DOC DIV. COLUMBIA RIVER, BETWEEN MOUTH OF WILLAMETTE LETTER FROM THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES ARMY TRANSMITTING REPORT OF THE BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, Hon. J. J. MANSFIELD, Chairman Committee on Rivers and Harbors, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. MANSFIELD: 1. The Committee on Rivers and Harbors of the House of Representatives, by a resolution adopted June 20, 1935, requested the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors to review the reports on Columbia River, between mouth of Willamette River and a point 1 mile above Vancouver, Wash., submitted in Rivers and Harbors Committee Document No. 1, Seventy-fourth Congress, first session, with a view to considering the advisability of modifying the existing project so as to extend the lower turning basin downstream for a distance of 1,000 feet and to a depth of 30 feet at low water. I enclose herewith the report of the Board in response thereto. 2. The city of Vancouver is at the head of present deep-draft navigation on the Columbia River and is 41⁄2 miles above the mouth of the Willamette River, on which the port of Portland, Oreg., is located. The Columbia has been improved below the mouth of the Willamette to provide a channel 35 feet deep and 500 feet wide. From the mouth of the Willamette to Vancouver it is now being improved to afford a channel 30 feet deep and 300 feet wide, in accordance with the project authorized by the River and Harbor Act approved August 30, 1935. The channel is enlarged on the water front of the city of Vancouver to provide two turning basins, each generally 2,000 feet long and 800 feet wide, one above and one below 39953-36 the railroad swing bridge at Vancouver. To provide for a necessary expansion of port terminal facilities, the city of Vancouver has recently acquired a frontage on the river immediately downstream from the lower turning basin, on which it proposes to construct a new general cargo terminal. It now requests that the United States extend the lower turning basin downstream 1,000 feet to enable ocean carriers to reach this terminal. 3. The city of Vancouver, with 16,000 inhabitants, is the trading center and shipping point for a substantial lumbering and farming area in the State of Washington. The principal industries are the manufacture of lumber and lumber products, woolens, pulp and paper, and the processing of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. A large elevator recently constructed adjacent to the lower turning basin is expected to accommodate large tonnages of grain. The vessel commerce of the harbor has increased from 85,000 tons in 1932 to 185,000 tons, the maximum of record, in 1934, and consists chiefly of lumber, lumber products, wood pulp, paper, fruit and vegetable products, sulphur, and sugar, carried in vessels up to 28 feet in draft. 4. The Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors finds that the port of Vancouver is advantageously located to serve a large area of rich timber and agricultural land in the State of Washington, and that its commerce is increasing and approaching the capacity of existing port facilities. Extension of these facilities as proposed by local interests appears to be desirable, and the Board considers the proposed extension of the Federal improvement to be warranted by the prospective benefits to general commerce and navigation. It therefore recommends modification of the existing project for the Columbia River between the mouth of the Willamette and Vancouver, Wash., to provide for extending the lower turning basin downstream for a distance of 1,000 feet at 30 feet depth, at an estimated cost of $22,000 for new work and $3,000 annually for maintenance in addition to that now required, provided local interests furnish suitable spoil disposal areas as required for new work and subsequent maintenance, and, provided further, that the work shall not be undertaken until the Chief of Engineers is assured that local interests are ready to proceed with the construction of a new terminal on the extension to the basin. 5. After due consideration of these reports, I concur in the views and recommendations of the Board. Very truly yours, E. M. MARKHAM, Major General, REPORT OF THE BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS WAR DEPARTMENT, BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS, Washington, November 18, 1935. Subject: Columbia River, Wash. (channel to Vancouver). To: The Chief of Engineers, United States Army. 1. This report is in response to the following resolution, adopted June 20, 1935: 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 Columbia River, between mouth of Willamette River and a point one mile above Vancouver, Washington, submitted in Rivers and Harbors Committee Document Numbered 1, Seventy-fourth Congress, first session, with a view to considering the advisability of modifying the existing project so as to extend the lower turning basin downstream for a distance of one thousand feet and to a depth of thirty feet at low water. 2. The city of Vancouver, Wash., is at the head of present deepdraft navigation on the Columbia River, 104 miles from the Pacific Ocean, and 41⁄2 miles above the mouth of the Willamette River, on which is located the nearby port of Portland, Oreg. The Columbia River below the mouth of the Willamette has been improved to provide a channel 35 feet deep and 500 feet wide. The existing project for the section now under consideration, authorized by the River and Harbor Act approved August 30, 1935, provides for a channel 300 feet wide and 30 feet deep from the mouth of the Willamette to the State highway bridge at Vancouver, with 2 turning basins of the same depth, each generally 2,000 feet long and 800 feet wide, 1 above and 1 below the railroad bridge at Vancouver. Deepening of the channel and basins from the present depth of 28 to 30 feet is now in progress. The estimated cost of annual maintenance is $35,000. Local interests have contributed $126,000 toward the cost of maintenance and improvement work. 3. The city of Vancouver, with 16,000 inhabitants, is the trading center and shipping point for a substantial lumbering and farming area in the State of Washington. The principal industries are the manufacture of lumber and lumber products, woolens, pulp and paper, and the processing of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. A large elevator recently constructed adjacent to the lower turning basin is expected to accommodate large tonnages of grain. The vessel commerce of the harbor has increased from 85,000 tons in 1932 to 185,000 tons, the maximum of record, in 1934, and consists chiefly of lumber, lumber products, wood pulp, paper, fruit and vegetable products, sulphur, and sugar, carried in vessels up to 28 feet in draft. 4. The port of Vancouver has recently acquired a site on the water front immediately downstream from the lower turning basin, on which it proposes to construct a new general cargo terminal. It requests that the United States extend the lower turning basin downstream 1,000 feet at 30 feet depth to provide access by ocean carriers to this terminal. No offer of local cooperation was made. 5. The district engineer estimates the cost of the desired dredging at $22,000 for new work and $3,000 annually for maintenance. He states that the present general cargo terminal, located on the upper turning basin, is now being used almost to capacity, although its position is not advantageous because of the difficulty and hazards in turning large vessels between the two bridges during periods of freshet. He is of the opinion that the future expansion of port facilities should be made below the lower bridge, as now proposed by local interests. The desired improvement would result in reduced costs for towboat service and a decrease in the hazards to ships and to the railroad bridge involved in operations from the present terminal. The latter would continue to be used by the small coasting vessels and river steamers. The district engineer concludes that the improvement is desirable and that the expenditures involved are warranted by the present and prospective savings to the public. He recommends |