Los Angeles County Drainage Development Requires Nearly one Million Sacks of Cement

Immediately to the east of Metr-opolitan Los Angeles f;".--r l.ititory rich in the colorful Spanish history of the F".frf.'.i Los A.tgeles. In years pist fat cattle g-razed uoon the broad acres of these ranchoi, herded by g"y M.9Iican colvbovs I 'ivhile the Dons of California's first famtltes leisurely inspected their large holdings'

Today, these same ranchos are the site of one of the most important industrial districts of Southern California' In a g.i.t"t way. this territory, sloping gently to the south,

Boulevard, East Slauson Avenue, and Atlantic Boulevard' in" ."tt and west boulevards all connect with the business .;* ;i Los Angeles; while those running north and south connect with thJ hinterland to the north and glve ample outlets to Los Angeles Harbor on the south' - ftt" rapid growih of eastside Los Angeles, both from an inJ;;t.i;i stanapoint in the lower level stretches of the Ji.tti.t,-""d thd residential development in the northern sloping'areas, created a serious condition as.regards ?ttil water"runoff. It was quickly tealized, that in order to tn.ur. tt-t. proper development and prosperity of this. district' it-r. *"t.i runofi situation would have to be remedied'

The rainy season in Sottthern California' from October until the laiter part of April, does not us-ually develop dangerous situations, although it frequently. is ne.c.est?ty. t: iafely take care of a large water runott lmmedlately roli;;;*-; ttoitn. The dTfficultv of doing this is greatlv increa*sed in a district sttch as this, where numerous canvons and bare hills send rushing storm rvaters down ttpon ihe lowlands, seeking a quick exit to the sea' forms a large triangle; bounded on th-e north by the Moni.i"u ftittt,-through" *hi.tt winds the famous Coyote- Pas.s; by thle Los Angeles river; on the east by the nio-fto"ao ,rrhi.h flows into"the Los Angeles river east of l.vnwood: the iunction of the Rio Hondo with the Los e"tg"t.. river forming the southern apex of the triangle'

Triple Bor Section South of Cluro Street-Size. of each b-arrel-70 It.-6'in. r 6 ft. inside measurentcnts' Tlrosc in l'icture reading frow 'iirit-l-i i'rft iro C. P. Cook' Adan Dalmatin" L 'B' Platt' T' K' Part,;:d;;, e .'E. Ariold, R. N. Nihceaich, Robcrt Gregorv, Chas' JohnstonMr. platt and Mr. yortiiis;'iin with the Soutkwistern Portland Ce;;"; C;., l,ii. C. n. Arnold is the Countv. Enllneer with I[r' Gregorv o'i ii;t-itiilo,x-all otheri ore r,rembers oi the Witt F' Peck Co' Svndicate, General C ontractors.

As an indication of the industrial growth in this area we have the $4,000.000.00 Goodrich rubber p-lant, covering a1 area of forty-five acres; the Southern California lron & St".f Co-pany; the Truscon Steel Company; the California Corrugatei Culvert Company; the Killefer Manufacturing Compiny; among many other concerns of world wide importance.-

The district has a terminal railway system traversing and serving it-the Los Angeles Junction Railway, -the Union Pacific- Railroad, and the Atihison, Topeka and Santa Fe iuit*"y. The Union Pacific, in addition to its basic service "i irun.po.tation, has undertaken an extensive industrial development of lands owned by it, until now no less than ten large manufacturing plants are located within the company's industrial area. '

Wid., well paved boulevards extending from no-rth to south and east to west furnish the lanes of travel for vehicular traffic; the major. arteries being Beverly,-Boulevard, Whiitier Bouievard, iiast Ninth Street, East Washington

