Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 June 1918 — BIG DREDGE REACHES OUTLET [ARTICLE]

BIG DREDGE REACHES OUTLET

The big dredge on the lower end of the Monon ditch went into the river in White county yesterday, thul practically completing the big job that was tackled nearly six years ago. Construction Commissioner E. C. Williams of Medaryville was here yesterday, and expressed his belief that the big ditch will do the work expected of it. On an inspection trip a few days ago he found several feet of water above the temporary dam back of the dredge, and considers that an indication that the new channel will prove a success. The cut is not quite deep enough at the lower end, but the contractors Lave not yet decided what they will do about it. They may find it necessary to use a dry land machine. The contract for the big ditch was let on February 28, 1912, at $3 64,000 for the 2,990,487 cubic yards of excavation. The work on the upper end and the laterals was done in fair time, but the deep cutting on the lower end, where the channel is nearly a hundred feet wide in some places, has caused much delay, along with changes in sub-contractors , and dredges. The contract price was about 70 per cent of the original estimate, and Mr. Williams states that it will just about pay out with the collection of all the assessments. —Pulaski County Democrat.