Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-03-01
A MARVEL.
The Construction of the Bridge at The
 Needles and its Enormous Cost.

Few residents of Arizona realize the vast undertaking that is being actively engaged in at the present time at The Needles, where the Atlantic & Pacific railroad is building a cantilever bridge which will be, when completed, one of the wonders of America.
 A correspondent of the Albuquerque Citizen, in lengthy descriptive arti- cle, gives a concise and very interest ing account of its inception and con- struction Up to the present time. A short description of the mammoth un- dertaking will interest all Arizonans, as the work is being done within the limits of Our territory. He says:
 The year 1890 will be memorable for the Completion of the great iron cantllever bridge across the Colorado rlVer near The Needles, one of the most won derful and daring engin- eering achievements in the history of America. Since the construction of the great transcontinental Atlantic & Pacific "All the Year Round" railroad across the continent, the company have been compelled at various times to ospend hundreds of thousands of dol lars to try and keep a bridge across the Colorado river, and lat times has had the entire passenger and freight business of the whole road interrupted by sudden rise in the river and the washing away of the bridge. There fore the minds of the best engineering talent of America, if not of the world have been engaged for years in pre- pairing plan to master the rolling, surging waters of the great Colorado river, which is liable at certain seasons of the year to rise from bank to bank a night of twenty feet or more, with in few hours. The result has been to finally start the construction of great cantilever bridge.
 THE CANTILEvER PRINCIPLE.
 Every person is familiar with the principle of the suspension bridge; how the structure is suspended on chains, which are secured over high pillars at each end. The cantilever, however, is merely bracket built out from the shore by welding iron, beam on to beam, until it meets similar bracket sent out from the opposite side. The homely illustration has been used that it is like two men on opposite sides of stream stretching out their arms to join hands, and using a stick to complete the connection. In general appearance the bridge resembles two towers of open steel work, with an enormous bracket extending from each side of each tower, the intervening space between the ends of the brackets being covered by lattice work girders.
 DIMENSIONS.
 The iron and steel work is being made and placed in position on the bridge by the Pheuix Bridge Go. of Philadelphia. The company now have sixteen gangs of men at work, and employ 4,000 men. The span over all IS 99O feet; two anchor arms are 165 feet each two cantilever arms are 165 feet each, which consist of one sus- pended span of 330 feet, constructed of iron and steel. The span between masonry is 660 feet, the longest un- supported span in America, if not in the world. At connection of anchor and cantilever arm, which forms a tower for both arms, is 101 feet at center of pins. There are only half a dozen cantilever bridges in this coun- try.
 The approximate weight of this bridge is 3,200,000 pounds, and it would take over 200 cars to carry the iron and steel work alone.
 Superintendent Milliken intends to have 150 men busy in the iron work for nearly three months, and he. ex- poets to have trains running over the bridge by May 14th, or at most by June 1st, so as to have it completed before the June rise (which may wash out the present bridge) comes. The traveller, which is high, massive structure built solely to carry the iron and steel to it's proper place, cost $S,000
 If you want dry goods of any kind at bedrock prices, call at Wildman & l Co.,