While this district is a vital factor in the welfare of Metropolitan Los Angeles, practically the entire area lies *iiiii"''ihe jurisdiction'of th^e Count.v-of Los Angeles, and in accordance with the terms oI the-Drainage District Im"t"".-""t Act of 1919, as amended and made applicable io counties in the State of California, proceedings were begun on drainaqe districts sufficient to meet the needs ot ihis rapidly deieloping section ; viz.: N.o. 22. the Belvede.re Districi; No. 23, tire l4ontebello District; and No' 26, the Laguna District. So that, now' one of-the largest and most imfortant projects of this kind is well under.way'- 'ih" tttree dittti.t. involved have a combined drainage area of 22,319 acres. There are four points of discharge

. Number 23, while being the largest district, was also the first for which bids were called, thereby setting a precedent for future bidding. The successful bidders on this district were the Will F. Peck Company, a partnership composed of E. H. Bashaw, Chas. P. Cooke and Finley B. Smitti. For the purpose of expediting consiruction they combined with Chas. H. Johnston, Adam Dalmatin and N. R. Nikcevitch under the name of the Will F. Peck Company Syndicate. The advantage gained by this combination ii miniflst when it is considered that eighteen months time was originally granted for completion of the work, while it was finished and accepted within a period of seven months.

District No. 26 was awarded to Herbert M. Baruch and R. E. Co.oney. -Mr. Cooney had previously met with great success in- putting thro_u_gh_the Sawtelle storm drairijob, and joined forces with Mr. Herbert M. Baruch, one of bur leading building contractors.

At this writing Drainage district No. 26, is well on the way to completion, while District No. 23, is finished and proved its utility during the recent November rains.

The illustrations from Drainage District No. 23, which accompany this article, are especially interesting not only to the. engineer, but also to the layman. The qu"antities of materials used are amazing and as an example it is noted that 18 sacks of Portland eement and 33,4 iubic yards of lggre_g_ate were used in each lineal foot of triple box section. The Montebello Trun\, the only main outlit into the Rio Hondo, is also extremely inteiesting to everyone. This consists of a concreted tunnel almost a mile in leneth. hear,-ily reinforced with properly shaped railroad ,ails. m'akl ing its exit beneath the bluffs inio the bed of the Rio tio.,ao. It was also necessary to carry several box sections beneath the main roadbeds oi the Union pacific and Santa Fe Railroads without traffic interruption, and the method of con_ struction followed in this phase of the u'ork is excellentlv illustrated in the accompanying photograph. ----"J

The bidding and awarding of the construction contracts were handled with dispatch by the County officials and the following data relative to construction and materials used will give an idea of the tremendous importance of this proJ ecr.

Data of Trunk Lines at Point of Discharge

Drainage _Ultimate Size and Type of Area in Discharge Conduit at Outlet Trunk Acres in C.F,S.

Montebello 6,175 1,343 l0'6"x14,0,, R. C. Box

Bandini 6,750 1,330 Triple 6,U'xlA'6,, R. C.

Belvedere 2,846 890 Double 6,6,,x12,A, R. C.

Laguna 6,548 1,615 8'6',x14,O,' R. C. Box

Total 22,319 5,178

The following facts regarding quantities of materials used in the various districts are given in order that a proper perspective may be realized by the reader:

Drainage District Improvement No. 22

Flxcavation-Box Sections only . .90,000 cubic yards

Concrete-Box Sections only .20,765 cubic yards

Reinfo_rcing Steel-Box Seciions only ,2,441,ffi pounds

Total length of box sections ;..... .1.80 miles

Total length of plain cement pipe 12,,x21,, ......1.41 miles

Total length of reinforced concrete pipe, 15"x87" ... ..l2.92miles

Total length of corrugated iron pipe, 15,, to 3O,, ....04 miles

In addition to these items, there are included in the contract 247 standard catch basins, 138 standard rnanholes and 8 junction structures. It should be noted that excavation and yardage of concrete are paid for at the unit prices bid, and that the price bid per lineal foot, on all pipe sections, includes the excavation. This applies to all thr?e districts.

Drainage District fmprovement No. 23

Excavation-Box Sections only-. .....,327,8N cubic vards

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