The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-10-23
rs TOO LATE TO PAVE
Main Street Merchants Object to
Tearing Up the Street.
The City Engineer and Board Of Public Works
Believe IL Should Be Postponed
Until Spring.

"When will you begin work on your paw
ing contract asked HERALD reporter Of
Mr.. Culmer, Of the Gunner Jennings paw
Ing company
That question we have asked US not less
than fifty times day. said Mr.. Culmer
and he added. lit all depends on the city
engineer
The engineer is confronted by great
many questions that he has to settle IN
business way without regard to public
clamor. While there are members OF the
city council who after procrastinating all
summer insist that the contractors, the
next moving after the contract was
awarded, should have begun hauling
stone and blowing up the street there are
several side issues that must first be settled.
While the contractors claim to have enough
stone blocks already out to pave several
blocks and could easily dump them down
and obstruct business and offer further
impeachment TO trade by ripping up the
! roadway the experience in paving state
road has taught the engineer and the boaru
of public works lesson that ghey propose
to profit by in handling the Main street
job.
The Main street merchants have also
are now fairly into the busy 1ail
/ trade and even il ali the materials
were ready it would be serious
matter to them to have the street torn uu
during this season OF the year III this was
the only objection it would not be- suthclent
TO put the work over until the spring as
the advantage of paved street during the
wet months in the spring would overcome
! this objection.
But the fact that the street railway lines
have not yet ordered the new rails and
crossings which they must procure aud
| that it will take several weeks TO secure
them and several more weeks to put them
down besides the unforeseen delays that al
ways pop up. Those VINO watched the
progress OF work on the State road remem-
Der The serious delays caused by the Rapid
Transit people waiting for their rails.
The dragging of the work on the State
road was the cause of no end Of complaint,
yet it did not compare with the inconve-
nienoe and injury TO trade that would be
sure TO occur if Main street was suddenly
torn up and in ali Likelihood remain in the
chaotic state all winter. The work on
State street occurred during q favorable
time of the year when there were no rains,
and the trafflc on that thosoughfare Is not
one-fourth that of Main street. The sea-
son has now so far advanced that winter
may set in at any time and If the orders
would be the middle of December before
the street railroads could be put in shape
to allow the contractors to move on with
their work. II the contractors are
forced ahead at this unfavorable
season and the weather becomes
frosty it will be impossible to do the con-
crete work without danger of impairing the
cement. Neither can the asph9ltum be
laid during frosty weather, and II the con-
tractors, against their protest, were COM
pelled TO go ahead they could very easily
excuse any defective work by claiming
that it was caused by cold weather.
There is also another matter which must
be considered and which is of great i'm
p0rtaDce. The American Natural Gas
company has franchise to lay its pipes on
the streets, and this work should be done
before the paving blocks are set, for it
matters not how much care is taken in re-
setting them. the street is never left in as
good condition as If 1t had never been dis
turbed.
In view Of these facts the board of public
works will In all probability direct that the
natural gas company must lay its pipes by
a certain time, and that the street railway
company must have its material all on the
ground say by the 1st of April or the 1st OF
May.
The Culmer- Jennings Co. shall be re-
quired to have all the Stone cut by the
to slap down. the mere matter Of placing
them together need not take but few
months at most.
The time selected for paving business
streets should be June, July and August
when there is but little traffic on the street
and the merchants have little trade to
handle.
If there is anybody to blame for the de-
lay that Will necessarily ensue it is the city
council and after procrastinating all sum-
mer, il instead of jumping around and
dancing iigs now they will go right
ahead and map out the work for next sum-
mer that they expect to accomplish, let the
contracts now and contractors can be ready
for business at the time stipulated they
viii act like sensible business men.
| If West Temple street is to be paved
next summer now is the time to pass the
ordinances and not next spring or next fall
IS the case was this year.