The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1889-01-25
The valley street sewer.

The valley street sewer.
The Valley street sewer il rapidly
approaching completion On the Both
dtv of last October the first shovel WAS
struck in the stubborn soil at the river
end, and since that time large force OF
workmen, provided W tn the latest devi
ces in the art Of sewer ercavAling aud
construction, have been coming towards
Broadway. their rate of speed being
dependent on the nature of the ground
they have had to remove. The contract
called for the completion of the sewer
January lst, hut the digging has been
much more d tlicult than was anticipated
md it will require n month longer, under
the most favorable conditions. 10 complete
the job. Quicksand has beer the worst
obstacle that the contractors have en-
rountered. IL began at Fletcher's Mil
md continued until Delaine street was
reached. This, of course. made the
progl css much slower. Al Drlaine street
& strata Of gravel was struck with vol.
u,nes of water. and three days W re lost
getting the steam pump at work. To
illustrate the difference between good
and poor digging. the contractors say
hat they can remove. under the most
favorable c"ndit ons, "a feet in - hours,
and under the worst. such as n great a nj
nf Valley street has been, IL requires Is
hours 10 remove 81 feet II may be Of
interest 10 the people of Olneyville 10
know something more of this sewer whcl,
= designed 10 relieve the square Of III.
volume Of water that comes down the
hills OF Broadway and High street with
every heavy rain. aud making boat~
almost necessary in the business pnrt Of
our village. The sewer extends from he
junction of High street and Broadway
through Valley street 60 the river, y
distance Of 2OOO feet. 500 feet 81 ,h,
I'll .tance. beginning at the Br ,adway end.
II pr r1vided with 60 inch sewer. and the
rest Of the distance with 30 inch. The
sewer II provided with S catch basins on
Valley street, on Broadway and on
High street. There are man holes on
he main line. The eXcava'i ion IL 10 feet
WIDE AID IL feet deep. and 10 construct
inoal foot Of the Ga inch sewer II requires
272 bricks. The foundation Of the sewer
~ of G1S sirngpr.. The AoDr is of 2 incl
plank and the brick inside IL laid in
cradliug consisting of ribs made 10 suit
the form of the sewer. The ribs are lined
with 2s3 sheathing. The timber used N
sewer construction is spruce, which vii
not rot. The carpenters and mason
follow closely after the eIcava ors, -
that the work is kept closely up. Th,
Carson Trcuch Machine has been used
by the Metropolitan Construction Co. oi
Boston, who are the contractors, in doing
this work II saves % per cent of lab ,
over any other method. It's the inven
ton Of Nr. Howard Carson, OF Boston,
who Sas at one time employed In The
City Engineer department. in Provi-
dri,ce. in fact, It was in tins city that
ih. invention was first ed, some thirteen
years ago. Since then. however, Mr.
Carson has made some decided improve
menis 20 the machine. II is especially
convenient In narrow streets and av id,
the piling Of high banks of earth on
either side 4 the trench. The apparatus
consists ~ an overhead railway about 200
T. 4 D. Ia ~.
arc run the tubs or buckets for carrying
bnck the eIcavaied earth. There are IL
of these tubs. each capable Of holding
cubic feet of earth While 81 these are
beng filed in the trench are going
back 20 be emptied and 4 are coming
forward empty 20 take the place ~ thosr
in the trench. And 80 il is kept up con
iinua.ly by means of ~ horse power
boisting engine. which hosts the tubs
and carries them forward and back Wy
means ~ iron ropes. II will be seen,
that the dirt eIcavaied is carried back
and used in filing up the part of tbs
sewer where the masonry is laid. The
surplus earth is cartsd away IN teans
Since the fret Il January 50 men have
been at work On the sewer. They are
divided into two Rangs. one working
days ani the other nights. The work il
under The immediate supervision ~ Mr.
@. W Judd. who has been engaged in
sewer construction FOR the past thirty
years. Mr.. wiimarih. presiden, of the
Metropolitan Co. comes down from
Bos,on every day 70 look after his big
contract.