Morning journal and courier., 1885-08-15
THE NEW romL1NsoE BRIDGE.

Progress of the Work-Preparing to
 Sink the Great Caisson for the
 Center Pier-The ArduOus LabOrs
 of the Diver Thirty Feet Under |
 Water-Interesting Facts.
 Although it is well known fact that the 1 old Tomlinson bridge is thing of the past, I but very little is known by the general pub lie of the progress being made to erect In its place the enduring iron structure which will in a few months be finished and opened to pub lie travel. From the time the contract was signed for the sub-structure to the pres ent time the Messrs. Redfeld & Sons have been pursuing the work with all the speed possible consistent with so extended and i'm portant a work. The contractors are now
 engaged on the center pier, on which the
 great draw will turn on its axis to allow the
 hundreds of vessels engaged in the
 oyster, coal and lumber trade to
 pass uninterruptedly to their wharves
 on the Quinnipiac and Mill rivers, and re-
 turn again to the waters of the Sound when
 their cargoes are discharged.- The work on
 this pier at present is necessarily very slow
 as it is really being done by one man thirty
 feet under water. That man is Captain John
 Rice of Brooklyn, N. Y., an experienced sub-
 marine diver. He was employed for this
 work by the Messrs. Redfeld about week
 ago, and since that time has been engaged In
 levelling off the surface bottom of the river
 for the reception of the great caisson. To
 the uninformed brief description of the way this work is done will be read with interest. Over the spot where the levelling is in prog ress is square frame of the same dimen- sions that the pier will be at the bottom when completed This frame is supported about four feet above the surface of the wa ter by strong iron rods passing down to the rocky bed below where they are securely anchored. Across this frame IS placed edQewise a movable board or plank which serves the purpose of level. Suspended from this level are iron rods booked at the ends, reaching to the bottom of the river. In these hooks extending the entire length ot the movable level is placed an iron rod or bar and by this the diver is guided in his work. As the bed is made even in one place the level is moved and thus the work slowly progresses. The diver has to go by the sense of feeling principally, as it is quite dark at the bottom. A day or two ago he came across a large boulder, which must be got out of the way He at first commenced to drill it for the purpose of inserting "dog" or oranplipe iron so that it could be raised by chains. This was abandoned after time and he is now digging around it so that a heavy chain may be passed over it and with a strong windlass it is expected to raise it to the surface. The diver seldom remains un- der water more than an hour and a half at a time, the work being SO tiresome that he must come to the surface and rest. On Wednesday he was under water about nine hours altogether, which is the longest time he has engaged in his work in a single day, five or six hours being considered good days work.
 On Thursday one of the men employed on the scow on which is the diving apparatus, To, HoxuGo1d atrirona6 and sliding down one of the bars that holds the frame work over the diver went to the bottom, shook hands with Captain Rice and then re- turned to the surface. In this connection it may be said that the divers suit, air pump and all the diving apparatus are owned by the Messrs Redfeld and cost about $5OO When 8 diver furnishes his own armor ana ma chinery the charges are about $40 per day, and when these are furnished the cost IS con siderably less.
 The huge caisson is tied up to piles just east of the bridge and as soon as the diver
 completes his work it will be moved directly
 over the place where it is to rest and be filled
 with stone until it sinks of it's own weight to
 it's rocky bed below. It now has about six
 feet of rock in 1t and draws about fifteen
 feet of water. No more stone will be placed
 inside of it until it is moved to it's final posi-
 tion, which the contractors think will be
 sometime next week. After the caisson has
 
 to finish the pier and the work of erecting the first section of the superstructure can then be commenced.
 After the center pier is finished there will be another of somewhat smaller dimensions to be built about forty feet east and the same details will have to be gone through with as at the center. Then will follow the | building of the eastern abutment. The western pier will be left standing, although it will be built out or added to on the east face and some repairs will be made on 1t. Between the center and east piers one ot | the Messrs Redfeld's immense dredgers is at work dredging out the channel under a contract from the government. Where the water was formerly four feet deep it will be dredged to depth of eighteen feet, so that vessels can pass up and down the r1Ver on either side of the draw.
 It is said that since the Instructions nec- essary for the safety of the old bridge have | been removed, that the tide rises nearly a l foot higher at Fair Haven, which is mat I ter of no little importance to the owners ot I large vessels.
 Although this work is being done by the l Tomlinson Bridge company, which is Ylrtu | ally the Consolidated Railroad company, un- ! der an act of the last legislature compelling \ them to do so, yet 1t is being done 1 well, and when completed it will be not only a credit to this great corporation, but will I be structure that the citizens of New Haven can look upon with pride, although 1 they had no hand as taxpayers in it's erec- tion. The company's engineers are super l intending the work and their sunburned faces show that they are not neglecting the \ important duties imposed upon them.
 Yesterday there was quite large number of people standing on the wharves at the most available points watching the progress of the work, the most interest centering in the operations of the diver. As he rolled of l the old scow into the water he appeared at a distance like some huge sea monster. While under the water the two men at the ail | pump kept up their unceasing turn at the l wheel, never for moment stopping, know ing full well that to do so was sudden death to the man at the other end of the rope whose life depended upon their faithfulness I One of the Messrs. Redfield is in constant at tendance while the diver is under water ! keeping hold of the signal rope whereby the 1 diver makes his wishes known to those il I the boat above him.
 |