The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1854-12-15
Fridge over the st. Lawrence.

Bridge over the ST. Lawrence.
Tn. Victoria Bridge over the 81. Law
r.nr, will certainly be the mos, remaI La
~. work OF the kind in the Canadas, we
ninhf say, in The whole wo,li. u reminds
~, OF some OF The old Roman works, such rs
the ancient aquedpcis which span The va.
I.y, of ltaly, in their grand and gigantic
,,,,no,,;nns. more than OF an ordinary bridge
uyer /, tiSer. We know OF nothing on The
con,ineut Of America, nolhing on ,he con-
linen, OF Europe, which approaches 'nls
vorE in the grandeur and greatness OF us
tgsga. -, G..
Tie success ofthe Engineer Mr.. Steven
soul IN the building OF the Britannia Bridge
mas tully ius,iiisd him in deciding upon
the adoption Of the same plan Tor the icio-
ria B,i,lcs, which will be- constructed on
twenty four piers, with spans OF spaces, Tor
th, navigation, exclusive OF tho two abn,.
,nen,, hom whence The tubes spring on
ether side. The centre space OF span will
b,, $50 fee, wide, and each Of the other
iven,y.iour spans, will be 900 fee, wide
Tie width OF the two piers nearest 10 each
abu,!ncnl will be fifteen lee,, and as the
piers approach the centre span, the width
and strength Of each will be increased un-
,ilthey reach the two centre piers, when /,
~ili amoun, 10 eighteen feet.
The abutmen,s from which tho tubes
spling will be each Of them 2i2 feet long
aud 80 fee, wide, and from the north shore
Of the 81. Lawrence TO the north abu,ment
there viii be solid stone embankmeni Of
rough masonry, 1900 feet in length, raised
ike AL artificial rock &c resist the current.
The stone embankment leading from the
soulh shore Of the river 20 the south abui-
meni will he half this length, or 600 feet.
The length Of the bridge itself IRON abu,
mcnI 10 abp,men,, and iisto,al length from
river bank to river bank, will be l0,2S4
feet, or abou, so yaids less than Two En-
glish miles.
The summer average depth OF the ST.
l.aSgence, varies from IL feet, near the
centre, 10 4 feet hear the banks, and the
current runs in this part, al the rate OF from
seven 10 ten miles an hopr. The clear dis.
lance between the under surface OF the cen.
,rc ,abc, and the average summer level OF
the river is TO be sixty feet, and the heish,
will diminish towards either side with a
gisde al the rate Of in 100 or 40 feet in
the mile; so that n, the outer or river edge
Of each abu,menl, the height will be &c
zoe, above The summer level.
On the cath OF July last the frs, stone in
the bed Of the river was raised for the con.
SirUciOn Of the first pier Of The bridge, and
new, on the i4,h September, "pier No. 1"
hes arisen several feet above the level Of
tho aver, and the process Of binding the
blocks may be seen and understood. Each
stone OF the structure is clamped 10 its fel.
low 10y bands Of iron, and the iniers,ices
aye filed with molten lead, and the sron-
CeSi Roman cement. The result will be,
the construction OF masonry rs durable rs
ihat OF The Coliseum or the Appian Ways,
which have wiihs,ood the wear and tear OF
time and OF traffic for more than 5000 years,
and which will continue to exis, rs monu.
mcni, Of the skill aud industry Of man.
Ua!ess unforeseen difficulties arise, the
ti;.t railway train will pass over the broad
~ Lawrence by the summer OF 1862
The commercial advantages will consis, in
The fact, that the Victoria Bridge will bring
Inlo direct communication, without break
OF guage or bulk, the exhaus,less products
OF Canada West and Of Michigan, Illinois,
Iowa, Wisconsin. and all the Western
States OF the Union. Reciprocity will
have opened the door to International com
immigration, and the requirements Of traffic
will De cheaply and expedi,iously me, by
tho iron road. and lis tubular bridge. A
few years hence, and this very bridge will
become one OF the greatest attractions 10
the tourist and the traveller.
The Colossus OF Rhodes, under which
tho pi;my shallops Of former ages could
pass. was esteemed one OF the wonders OF
ihe Old World. But an iron bridge, span.
Ming river two miles in width, giving safe
passage TO the hundreds Of tons Of weight
between its iron sides, and permitting ships
rl the largest tonnage TO pass beneath It's
elevated arches, is an achievement still
Inore remarkaS for the New World, and
!. worthy Of the young Giant rising in the
West. 1.-THE Coliseum, and the Pon,heon,
and the Pirnus, and the Pyramids, have
attracted visitors from every land, so in
future days will the Victoria Bridge; and
Montreal will hereafter reap much OF the
bcnefii which must follow the completion
Of so mighty work.-Monireal Pilot.