Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-12-15
NEARING X CLIMAX.

 A Resume of the Grade Crossing Question at Bank, Burnham and South Riverside Streets-The Road Commissioners Moving in the Mat
 ter.
 Another question of burning interest to the taxpayers is in regard to the many railroad crossings at grade in different parts of the town, and particularly the Bank, Burnham and South Riverside street crossings.
 In order to understand the complicated condition of affairs it is necessary to go back fifteen years or more. At that time South Riverside and Bank streets were public thoroughfares. Burnham street had not been opened, neither had 1 the extension of the New York and New | England railroad been built through the Brooklyn district. The grade of Bank street from theNaugatuck station toSouth Riverside street was much lower than it 1 is at present. Everybody remembers the old dry bridge that used to stand near the corner of Jackson street. Between the Brooklyn bridge and what is now | Kelly's block was piece of low ground, l which in wet weather received some of 1 the overflow of the river. It is matter of municipal history that this low section | of the highway was filled up in the night ! S corporation without authority, making I it compulsory upon the city to change the grade this side of the bridge in order to avoid the overflow from the river. l A few years later the railroad exten- 1 sion was built, crossing Bank street at l grade. The city made no effort to com | pei the company to raise its tracks above the road 4 little later Burnham street was opened and then the trouble began. The state laws bearing upon grade cross | ingS had been framed according to rail road ideas and the New York and New England company claimed that if Burn ham street crossed their tracks at grade | the South Riverside crossing would have l to be discontinued. There was a con- | trOverSy between residents of the Brook l lyn district as to which street would be | closed: some favored Burnham, others South Riverside, but the great majority | were in favor of continuing both streets l at any cost.
 As way out of the difficulty it was suggested that Riverside street could be tunneled at comparatively small cost. This plan was thought favorably of, but the Holmes, Booth & Havdens company stepped in and secured an injunction, claiming that if the grade of the street was lowered, their land adja- cent would be flooded and rendered worthless. Their objections were with. out reason, What Holmes, Booth & HaydenS had their eyes on was the land which separated the little flat iron strip from the main body of theil property and which would revert to then in the layout of South Riverside street
 being discontinued or its layout charged
 The matter was passed upon by tht ! railroad commissioners and from there i was carried to the superior court. Judge
 Andrews after hearing arguments say
 he will order in substance that the layou of South Riverside street be changed ss
 that that street and Burnham street eros
 the New England tracks at the sams point. He also will order Banl
 street to go under the tracks. Tn, railroad company will have tt
 raise their tracks four feet and fraction 2 and must bear two-thirds of the expense Judge Andrews has not yet filed his de s ciSiOn, in order to give the city an op } pOrtunity to do the work and asses \ property owners for benefits and dam 2 ages.
 t The road commissioners have been or
 dered to do the work, and at their meet f ing last night the matter was discusses = at length. Whether the proposed nev : street shall be thirty-three feet or fort ' feet wide. and whether the whole of tn lanu be Jtken rom the property owners :. are questions that have not been decided : The property holders who are directl
 interested are Holmes, Booth & Hay q dens, New York & New England Raj a road Co.,, NJ. Guilfoile. Daniel Murphy f John Wagner, John Driscoll, Mrs Buck . ley, Timothy Sullivan. Michael CroniI
 Mrs Fitzgerald, John Clohessy and Joh i, Dwyer. The Shanahan property in tn a angle between the railroad and Sout
 Riverside street will also be needed t
 carry out the improvements. At i rough estimate the cost of the change | | will not be less than S55 ,000