Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 73, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 March 1917 — Contractors On Big Monon Ditch Troubled With Cave-Ins. [ARTICLE]

Contractors On Big Monon Ditch Troubled With Cave-Ins.

The (Monon News says the contractors on the big Monon ditch hope to complete the work in time for their Christmas dinner. Progress has been slow on account of cave-ins, which have necessitated the third return of thed redge to make the excavation what the specifications call for, a 40* foot iwidth of bottom with a 26-foot depth. So extensive have been these cave-ins that in some places the ditch is 120 feet wide, whereas the blue print width is 90 feet. About a mile and a half remains to reach the finis, and after leaving the tile mill the depth of excavation will lessen to that of six feet and the heavy work will be over. A surface dredge is being used ahead of the boat with a capacity for removing the dirt to a depth of 12 feet. When this mammoth water course is completed a historic stream from the point where the ditch leaves it to the mouth will become a dry run and the fishing haunts in the Big Monon wfllbe only a melanchbly recollection to anglers who have long found it a reservoir for the finny tribe. With the completion of this water iway and its laterals, one of the great drainage systems will have been accomplished. And its cost will by no means ibe secondary in magnitude, as the taxpayers will testify..