Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1854-09-07
From the Portland g State of Maine
The Victoria Bridge at Montreal.


The works of this stupendous undertaking
being now in active progress, a short account
81 what has been not appropriately designated
he greatest work Of modern times, cannot fail
- be interesting to our readers.
As is already well known, the commercial
reason given for the construction of the Victors
Bridge, is the necessity OF bringing in the ex
.austless products of Canada West and of the
Western States of the Union-such as Mich
,aH, illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, &C.
Without break of guage or OF bulk, from tn,
.xtreme Western point of British North Anne
RIGA to the Atlantic seaboard. The promoters
# the undertaking allege that, by means of the
bridge, they will be able to meet the require
ments OF this traffic more cheaply and expedl
ously than by any other existing route, wheth
er OF rail or OF water aud they must be doubt
less strong in the faith, It's cost is 10 be abou
even millions OF dollars, or about one seventh
II the total expense of building the l,ll2 miles
comprising the Grand Trunk Railway of Can
ada.
The bridge is to be tubular, on the plan O.
The celebrated Britannia bridge over the Menai
straits, in North Wales. Il will consist of rs
pans or spaces for navigation between the
tser ty-four piers Exclusive Of the two abut.
heutsl for the support Of the tubes. The
centre span will be $50 feet Woe, and each OF
he other spans viii be 242 feet WIDE. The
widths OF each of the piers neyt 10 the abut.
ments will be fifteen feet, and the width OF
hose approaching the two centre pieces will
De gradually increased, SO that these two piers
will each be IL feet wide, or 3 feet more than
those next the abutments. Each abutment is
TO be 242 feet long and 80 feet wide; and from
the north shore o. the st. Lawrence to the
no.th abutment there will be solid stone EN-
bankment, faced in rough masonry coward the
current) 1000 feet in length. The stone en-
bankment leading from the south shore of the
river TO the south aLutment, will be 500 feet
long. The length of the bridge, from abut-
ment to abutment, will be 5000 feet, and It's
! total leugth from river bank to river bank will
be l0,234 feet, or l6G less than two English
miles.
The clear distance between tn, ordinary
summer level IF the 81. Lawrence and The IN
der surface Of the centre tube a. to be 90 feet
! and the height dirlinishes towards either side,
";;h grade a. tht rae of about ID 230 or
240 feet in the mile, so that at the ouier or
river edge Of each abutment The height is thirty
SIX feet above the summer level The summer
depth Of the water in the St Lawrence 7aries
rom ii feet above the centre to feet toward
lie banks, aud the current runs, at the site d
the bridge. at a rate var, ing FROM seven to ten
miles an hour.
Each Of the tubes will be 10 feet in height
at the end, whence they will gradually increase
to y feet inches in the centre. The width
| of each tube will be l6 feet, or inches wider
than the rail track The total weight of iron
in the tubes will be l0,400 tons; aud they will
be bound and riveted together precisely in the
same manner and with similar machinery to
a. Il A.. ID -. = L fr,,
| principal part of the stone used in the con-
struction Of the piers and abutments, is a
dense, blue limestone, found at Pointe Claire
on the Ottowa river, about l8 miles above
Montreal, aud miles above the confluence OF
that river with the ST. Lawrence.
A large village has suddenly sprung up at the
place; for during the last twelve months, up
ward Of 500 quarrymen, stone masons, and Ia
borers, have been employed there. Every con.
| triyance that could be adopted TO save manual
labor, has also been applied, and its exten,
will be judged from the fact that the machinery
at the quarry and the adjacent ieuy has lin.
GLIDING the cost Of the jetty) involved an out.
lay Of $l50000. Three powerful steam tugs
aud 30 barges, each capable Of carrying 200
tons OF stone, have been especially built for
the work, at the cost of about $4,000.
These are used for the conveyance Of the stone
to the piers, and by the end Of September next,
a railway on the permanent line of the Grand
Trunk track, will be laid down from the quarry
(close to which the permanent line will pass
to the north shore Of the ST. Lawrence, so as
to convey along il the stone required Tor the
north embankment and for the northern abut.
ment.
The piers close to the abutments will each
| Ab uut al r.l nf
Scarcely block used in the construction Of
the piers will be less than seven tons weight,
aud many OF them, especially those exposed to
the force OF the current and TO the breaking up
OF ice in spring, will weigh fully ten tons each.
AS the construction Of "Pier No. |" is already
several feet above the bed Of the river the pro-
cess OF binding the blocks together can now
be. seen and appreciated. In addition TO the
abundant use Of the best water cement each
stone Is elsmPod to its neighbors in several