Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1870-01-20
THE MARKET STREET BRIDGE.
Twenty Thousand Dollars Wasted.
A Worthless Job for the Peoples Money.

The fact that travel over the Market street
bridge, rebuilt last Fall, has just been temporarily
interrupted for the third time since the compile.
tion OF the new draw has renewedy drawn public
attention to the bridge and reawakencd inquiry
as to the cost and character of the structure. We
have consequently carefully studied up the history
of the job and obtained the most trustworthy in
formation attainablc concerning the completed
work.
More than year ago the subject of building a
new draw to the bridge over the Christiaua river,
ut Market street, came up for consideration be-
| fore the Levy Court of this county. While the
matter was still under discussion the election of
| 1865 took place and resulted In the addition of
quite number OF new members to the Court.
| After the election the Court again took up the
subject and IL was decided that the draw should
be rebuilt. According to the nsages of the court
| the superintoDdence Of tue work would devolve
| on u subcommittee composed of the members
for the three nearest Hundreds, and, accordingly,
Messrs. Milton Lackey, of Wilmington. Robert
Smith, of Brandywine Hundred, were appointed
said committee.
Al the request Of this committee it was decided
not To give out the work by contract, but to have
it done by the day, under their superintendent.
A well known bridge builder having estimated
the cost of the work at S13,5OO at the request of
committee in charge of the work 81, 900 was ap-
proprated, IL being understood, however, that
there was little or no probability Of their drawing
the whole appropriation for the work, as 1t was
believed 1t could be done at cost much less than
contractor would do 1t for.
On the 9th day of August last, after previous
announcement by a unique sign, fac sinite of
which appeared in the COMMERCIAL at the time,
travel was suspended and the old draw was torn
up. The work Of rebuilding was then commen-
ced by u large force of workmen under the super
intepdeDcc Of the Chairman of the Committee,
Mr.. Lackey, assisted by the other members.
On account Of the superintendent not having
at their disposal the tools and appliances gener-
ally used In such work, grent difficulty was ex-
persnced in getting up or sawing off the old
piles Of the central pier, and great delay was
occasoned thereby. similar delay attended
every other step in the progress Of the work, and
II was not until about the 9TH of November last
that The new draw was in place, aud il still was
not regularly passable for teams until n week or
two later. 1hus, for over three months, was
travel suspended on one OF our most important
ihoroughfares, greatly to the detrlment of busi-
ness and the Inconvenience of The public and
business men. The carriage making, lumber,
and other firms on the South side OF the river
estimate the loss TO them, caused by this inter-
ruption In their business ut several thousands of
dollars, and the firms on this side found their
business materially decreased. The steamboat
starting from the south side was driven to seek
a new aud out-o-the-way wharf and lost heavily.
iucuuWuno u DtCitilt tNlutut tuhL INC OTlElDul
appropriation would not cover the expense Of the
job, and Us the Court could not allow the work
10 stop unfinished IL could do nothing less than
submit to the Committees demard and appro-
pirate another $4,000, making the whole appro-
priation $17,0OO II is now understood,
however, that there are still many unpaid
bills. and that MIR. Lackey estimates
the total cost at S2O,OC0. Other well informed,
but disinteres.ed people place it even higher and
say that the total first cost will probably auleui.>
m ia ninth ellli han
for the recent repairs, neither does IL include the
salary OF *3 per day to each member OF the COM
lnittce for each day he was on duty superinteud-
ing the work.
The expense being thus very great, and the
length of time devoted to the work unusual, the
question naturally arises, have we, as the result,
u structure OF such strength, solidity aud perna-
neDee as to compensate the public for The i'm
inense outlay and the great inconvenience?
SO far from 1t that in the brief time that has
elapsed since the completion of the structure,
travel over IL has been temporarily interrupted
three times to allow repairs aud alterations, and
gang OF hicn are now at work tinkerlug nt Ii
with jack-screws to remedy the sinking Cf The
centre per and the sagging d0vn of both ends.
II seems that no regular bridge builder or civil
engineer was consulted in the plans for tho new
structure, but that the Chairman of the Commit
tee made the plans,us well us carried them out
So far as the pier is concerned it is said to have
been constructed ON u plan not generally known
to engineers, Of building Immense blocks
OF Port Deposit granite on foundation of small
and soft stones which, in turn, rest on mud.
That the pier should sink some is not remarkable
under the circumstances
In the construction of the superstructure
another new AID original Idea was also applied
The design Is To make the tic-rods," which are
usually merely depended ON to give steadiuess to |
the structure. suppirt the weight OF both ends |
The ir0n lars under the varying temperature OF
our atmosphere of course vary in length, and as |
they expand Of course the ends sag down.
80 tor our S2O0OO we have draw which sinks |
IN the middle and says down at both ends which |
it is difficult To turn of and equally difficult to
turn on grave defects which must be remeded |
before the structure can be considered of any |
practical use as drawbridge.
But we are told by practical mel that the de- |
fects cannot be remedicd: That the structnrc is
so radically defective in plan that it can by no
means be made of any use, and, that much as 1t |
has cost, it would be cheaper for the county to
sell 1t for fire wood and have new draw built by
4 competent engineer or builder.
Truly this is a sad return for oil our money,
most insufficient compensation for all the public
inconvenience and the annoyance is much aggra-
Gattd by the knowledge that the work might have
been well and permanently done for one-half the
money. We are positively Informed by an ex-
member OF the Levy Court that practical bridge
builder of this city, Mr.. Philip Quigley fur
lished the estimates on which the original appro-
oriation was hased and that Mr.. Quigley at The
'ame time offered TO buiidd gD0d substantial and
uDicient dra,D, similar IN that of Third street
Bridge, for s13.500, and further offered to make
one OF the conditions of the contract that travel
should not he interrupted for more than three
weeks, or 1S working days. Had such contract
1een made and had the contractor built such
structure y the one just put up, the Court would
never havetak 1t of of his hands and the coun-
y would have retained its money uuti satis-
actoly draw was built AS il Is, the county has
10 one bound to make the work good, but has
absolutely sunk over twenty thousand d,liars In
)uilding draw which sinks n the middle and
II both ends.
Thus Is iuaugurated Economy, Retrenchment
md Retorm" for it happens that by the accident
,f locality, the committee under whose super
Vision this work has progressed, consisted of
bree OF the Democratic members elected on that