The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1890-02-09
TRHNTON'S TUNNEL.
The Pennsylvania Railway
Actively Pushing the
Work Of Con-
struGtion.

TRENTON, Feb. i, 1890. What was
formerly known as Lovers Bridge"
or Greenwood avenue, which crossed
the Pennsylvania Railroad and the
canal from Greenwood avenue, looks
now like one large human bee hive, SO
busy are the men, the steam derricks,
the dirt cars and horse carts in that
vicinity, building the huge tunnel
that the Pennsylvania Railroad may
provide facilities for their rapidly in
creasing business.
The area of ground which the work.
men cover in their labors is about five
acres. The depth necessary for the
new tunnel and the massive stone
walls is thirty three feet, and when
the work is completed, the contrac-
tors say, they will have completed the
largest and strongest railroad tunnel
in the State of New Jersey.
Previous to December 10. of last
year, scarcely one person out of a
dozen who had occasion to pass the
canal tunnel, as it was called, had any
idea OF the amount of labor expended
in placing it there
Since the beginning of the new tnn-
people who have not spent some time
viewing the work. In order to make
the present excavation, Contractors
Herbert Stewart and T. II. Kelly,
have excavated over rs, 600 square
yards of earth.
They worked night and day for
long time and even surprised the rail
road company by the progress they
made. Now they work but one gang
OF 300 worklnen, having dropped the
night gang.
The stone walls are 80 feet high and
16 feet wide at the base and the two
walls will require 5000 perch of stone
which h. b., and S. b. Twining, of
Yardley, have the contract to furnish
These walls will be $50 feet in length
when completed.
The distance from one wall to
another is about go feet and from wall
to wall, on the level with the canal,
will be stretched 80 wrought iron
beams weighing thousands OF tons.
These beams will be covered with
boiler iron and will form the bottom
of the canal at that point. The work
is not more than half completed to-
day, but it must be done by March
10. Mr.. Stewart told reporter
that he would have his side of the
tunnel finished about ten days ahead
of time if he has good weather, but
Mr.. Kelly has had several drawbacks
and will just about finish up on time.
On Tuesday Mr.. Stewart expects TO
remove one Of the old walls. That
wall was built several years ago, said
he to the reporter, and it is filled in
with about two feet of concrete cement
and will require me to use fifty pounds
Of dynamite to blow it loose.
In order to move the mass of debris
speedily Dir. Stewart is having a rail-
road track put in alongside the old
wall and will send the stone and old
brick away in cars.
Mr. Stewart was unable to say posi-
lively what the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company intended doing with the
land they had purchased along Broad
street, but he gave 1t as his opinion
that they intended running four
tracks clear through to Bristol.
In case this is correct it Will again
bring the free Delaware bridge sub
ject up, as the company will be unable
to lay four tracks across the bridge
unless they use the wagon passage
way of the bridge.
The Greenwood avenue bridge con-
tract was also given to Mr.. Stewart by
the company on Saturday. The
bridge is to be built of iron and will
be three hundred feet long. The con-
tract calls for its completion by March
10. as the railroad company only
asked the privilege of removing the
bridge for ninety days, and the ninety
days will have expired on that date.