In 1898, officials with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the District of Columbia convinced the United States Congress that the Anacostia River should be dredged to create a more commercially viable channel that would enhance the local economy. The dredged material would be used to build up the marshes—drying them out and eliminating the public health dangers they caused, as well as creating land where factories or warehouses might be built. Although the height of the reclaimed land would vary from to (the amount of dredged material depended on how much money was appropriated), the Corps of Engineers hoped to reclaim mudflats from Pennsylvania Avenue SE north to at least Benning Bridge.