Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1890-10-10
BUILDING THE UNION PACIFIC
BRIDGE.
Engineer Lederle's Plans Approved
and He is Ready to Begin Work.

duo 11o 10 1soouy W 0oSAA WOHA.
Mr.. George K. Lederle, the engineer
in charge of the construction of the
Union Pacific's bridge across the Co
lumbia at Vancouver, has been notified
that the plans for the bridge submitted
to Major Handbury, U. s. Engineers,
and forwarded, with his recommends
ton, to Washington, have been ap-
proved 10y the chief of engineers, and
Mr.. Lederle has received definite ill.,
structions to 60 ahead with the work.
He has already contracted for large
amount of lumber, and has commenced
the framing of the caissons. of which
there will be six, and the work Of driv-
ing the piles for the draw protection
will be begun next week.
The bridge was at first intended as a
single-track bridge, like the steel bridge
here. but just before the plans were
submitted it was decided to make it a
double-track bridge, thirty feet in width,
with upper roadways for teams. The
act authorizing the construction of the
bridge provides that any railroad COM
pany shall have the privilege of cross
ing it by paying the Union Pacific a
reasonable sum for such privilege, and
the probability OF other roads seeking
entrance to Portland by this route was
probably what decided the company to
make it a double track, as with two
tracks they will be able to accommodate
all the railroads that come along.
The piers will be built on caissons
sunk down in the bed OF the river as
far as desirable. One will be sunk
eighty feet below low water. The cais-
son for the pivotal pier will be 4Ox40
feet, while the others will be 23x62.
These caissons are simply huge boxes
of strong timber, l2x12 inches or larger,
without bottoms. Around the lower
edges Of these boxes is an iron with a
sharp edge for cutting down into the
sand. The top of the box has an open.
ing for letting workmen in and out,
and machinery on barge pumps air
down to them. The piers will be built
ON these caissons while the men under
them dig away the sand, which is re-
moved by q pump, and the weight OF
the pier keeps the caisson going down
as long as desired.
The piers upto near low-water mark
will be of timber and concrete, there
being q place left down the center for
the men to 60 in and come out. When
they have got the caisson down far
enough it will be filled with concrete
and will form part of the pier. The
piers above low-water will be iron cyl
inders filed with concrete, fourteen
feet in diameter at the bottom and ten
at the top.
The bridge will be of steel. and the
draw will be one of the largest in the
country. It will be seventy feet high
in the center and thirty.eight feet high
at the ends and 40 feet long, giving a
clear opening OF 200 feet on each side.
A vast amount of crushed rock for
concrete has been contracted for from
Hinkle's quarry, near Washougal, and
Mr.. Stiffin has a contract for building
fleet OF barges for the work. The air
COMPRISING machinery is being set up
at the boneyard below town and every
thing is in trim for pushing the work
of construction as fast as possible. The
bridge will cost 100000 and will be
completed by January l. 1892.