The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1890-11-19
A BIG ENGINEERING FEAT.
GREATEST BRIDGE IN THE WORLD
TO SPAN THE HUDSON,

ttire Will Connect Jersey City ard
New York.
The greatest canti-lever bridge in the
world is to span the Hudson River from
New York to New Jersey, says letter
from New York to the Chicago Herald.
1t will be bigger and longer than the
enormous structure in Scotland which
crosses the Firth of Forth and is the
most extensive structure in existence
built on the cantilever principle. II will
be one-third longer and much wider than
the suspension bridge which unites New
York and Brooklyn, and will cross the
water at greater elevation by twenty
feet than does the East River bridge.
Its cost will be about $40, 900, 900 and
five years will be required to construct
the work. As the new acqueduct is the
marvel of the nineteenth century in hy-
drauhc engineering, so in bridge con-
struction will the proposed structure be
the wonder of the age.
The engineers, Thomas G. Clarke and
Charles B. Brush, have practically deter
mined upon the location of the approaches
on the opposite shores, but of course they
decline to make that knowledge public
as yet.
The law says that the bridge must
land in the metropolis between Tenth
and 1S1st streets, on private property, to
be acquired under the right of eminent
domain. In New Jersey it will prob
ably start from the lower part of Pslisade
Ridge in Jersey City, where the ground
is 100 feet above the level of the Hud-
son, and a natural grade to the ap-
proaches of the bridge would be secured
without the building of an elevated via.
duct. II this proves to be the site Sc
lected the most reasonable assumption
would be that the New York terminus
will be in the region of Broadway and
Forty second street. Thus passengers
from the South and West will be
whirled into one grand union station.
Into this will also run the trains Of the
Long Island Railroad, which will cross
the East River by tunnel that will be
continued under Forty second street to
the Grand Central and also to the great
union station, similar to that of the
Northwestern Railway in London.
DuliJ uDOu pun
ciple there will be but a single span
over the river, with tower on either
shore. Grain storehouses will be under
the bridge and also under the tracks
along the Palisades. The freight cars
will unload by chutes extending to the
tops of these warehouses. The bridge
will be of steel, and 2400 feet from span
to span.
1t will have six railroad tracks, Its
bottom will be $50 feet above the
rivers surface and its top will be fifty
feet still higher. After the granite piers
and approaches are constructed the
bridge will be put together section by
section. the steel being brought to the
spot on floats from the mills as needed.
The latter part of the stupendous un-
dertaking will be the easiest of accom-
! plishment.
When the Herald correspondent called
at the Office of the bridge commissioner:
he found ex Judge George w. Green, the
father of the bridge project, with Secre-
tary Swan both busily engaged in the ex
animation of mass of plans and esti.
mates. Judge Green SAID: "The cost
of the bridge itself will be about SIS,
900, 900 and the total cost including ap'
proaches and stations about $40, 600, 900
OF this sum $40, 900, 900 will be raised
by sale of stock and $50, 900, 600 by the
issue of bonds. The passenger stations
will be built of steel, and large enough
to admit all trains that now enter New
York, New Jersey and Brooklyn. Il
will have twenty tracks, side by side
and be 1900 feet in length. The grade
in and out of the city over the bridg'
will be forty feet to the mile. The road
accommodated by the bridge are tn
Pennsylvania; Central Railroad of New
Jersey; Delaware, Lackawanna anC
Western; New York and Erie; New
York and Greenwood Lake; New York
Susquehanna and Western; New York
Ontario aud Western, and the Yves
Shore, with the smaller roads operated b.
or having connection with these corpora
tions. The roads enumerated reacl
every section South and West. Thei
passenger traffic is about sixty millions
year, and the freight reaches the enorm
Gus sum of $4,000, 900 tons yearly
When this bridge is constructed the dis
comfort and delay passengers now ex
perience in crossing to New York ol
ferryboats will be at an end, and the cos
of transportation of baggage and trans
shipment Of freight will no longer exist
at is evident that New York is reach
ing the limit Of its resident population
While the latter can extend north and t.
Long Island, it will also naturally eI
tend to the west of the Hudson, wher
is an inviting field for residence. Whil
this territory in New Jersey will grow il
population it will not take from Ney
York any Of its population which it ca
more favorably accommodate. Their
will have to be provided a system q
rapid transit over the bridge to accom-
modate those living within a short dis
tance of the metropolis. Within twent
years the beautiful region all about IN
Palisades will contain the homes of thou
sands of those who will seek this quar-
ter to avoid the high rents and excessiV
cost of living in this city. In every a
pect the bridge will be blessing TO III
, metropolis and 10 the commercial inte
ests of the nation
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