The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-12-19
THE MEMPHIS BRIDGE.
RESULT or ENGINEER DURYEA'S
INVESTIGATIONS.
Satisfactory Character OF the Arkan.
sss SOil-BOring the Bed OF
the Mississippi.


has revived Interest in the subject
and In order to inform the readers Of
tho APPEAL fully IS 10 what has thu!
far been done, reporter yesterday
hunted up M. E1w n Duryea, en-.
gineer ia charge Of the preliminary
gu -vey, and piled him with questions
as follows:
"When did you arrive hersP"
"0n the 23d Of November, and be.
gan to take bearings on the 29th."
"How many man are engaged in the
work besides yourselff"
"About eight"
"Where did you begin operations ?"
ION the Arkansas shore, about 10
feet above the West Memphis ferry
larding."
"Howlong we're you at work there ~
"UGtil December 16lh-two days
ago."
"What Did you GndH"
'We bored a little over 15C feet be-
meath the surface, and found stratum
clay sufficiently deep 10 insure solid
foundation for the ridge We are
agreeably disappointed With the char-
aCter Of the soil, az we expected to be
confronted with greater difficulties
than those thai really exist. Our
operations, thus far, have been purely
tentative"
Have YOU made any boringg on
this side?"
"None. We are now eng ged in
boriog In the center OF the river, on
line with the Fort Pickering poist
where the Hays is tied up. We began
boring there yesterday morning and
have reached a point twenty feet be-
low the bed OF the river"
"HSve lou gone far enough TO ex.
press az Opiuion AZ to tho prospects OF
fading favorable soil there2p
"No, we can't tell anything about
it. We may strike good soil tomorrow
or next day, 1t ia hard to tell"
"From the character OF the sol on
the Arkansas shore, do you feel war
ranted in assuming that you will at
an early day strike stratum OF clay
in the river bed2'
81 am not prepared TO give an
opinion on that point. prefer going
deeper before making any statements
on that head"
"How mary feet can you bore
through q Jay in the river bed ?"
"About ten or twelve feet; some
times more"
cater YOU have finished boring In
the river bed what will be your next
1--WE will then take borings on both
shores. II will depend largely on
what We find ia the middle of the
river"
Are you at liberty to state what
kind OF bridge is contemplated 7"
at 10 not yet decided. That will
depend in o measure upon the result
OF our boriugs ard the requirements
Of the United States Government.
"Oan you state positively whether
or not 1t will be suspension
bridget"
"Yee. regard suspension bridge
as out OF the question; II a long span
bridge should be built it will be a
caniilsVer"
Have you measured the distance
from point to point on the opposite
shores7"
eyes. From bluff 10 bluff il is about
200 feet. From shore to ehore in the
present low stare Of water the distances
is only about 1000 feet"
"How long will II bs before your
boring operations are concluded"
sit msy be month or two months,
that vii also dspend upon what We
"Under whose instructions are you
operatingr"
"Ge rga s. Morrison, On engineer of
New York CITY,"
"Has he ever built a bridge be-
fo,e2"
eyes, sir. He has built bridges at
PlattsmsD, Bismsrck and Blair on the
Missouri river, and hss two more in
process OF construction, one at Omaha,
NIB, and one Ut kulo, in that State"
How many men will the construc
ton Of q bridge acroes the Mississippi
probably give Employment tor
Between 500 aud GEO."
How loug will it probably take to
complete it2"
About two or three years"