ENGINEERING FEAT.

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 142, 15 May 1930, Page 9

ENGINEERING FEAT.

NIAGARA FALLS PASSAGE. One of the greatest engineering feats in the world, the construction ct the new Welland Canal between Lakes Erie and Ontario, at a cost of over £24,000,000, will be completed this spring, and will probably be opened formally on July 1. The cutting of the canal and the completion of the railway lino to Hudson Bay represent two historic steps in the transportation system between W estern Canada and Great Britain. For decades successive Canadian Governments have endeavourerd tofacilitate the progress of ships over various sections of the mighty waterway of the the Great Lakes and the various sections of the mighty waterway of the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence (says the London Morning lost). The work which is now drawing to a close, is the most ambitious yet undertaken, and its results in terms or trade will be incalculable. The Niagara peninsula between Lake Ontario and Lake Elio is one of the vital units of the route from Montreal, Fort William and Port Arthur, and as long ago as 1824 a company was formed for the purpose of linking the two lakes. By 1833 a serviceable waterway had been cut floin Lake Ontario to the Welland River at Port Robinson, and. thence to Port Colborne, on Lake Erie. The original canal was over 27 miles long, and 40 wooden locks were required to overcome the Niagara barrier. Ten years later the canal was rebuilt, the locks being reduced to 27 in number, and constructed of masonry, and the channel deepened. This passage served for 25 years, by the end of which time trade requirements and the expansion of the markets of the west mado further enlargement imperative. The Government decided, therefore, to cut ,a new canal altogether,’ and another passage w.as constructed via Allanburg. Since its completion in 1882 its depth has been increased to 12ft. But the demands of trade were insistent, and still another canal had to bo put in hand. The one now being made runs from Lake Ontario to Allanburg by a new route, a distance of a dozen miles or so, while from thence to • Lake Erie the course is roughly tlio same as that of the present waterway. It is, all told, 25 miles long, and the number of locks is only eight. Thciir length has been increased from 270 ft to at least 800 ft, and their breadth from 45ft to 80ft, while the depth “on the sill” will be 30ft. Lock No. Bis the largest in the world, being 1380 ft long. It is estimated that a loaded freight vessel will be able to pass through the entire canal in eight hours, as against 15 on the present system. The new canal will make the produce of the world more readily available to the Mother Country. A new terminal has been selected on tho St. Lawrence at Prescott, which is springing into history as one of the most important and active transport centres in North America. Here, at an *-stimated cost of a million pounds, a giant elevator is being erected..