The removal of obstructive rocks from Hell Gate, a narrow tidal strait in New York City's East River and a major water transportation route, began in 1849, when French engineer Benjamin Maillefert, cleared some of the rocks. Then in 1851, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, led by General John Newton, began to do the job, in an operation which was to span 70 years. On September 24, 1876, the Corps used 50,000 pounds (23,000 kg) of explosives to blast the rocks, which was followed by further blasting. The process was started by excavating under Hallets reef from Astoria. Cornish miners, assisted by steam drills, dug galleries under the reef, which were then interconnected. They later drilled holes for explosives. A patent was issued for the detonating device. After the explosion, the rock deb
Property | Value |
---|---|
dbo:abstract |
|
dbo:thumbnail | |
dbo:wikiPageExternalLink | |
dbo:wikiPageID |
|
dbo:wikiPageLength |
|
dbo:wikiPageRevisionID |
|
dbo:wikiPageWikiLink |
|
dbp:wikiPageUsesTemplate | |
dcterms:subject | |
georss:point |
|
rdf:type | |
rdfs:comment |
|
rdfs:label |
|
owl:sameAs | |
geo:geometry |
|
geo:lat |
|
geo:long |
|
prov:wasDerivedFrom | |
foaf:depiction | |
foaf:isPrimaryTopicOf | |
is dbo:wikiPageRedirects of | |
is dbo:wikiPageWikiLink of | |
is foaf:primaryTopic of |