The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1879-02-14
For the Times.
TUT IHV III
Building Bridges.

when | began mechanics | made it point to
study the science as well as practice of mechan-
les, and read, more or less, several American
works on the subject. l think it very mate
rial deficiency in u WORM to know but little
of the science involved in his profession for
the lack of which he is more less liable to
make serious blunders. With my general read
ing in mechanics, long practice, extensive OBJ
servation, North and South, and conversation
with the ablest American workmen, and max
ing bridges sort of specially for twenty years,
and seeing 50 rerY clear as do that progressive
bridge work is no small want of our country,
| 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 several of the very
best masons i'll the Two Counties, and the more
| had done of it the more liked it, rs it proved
to be less costly than L anticipated and made
the work SO permanent. When one is prepared
with good Derrick and other proper implements,
with good workmen the stone work goes on fast.
On Pacoiet, Tiger and Enorce, the granite can
be boatcl to the bridge places, as it can be
| found in many places near to or on the side
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
cred bridge at Grindle Shoals. They advertised
| for BIDS AMI no doubt it would have been built
but for the war. Two of the Commissioners cA-
amincd very fine quarry six miles up tho
river Cn 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 OH the abutments l
| got experienced stone mason, Mr.. Petrec,
to examine the situation and Surro undings, who
| said quarry on the river bank 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 lao feet long will
cross the river; all the rest of the bridge from
| that cut should be built of stone and dirt
| bankmcnt. Much of the dirt embankmcnt
could be used safely the sand bar side, tie
| slow current admitting it that being the con-
cave side of the stream. 1t was at this deep
| sand bar side my attention was called 20 years
ago, TO make thorough investigation rs to tho
practicability of building heavy stone abutmens
on wooden foundations. l decided that it was,
and all sub equent research ~ the present
| time confirms that decision. bridge built
| on this improved plan, covered over with tin,
could be we'll put up for $4,000 at most and
believe, could be built for $1,000.
The cost of covered bridges in Georgia
about from to 10 dollars per running foot
| The latter price would make the wood work cost
81 400 and do think the abutmcnts and dirt
enlbankmcnt, can be done for 81, ,OOO at tiurthcst,
which would make bridge last 5O years with
tin roof while the cost of the present bridge was
81 800 III ID, calling for several repairs since.
| The Gov. Gist bridge cost s., 500 about the
same time and will soon need u new bridge.
| will mention that where q river makes n
sudden bend against granite hill having wide
| bottom on the other side, is generally cheap
| place for bridge and is well adopted to stone
| abutmcnts and spanning entirely across as those
| places arc rather narrow, and with our largest
! Ii vshvts much Vr its waters pass tho bot
| toms. The wood work, without much cost, can
| be strongly fastened down to the stone abut-
| mcnts, to protect them in case Of such freshets
| rs -. This rcshct some five feet up on
the Maxwell covered bridge OH Tugalo without
| damage.
Before closing will say that | introduced
| the Howe truss ut Trough Shoals in &c, and am
well pleased with it, believing il better than the
utly, even after had improved the Uty by
| tightening many of its dead weight parts.-
Must further say that l never saw, until very
recently the Minter bridges across Tiger and
Enoree rivers, that nature has done much for
| those places cheap crossings, peculiarly
| adapted for covered bridges spanning the
streams-TygCr calling for 80 feet span only,
| Enorce for 10 feet only-both of which can be
| built on stone abutmcnts covered with tin roofs,
| for less than $4,000 each, that will last fifty
| years.
My plan of introducing permanent bridges,
would be to chcaply patch the old ones, to keep
| thcE safe, and in the mean time mature the best
| permanent plans the circumstances of the
different places will suggest. Most of old
| bridges can be patched up chcaply and made to
| last much longer by frequently examining them
carcfnlly by one of cXpcricncc-patching in
the right time and way. | did this at Grindlo
| and Trough Shoals, and have advocated this
| policy, to better utilize the old bridges. by
| pursuing this course the County Commissioners
! can nave time to school themselves up to a safe
| progressive step i'll the introduction ofthc 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 moro
years. In Spartanburg County, there are many
| places on streams not measuring more than forty
feet across the water and less that arc very well
| adapted to low bridges on stone abutments,
| which makes n very great saving in cost rather
| than have 4 or times that length from hill to
| hill standing on wooden trusscs. This plan
there, gives rs | learn, universal satisfaction,
hut met with opposition until people learned it's
utility by experience. This County, however, is
much less adapted to low bridge economy but
yet in some places on Thickcty and Fairforcst it
| will work well. If the Commissioners will bring
to their AID the best mechanical experience of the
! country, in stone, wood, and iron, and move
| cautiously, to make as few errors as possi-
| bic, an mprOv cment can be made in bridge ccoE-
Omy that would surprise nearly all By this
| course less than half the cost of running the
| bridges will suffice, in other words the cost
a. Il. a.