Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-02-07
STREETS AND SEWERS.
City Engineer Weld Presents His X
 nuaI RepOrt.

The annual report of City Engineer | Weld was read at the meeting of the boards of road and sewer commissioners, being the only important business before the meeting. The report, which was ac- cepted, is substantially as follows:
 STREETS, PAvEMENTs, ETC.
 Street lines, building lines, curb lines and grades have been given to property owners when asked for, and to the street inspectors for grading streets or laying out new crosswalks. The length of lines and grades given on the ground as mentioned is nearly 23,OOO feet. No streets have been graded by contract. Very little has been done i'll the way Of repairs to sidewalks.
 The amount of paving in the city Is 12, ,S64 square yards, of which 9,94S was laid in 1888, a trifle over half a mile. We have at least four miles of streets which must be paved as soon as Is pos sible to lift us out of the mud. The lay ing of about 10, ,000 yards last year was step in the right direction, but 1t will take a long time to reach the goal of good streets unless the court of common council provides the neces- sary funds for carrying on the work,
 One of the chief objects of a pavement is lost if it is allowed to become muddy. I recommend that the pavements already laid be cleaned by contract; that the contractor be allowed to use the sweeper belonging to the city, that he sweep and clean the pavements twice week from the first of April to the first of Decem- Der, and once a week for the rest of the year, when snow or ice does not prevent.
 The frequent tearing up of pavement during the past year shows the necessity for more stringent rules governing the opening of paved streets. l suggest to you the advisability of asking the court of common council to pass an ordinance | fixing the fee for permit to open any paved street at $25.O0. the permit to be issued on application and payment of the fee without a vote of the board of road commissioners, as there are times when it is neces sary to make an opening with out delay.
 CRUSHED STONE AND SURFACE HARDENING. After making an examination of the stone along the Meriden, Waterbury and Connecticut River railroad, I am satis- | fled that trap rock suitable for crushing for road material and in sufficient quanti- ties, can be obtained at West Cheshire station. This stone is on land owned by the railroad company, and is so situated that it can be easily reached by side track from their main line.
 
 move the stone crushing plant owned
 by the city to the place mentioned and set up for work where the stone as it
 comes from the cruSher can be loaded on the cars by a chute without extra
 hauling. This crushed stone could be
 used to harden the surface of such streets
 as do not need a permanent pavement,
 and will give wearing surface much
 more lasting than granite and other
 materials we have been obliged to use
 for several years past. To get the best
 toned above it must be broken to nearly
 a uniform size no smaller than when
 used in larger quantities. The surface of the street should be cleaned off down
 to firm bottom, all mud and worn out
 material removed, and the foundation
 picked up and leveled off to receive the , stone. A layer of stone six or seven inches thick spread over this prepared
 bed, keeping the coarser stones at the
 bottom and then rolled down with { heavy roller to compact it and keep il . from spreading out under wheels, vii
 give good wearing surface. 1 thinl this work can be done at total cost ot about fifty cents square yard.
 7 SEWERS.
 | Twelve streets including the rights O. | way loI tllC C1SSPliIiSo SS" VI "SIS k'1o vided with sewers. The work of build ing the River street intercepting sewel was the most important piece of sewel !, work done in the city since the Benedic street outlet, and is already doing gooC
 work in carrying away the sewage tha , formerly flowed into Nal river. All the 7 sewage in the territory east of Cherry , street and north of East Main street is t( !, go through the intercepting sewer to th' Naugatuck river. The sewers that fo: merly emptied into Mad river from the Abrigador district, from Scovills factory
 and from South Main street below Jew |. elry street, now discharge into it, ant
 there is no public sewer carrying sewage to Mad river. The sewers have beer
 flushed with water when needed, anC the catch basins have been cleaned after each storm or when filled with sand. 4 total of 1893 house connections have
 been made with the sewers up to the present time, of which 1S1 were put ir
 during the past season. AS soon as the
 new street from Bank street to Burnhan
 street in Brooklyn is ready and the cross ing at Burnham street and the New York & New England road is made the sewage
 outlet on Bank street should be removed
 to point below Burnham street bridge
 as intended. The outfall in the Nauga
 tuck river should also be changed to the outfall built this season as before rec commended. The length of sewers in use
 Jan 1st, 1888, was 6.69 miles and Jan 1st 1889, 19.46 miles.
 Building lines have been established
 on four streets. No streets have been
 numbered or renumbered. I have tried
 to give numbers, for few new houses but the numbers in use on houses already , built are in such state of confusion that little can be done without a com } plete numbering or renumbering of the whole street in such case.
 The maps and records of the city en
 gineer's office increase in number anC value each year. The protection against loss by fire remains the same. There arc eight stoves in the offices of the build ing where these maps are kept and the maps are in plain wooden cases on the third floor.
 An Eminent Cardinal Dead.
 LONDON, Feb 1.-The death is an IL