THE 



POPULAR SCIENCE 

 MONTHLY. 



FEBBUARY, 1886. 



THE IMPKOYEMENT OF EAST EIVER ANJ) HELL 



GATE. 



By General JOHN NEWTON, 



CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, ITNITED STATES AEltT. 



THE East River is a most important factor in the commercial pros- 

 perity of the cities of New York and Brooklyn. Its shores form 

 a large portion of the water-front of both cities, and afford space for 

 many miles of docks. Its channel is scoured by strong tides, which 

 keep it permanently free from shoals of sand and mud. It connects 

 the waters of New York Bay with those of Long Island Sound, and is 

 the most important avenue of coastwise trade in the United States. 

 Since the partial removal of the obstructions in Hell Gate, a very 

 heavy foreign trade has taken this route, notably the petroleum traffic, 

 and, with the completion of the designed improvements, the East River 

 will afford a convenient access for transatlantic steamers. The value 

 of this entrance to New York Harbor will be still further enhanced by 

 the opening of the Harlem River to the Hudson, the preparations 

 for which are now in progress. 



The unobstructed navigation of the East River would also have 

 an important bearing on the question of national defense in case of war 

 with a foreign state. It would render the blockading of the port of 

 New York a task of doubled difficulty, and would open the shores of 

 Long Island to our larger war-vessels and to ironclads. 



For these reasons the problem of removing the obstructions to the 

 free and safe passage of vessels through the East River has engaged 

 an increasing degree of attention for a considerable time. These ob- 

 structions were all accumulated within a short distance of one another, 

 in the narrow strait called Hell Gate, and were occasioned by numer- 



VOL. XXTIII. — 28 



