Morning journal and courier., 1888-02-02
BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS,

Bids Opened-Annua1 Report of City
 Engineer Hill-The City's Sewers
 Belgian Pavements, Horse Car
 Tracks, Etc.-A New Road fer Snake
 Rock.
 The board of public works met last even ing. Bids for providing Belgian brick for sewers were opened. It was decided to re- ject the bids and advertise again. The Quinnipiae Brick company offered to provide the brick for s10 12 per 1 ,0eO; John E. Davis & Co.,, $11. The bids for furnishing cobb1e stones were opened. E. Cunningham would take the contract at twenty-five cents per square yard; J. Montgomery, twenty-nine cents; Charles W. Blakeslee & Son, twenty nine and one-half cents. The contract was awarded to MT. Cunningham. The follow ing bids were laid on the table: For granite crossing stones and paving blocks, Charles W. Blakeslee & Son; for blue stone, H. D. Clark & Co.,; for cast iron ,McLagon Foundry company; for catch basin heads, John Beat- tie
 The report of City Engineer Hill was pre- sented. It covers twenty-five pages of legal cap. He first speaks of bridges, of and twenty y-nine which cross railroads. Nine are of iron, one of stone and the rest are of wood. A description is given of the Howard avenue bridge and the commencement of the Jackson and James street bridges. The drawbridge has been adjusted so that it swings through a complete circuit and is reversible at pleas ure A new engine has been put in with new and heavier rests and pinions and 8 band of friction on the shaft which is under the control of the engineer at all times. Nearly all the iron bridges are painted and are in good condition. The engineer gives table showing the cost per foot of maintain ing the roadways of bridges during the last fifteen years. The average cost has been diminished during the past three years The most expensive one to maintain is the westerly part of the one on Grand ave- nue, which is wooden structure. The next one in expense is the one on State street over Mill river. The timbers are badly decayed, the abutments are bulging and in the spring it will need attention. He recommends that it be of iron with permanent floor system.
 A list of the sewers constructed in twenty four streets during the past year is given. All except the Chester and Prince street sewers were laid by the advertised contract system. The contract in every case was giv- en to the lowest bidder. Much other inter esting and valuable information is given in this connection. Following the report says:
 The total area at present of asphalt pave ments is 451 ,426 square yards, which is 261a miles in length. The city has 136 miles of streets and less than one half are paved.
 The Belgian paving on portions of Chapel street, State street and Grand avenue next to the rails of the horse railroad tracks needs repairing in many places and doubtless will continue to need much attention as long as the present blocks are in use. Not that they were improperly laid when the track was put down, but the necessary cut ting away of the bed of the small block on account of the projecting bottom hange of the rail leaves such small bed for the block to stand on that it is soon driven down under the hammering from the wheels of heavy trucks. With the longer granite blocks the results are much better, for pro portionately less area of the block is cut away, but they are liable to tip little under heavy loads on the unsupported corners The horse railroad tracks will doubtless be more or less annoying to ordinary street traffic un- til a little different form of rail is adopted. The present rail, with the paving kept to its proper grade, is doubtless less troublesome than the center bearing rail. Probably the best form yet de- vised 50 far as the street traffic is concerned, is the European groove rail, where the pave- raent is laid flush with the top of the rail and the fange of the car wheel runs in a groove in the tread of the rail, too narrow to admit the wheels of ordinary vehicles. By this method it is practically no obstruction to travel in crossing the tracks. The "Liver- pool'' rail will also give excellent results. This is-a tie or girded rail seven inches deep, with bottom fanges six inches wide. The paving blocks next to the rail rest on it's bottom hange and cannot settle.
 Reference is made to the work done in the grading of the streets.
 During the year the city engineer has fur- nished the boards of public works and com pensation with ninety nine maps and thirty four plans of profile for sewers and bridge work.
 Speaking of East Rock Park he says that preliminary lines have been run out and loca- tions made and staked off for new road on Snake Rock, diverging $50 feet from the old Bishop roadway and to connect again with it at English bridge. The length of this road, now complete, is l, $50 feet. The total length of Farnam drive is two and one-half miles ard of the English drive one and three-quar- ter miles. The total length of carriage drive in the park at present is five and one-third Dni1aa