The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1879-02-14
Building Bridges.


when began mechanics made it point %
study the science as well practice of mechan-
les, and read, more or less, several American
works on the subject. think it o very mate
rial deficiency in o workman to know but little
of the science involved in his profession FOR
the lack OF wliichshe is more or less liable to
make serious blunders. With my general read
ing in mechanics, long practice, extensive OBJ
seryation, North and South, and conversation
with the ablest American workmen, and max
ing bridges sort of specially for twenty years,
and seeing so very clear as do that progressive
bridge work is no small want Of our country,
L feel to some extent that owe the benefit
Of this experience to this want, and offer my
services to this county in any way to extend
the greatest good to the greatest number.
have had very considerable amount of stone
work done for myself, at Grindle and Trough
Shoals, for various uses, by eral of the very
best masons in the two Counties, and the more
had done of it the more liked it, as 1t proved
to be less costly than anticipated and made
the work 80 permanent When one is prepared
with a good Derrick and other proper implements,
with good workmen the stone work goes on fast.
On Pacolet, Tiger and Enoree, the granite con
be boatcd to tho bridge places, rs it can be
found in many places near to on the side or
bluffs of the streams.
Before the war went before the Board Of
Commissioners of roads and bridges of this
County, and got them to favor building a COW
cred bridge at Grindle Shoals. They advertised
but for the war. Two of the Commissioners eA-
amined very fine quarry six miles up tho
river en- its banks, which can be shipped down
without very great cost, by having one Derrick
to lay the stone in the boats, and another to
hoist it out of the boats the abutmepts
got an experienced stone mason, Mr.. Petree,
to examine the situation and surro findings, who
| said q quarry on the river bank o short mile
| above the bridge, would do. The North sido
there is very deep sand bar, at least IL feet
| below water to the rock, the other side gently
| rising granite hill. One span l4O feet long will
cross the river; all the rest of the bridge from
that cut should be built Of stone and dirt en-
bankment. Much of the dirt embankment
| could be used safely on the sand bar side, the
| slow current admitting it ; that being the con-
cave side of the stream. 1t was ut this deep
| sand bar side my attention was called 20 years
| ago. to make a thorough investigation as to the
practicability Of building heavy stone abutments
| on wooden foundations / decided that it was
| and oil subsequent research to the present
time confirms that decision. A bridge built
| on this improved plan, coversd over with tin,
could be we'll put up for $4,000 at most and
| believe, could be built for $4,000.
| The cost of covered bridges in Georgia were
| about from to 10 dollars per running foot
| The latter price would make the wood work cost
81 400, and do think the abutments and dirt
embankment, can be done for $4,000, atfurthcsf,
which would make bridge last so years with
tin roof, while the cost of the present bridge was
81 300 in '72, calling for several repairs since.
The Gov. Gist bridge cost $4,000, about the
| same time and will soon need new bridge.
| will mention that where river makes o
sudden bend against granite hill, having wide
bottom on the other side is generally n cheap
place for bridge, and is well adopted to stone
abutments and spanning entirely across, as those
places are rather narrow, and with our largest
| frO0h0'. anuvfr Of Ito w"tors pass Nvsr the bot
toms. The wood work, without much cost, can
DC strongly fastened down to the stone abut-
ments, to protect them in case of such freshets
rs 52. This freshet rose sone five feet up on
the Maxwell covered bridge on Tugalo without
damage.
Before closing will say that L introduced
the Howe truss at Trough Shoals in '76, and am
we'll pleased with it, believing it better than tho
| Utly, even after / had improved the UtIy by
tightening many of its dead weight paris
Must further say that never saw, until very
recently, the Minter bridges across Tiger and
Enoree rivers, that nature has done much for
those places as cheap crossings, peculiarly
adapted for covered bridges spanning the
streams-Tygcr calling for 90 feet span only,
Enoree for 70 feet only--both of which con be
built on stone abutments covered with tin roofs,
for less than $4,000 each, that will last 6fty
years.
My plan OF introducing permanent bridges,
would be to cheaply patch the old ones, to keep
them safe, and in the mean time mature the best
permanent plans as the circumstances Of the
| uiuercnI places VIII suggest. Most OF old
bridges can be patched up cheaply and made to
last much longer by frequently examining them
carefully by one Of xperience-patching in
the right time and way. / did this at Grindle
and Trough Shoals, and have advocated this
policy, to better utilize the old bridges. By
pursuing this course the County Commissioners
can have time to school themselves up to q safe
progressive step in the introduction Of the above
suggested permanent plan, or approximating
it, step by step. In several places think It
would be best to first build the abutments, pre-
paratory to the span bridge, keeping up the old
one across the water one two, three or more
years. In Spartanburg County, there are many
places on streams not measuring more than forty
feet across the water and less, that are very we'll
adapted to low bridges on stone abutments,
which makes very great saving in cost rather
than have or times that length from hill to
hill standing on wooden trussels. This plan
there, gives, as learn, universal satisfaction
but met with opposition until people learned its
utility by experience. This County, however, 10
much less adapted to low bridge economy, but
yet in some places on Thckety and Fairforest it
will work we'll. If the Commissioners will bring
to their aid the best mechanical experience Of the
country, in stone, wood, and iron, and move
cautiously, SO as to make as few errors as possi-
Bile, IN improvement can be made i'm bridge econ
omy that would surprise nearly oil. BY this
course less than half the cost Of running the