congress, and recently completed, provides for a channel 12 feet deep and 200 feet wide from Old Point Comfort across Hampton Flats and 150 feet wide up Hampton Creek to the Queen Street Bridge, with suitable widening at bends. The total cost to the United States of this improvement is $124,000 in addition to $40,000 which was contributed by the city of Hampton. The approved estimate for annual cost of maintenance is $3,000. No improvement of Herberts Creek has been authorized by Congress, but local interests have dredged the upper stretch to give a controlling depth of 9 feet from the mouth. 3. Hampton, on the west bank of Hampton Creek, with a population of 6,400 is a sea-food packing and distribution center. It is served by improved highways and 1 railway, connecting with all points north and west. In 1938 total water-borne commerce amounted to 161,148 tons and in the past 4 years has increased 20 percent in tonnage and 71 percent in value. About 95 percent of the commerce on Hampton Creek and its tributaries is incoming. Sea food is landed on Hampton Creek and the heavier tonnage of coal, petroleum products, sand, gravel, and slag goes mostly up Herberts Creek. In 1938 vessel traffic in Herberts Creek amounted to 500 round trips with drafts up to 8 feet. 4. Local interests request provision of a channel 12 feet deep and 150 feet wide, or as wide as practicable, in Herberts Creek, to extend from the improved 12-foot channel in Hampton Creek to Jackson Street. They state that practically all available commercial frontage on Hampton Creek is utilized; that there is urgent need for expansion; that Herberts Creek with available water front and increasing traffic is the logical section of the port for development; that the desired improvement would result in substantial benefits to existing commerce and bring in more industry. Five concerns on Herberts Creek estimate their annual savings would total $20,000. Local interests offer to furnish, free of cost, all necessary spoil-disposal areas. 5. The district engineer finds that the present channel in Herberts Creek is inadequate and recommends improvement to provide for a channel having widths of 100 feet and 80 feet and depth of 12 feet at mean low water, extending from the existing improved channel in Hampton Creek upstream to Jackson Street, at an estimated cost of $15,000, with $1,000 annually for maintenance, subject to the provision that local interests shall furnish, free of cost to the United States, suitable spoil areas for the disposal of material dredged initially, and during future maintenance. The division engineer concurs. VIEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS 6. The Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors concurs in the views and recommendations of the reporting officers. Herberts Creek is now carrying practically all the bulk freight consigned to Hampton and the estimated saving from the proposed improvement is sufficient to justify the expenditure. The Board therefore recommends modification of the existing project for Hampton Creek, Va., to provide for a channel in Herberts Creek having widths of 100 and 80 feet and a depth of 12 feet at mean low water, extending from the existing improved channel in Hampton Creek upstream to Jackson Street, generally in accordance with the plans of the district engineer, at an estimated first cost of $15,000, with annual maintenance of $1,000, in addition to that now required, subject to the provisions that local interests furnish, free of cost to the United States, suitable spoil-disposal areas for new work and for maintenance, when and as required, and hold and save the United States free from claims for damages resulting from the improvement. For the Board: THOMAS M. ROBINS, Brigadier General, Corps of Engineers, REEXAMINATION OF HAMPTON CREEK, VA. SYLLABUS Local interests request a channel 12 feet deep in Herberts Creek to connect with the existing 12-foot channel in Hampton Creek. The district engineer finds that Herberts Creek is an important commercial arm of Hampton Creek, and that its shores afford practically the only available sites for the development of water commerce at and in vicinity of Hampton. He finds that Herberts Creek is now carrying the greater portion of the annual water-borne commerce credited to Hampton Creek and, although it is of low value, this commerce represents practically all of the bulk freight carried to Hampton. He concludes that the estimated tangible savings to accrue to a depth of 12 feet justify the expenditure of public funds for the desired improvement. He recommends that the existing project for Hampton Creek be modified to provide for a channel in Herberts Creek having widths of 100 and 80 feet and a depth of 12 feet below mean low water, to extend from the existing improved channel in Hampton