The morning call., 1894-12-10
MOVED A BIG COFFER-DAM.
A Section of the New Ferry Foun-
dation Badly Injured.
REVIEW OF WORK CONSUMATED.
Difficulty of Reaching Bottom With
Piling in the Soft Bay
Mud.

Yesterdays tide was the highest that
has been known for years. The flood
almost reached the tops of the city
wharves, and in so doing played havoc
with the triple cOffer-dam at the north
section Of The new ferry depot foundation.
The cement Gaping for one of the pile
clusters nearest the bav was moved out of
plumb a number of inches and the proba-
bilities are that the work on the pier will
have TO be done all over again. This
would necessita'e the removal of all the
cement that has been LAID on the pile-tops,
a very diffculL and expensive job.
In another section of the adjoining dam
the cement has fallen out of one of the
PIERS. leaving a great hole in It's south side
which speaks for itself. 1t is contended
that the work was not properly done in the
first place, and the Gray Brothers, who
have the sub-contract for the cement
work, will doubtless be held responsible.
1t is not at all likely that the cement
would have fallen out of this pier had it
been given the proper time to dry before
the boards that were placed against the
four sides of the pier were removed. The
simple action of the water has eaten the
hole in the structure, which proves that
the whole concern must be defective
Gray Brothers have heretofore done good
work on the foundations and should not
begin at this late date to be careless.
This morning at high tide an effort VIII
be made to move the displaced piercap
first mentioned into place. II is possible
that the attempt will be successful. One
of the workmen on the foundations said
that the cap had been moved several
inches by means Of tackles. He explained
that the accident might have been averted
hoh thTpa
in the dam when the tide rose. The
rollers and waves did all the damage" he
said.
Public interest is commencing to revive
in the matter of the new ferry depot. Some
people say that the structure Is like the
new City Hall, that it is one of those
things somewhat akin to perpetual motion,
always being built but never coming to a
finish. This idea is an erroneous one. It
is true that the ferry depot has been
longer in course OF erection than was eX-
pected but there have been difficulties
encountered by the builders that are sell
dom found IN a harbor front other than
San Francisco.
These difficulties have been almost over
come. and the beginning OF the coming
new year will see great change In the
architectural aspect of the foot of Market
street
The south wing of the foundation and
slips and approaches thereto are almost
completed. The concrete and iron piers
have been spanned by arches Of Ike ma
teral, and the structure IS IN condition to
support the immense weight Of the stately
edIice that is to crown 1t. The north
wing is now being rapidly pushed TO COM
pletion. The triple cOferdam, that en-
ables work to be performed on three piers
at a time, is set in place close to the sea-
wall, where temporary hoppers have been
placed 10 receive the wagOn-lOads of
cement ana stones used In the construction
of the foundation.
When the new depot was first thought
of it was not believed that any great OBJ
stacle would have to be overcome to ac-
cOmplish the preliminary work Of driving
piles on which the stone piers rest. An eX-
pertinent with short piles showed that the
pile-hammer, with few blows, could send
a short stick out Of sight in the thin, unre-
sisting mud of the bay bottom.
Engineer Howard Z. Holmes of the State
Board of HarbOr Commissioners very
quickly determined that 9O-fOot pling
would be required. He suggested that
these piles be driven 10 a short distance
below the line Of low tide, explaining that
the suction and adhesive qualities of the
mud would, when the mud settled about
the piles, hold pi.e-clusterS firmly in place.
Mr., Holmes theory proved a good one.
Concrete and cylinder piers were built that
are. in all but one or TWO Instances. as solid
as rock.
One of the strange truths about city
front mud IS that there appears 10 be %
bottom 10 it.
You might drive a pile down 300 feet
before reaching hardpsn." said a gentle
man connected with the contractor fol
building the new depot. at this depot
had been built at any port on the Atlantic
Coast we could have completed it. long
ago.
"Once the foundation is finished the
work of putting up the depOt will progress
with as onishing rapdity. II will take us
several months to get the foundation in or
der to permit of work Oh the main build
ing, however"
The question now arises, what rent will
the Southern Pacific Company have to pay
for the use Of that portion Of the new
building that it Is to occupy.
This problem will be dealt with by the
Budd administration and is very i'm
portant one. The edi6ce Will be of more
benefit 10 the railroad monopoly than ia
apy other concern, and as the company
derives an immense income from the ferry
service it should be forced to pay a rem
commensurate with its profits. At pres
ent the corporation has privileges tha
should be taxed double what they are as
sessed.
An enterprising water frontier has
scheme for charging a royalty on every
ticket sold in the new building by thu
railroad and thus hopes to derive an in
come for the State far in excess of VIVA
could be secured on nm ordinary lease.