Table 25 



Wilmington Harbor Jetties 



Wilmington, Delaware 



Philadelphia District 



Date(s) Construction and Rehabilitation History 



1883 A 1 ,740-ft-long curved stone-filled pile and timber crib jetty was 

 constructed north of the Christina River mouth. 



1884 The north jetty was raised 4.0 ft to a height above high water (no 

 information on exact height). 



1900 The north jetty was repaired and extended 313 ft. A terminal crib 

 was also constructed. The total length of the north jetty was 

 2,150 ft. Jetties were constructed on the south side of the 

 Christina River and at the mouth of the Brandywine River. The length 

 of the south Christina River jetty was 1,515 ft and was built of pile 

 and stone. A cross dike was built to connect the inner end of the 

 jetty to the shore at high water. The Brandywine River jetty was 

 V-shaped and was built of stone-filled pile and timber crib. The 

 total length of this jetty was 690 ft, 430 ft on the Brandywine River 

 side and 260 ft on the Christina River side (Figure 31). 



1905 Repairs were made to the Brandywine River jetty and the north 



Christina River jetty. New wales were put on the Brandywine jetty, 

 and face timber was replaced on the north Christina jetty. Stone was 

 replaced where needed on both jetties. 



1916 Repairs were made to the north Christina River jetty. Broken timber 

 and piling was replaced with new material. Fender piles were placed 

 along the channel face, and the interior of the crib was filled with 

 stone where settling had occurred along the entire length of the 

 jetty. 



1925 The south jetty was removed, and a new jetty was to be built south of 

 the Christina River. 



1931 Approximately 1,200 ft of the north jetty was removed to improve the 

 channel regime. The total length of the north jetty was 950 ft (Fig- 

 ure 3D . 



1936 A new jetty was completed south of the Christina River mouth. The 



jetty was 2,300 ft long (Figure 31) and consisted of 1,352 lin ft of 

 steel sheet-pile wall, buttressed with 100-ft timber piles 12 ft on 

 center, a 948-ft outboard section consisting of twelve 25.5-ft- 

 diameter steel sheet-pile cells, and one 30.5-ft-diameter terminal 

 cell with twelve 51 -ft interconnecting fences. Crest elevation was 

 +10 ft Corps of Engineers Datum (2.9 ft below mean sea level, 1929). 

 The landward end of the jetty was connected to shore by a 120-ft 

 steel sheet-pile anchor wall. The cost of construction was $205,000. 



(Continued) 



53 



