Construction Methods on the Welland Ship Canal

The growth of the Welland Canal of 1829 to the Welland Ship Canal of 1931 represents a vast change in construction methods. Of the total cost of $130 000 000, about 60% was for earth and rock excavation and concrete. A description of the methods used in handling these three items of construction constitutes the body of the paper. The letting of contracts, the division of the work into sections, the labor force and rates, and the difficulties and delays occasioned by the World War, are discussed preliminary to methods and costs. In the study of costs it is to be borne in mind that they represent two periods of markedly different dollar values, namely, pre-war and post-war. The writer has provided extensive data showing the wide range of contract prices, but h as confined his information to field costs, leaving the reader to use his own preference in adding overhead and rental charges.