Creek upstream to Jackson Street, at an estimated cost of $15,000, with $1,000 annually for maintenance, subject to the provision that local interests shall furnish, free of cost to the United States, suitable spoil areas for the disposal of material dredged initially, and during future maintenance. WAR DEPARTMENT, UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Subject: Review of reports on Hampton Creek, Va. 1. Authority. The following is a review of reports on Hampton Creek, Va., submitted in compliance with a resolution adopted May 11, 1939, by the Committee on Rivers and Harbors, House of Representatives, as follows: Resolved by the Committee on Rivers and Harbors of the House of Representatives, United States, That the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors created under section 3 of the River and Harbor Act, approved June 13, 1902, be, and is hereby, requested to review the reports on Hampton Creek, Virginia, submitted in River and Harbor Committee Document Numbered 34, Seventysecond Congress, first session, with a view to determining the advisability of extending the navigation channel into Sunset or Herberts Creek. 2. Section 2 of the River and Harbor Act of July 3, 1930, provided that * the Secretary of War is hereby authorized and directed to cause preliminary examinations and surveys to be made at the following-named localities Among the items listed was "Hampton Creek, Virginia." The report of the Chief of Engineers, dated May 31, 1932, was favorable to the improvement, and the existing project for Hampton Creek was modified by the River and Harbor Act of August 30, 1935. The project is described in paragraph 12. 3. At that time local interests requested a channel 150 feet wide and 10 feet deep at mean low water in Herberts (Sunset) Creek, hereinafter called Herberts Creek, to extend from the Hampton Creek Channel upstream about 3,000 feet to the power plant of the Virginia Public Service Co. This improvement was to facilitate the movement of coal to the power plant. In his preliminary report the district engineer did not consider it justifiable for the Government to provide an improved channel in the creek for the benefit of a single industry. The subsequent survey reports on Hampton Creek by the reporting officers did not depart from the views of the district engineer, and no improvement in Herberts Creek was recommended. at that time. 4. Description.-Hampton Creek is a tidal estuary of Hampton Roads and lies entirely within the limits of Elizabeth City County, Va. It is approximately 3 miles in length, flows in a southerly direction, and empties into Hampton Roads about 12 miles west of Old Point Comfort. It has a drainage area of approximately 5 square miles. Hampton Creek is generally 600 feet wide, except at its mouth where the width is 400 feet. A project channel 150 feet wide and 12 feet deep at mean low water has recently been completed in the creek from its mouth upstream to the Queen Street Highway Bridge. A project channel 150 and 200 feet wide extends south and southeast from the mouth of the creek to a point near Old Point Comfort. The head of navigation for deep-draft boats is at the Queen Street Bridge. Navigation is practicable for lightdraft boats on favorable tides for approximately 112 miles upstream from the Queen Street Bridge, or 2.3 miles above the mouth. Hampton Creek has several small tributaries, the most important of which are Jones Creek and Herberts Creek. Jones Creek, about 2,200 feet long, flows southwest and west through the grounds of the Hampton Normal Institute, and the Veterans' Administration at Kecoughtan, and enters Hampton Creek on its east side about 900 feet above the mouth. 5. Herberts Creek has its source in a marsh area immediately southwest of the city of Hampton. It flows east approximately 5,000 feet and enters the west side of Hampton Creek opposite the mouth of Jones Creek. The shore line on the north side of Herberts Creek is the southerly corporate limit of the city of Hampton. The width between banks at the mouth of the creek is 450 feet. In the navigable section of the creek, which is approximately 3,000 feet in length, the width between banks varies from 180 to 600 feet. The least width is at the head of navigation, fixed by an earth fill and concrete culvert at Jackson Street, which carries United States Highway No. 60 into Hampton. Herberts Creek has not been under improvement by the United States. At the time of the last examination in June 1939 there was a controlling depth of 6 feet for a natural channel width of 60 feet upstream to a point 250 feet below the highway culvert, or the head of navigation. Within the 6-foot contours, depths of 9 feet are occasionally found. Above the culvert the creek divides into two shallow branches which extend into a large marsh area. |