The morning call., 1895-02-17
THE FOUNDATIONS ARE SAID
TO BE WEAK IN THEIR
CONSTRUCTION.
BAD MATERIAL WAS USED.
HARBoR COMMISSIONERS WILL
HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF
FURTHER ACTION.

! SACRAMENTO, Feb. 16.-Hardly a pro-
vision of their contract has been carried
out by the contractors engaged in building
the San Francisco ferry foundation, if the
reports of the experts employed by Gov
ernor Budd to investigate the work are
true. These men are P. J. Donahoe, a
well-known local contractor, and S. r.
| Doyle, the president of the Builders Ex-
change of San Francisco. According to
their report, the sand being used before
the contractors knew an investigation was
in progress was not suited for the purpose,
and was not in accordance with the con-
tract.
The trap-rock employed was of inferior
quality, and, besides, was not properly
screened The process of mixing was
faulty, aud would tend to render the struc-
ture weak. The piles were lacking materi-
ally in size. The experts announce that
when they wanted to bore they were only
allowed to attack certain piers that were
pointed out by the superintendent of con-
struction. The others they were forbidden
to touch. The borings showed danger
Gus insufficiency in the amount of rock
employed.
Governor Budd says he will turn the re-
port over to the two houses of the Legisla-
ture. He will accompany it by advising
that competent engineer be employed by
the State to make thorough and open in
vestigation.
''There should be supervising engineer
to examine into the construction of State
works" said the Governor. 'Such an Off
Ger, if he were the proper man for the
place, would save the State vast sums of
money. 1t would require man of extern
sive engineering attainments and thorough
honesty.
"As it is at p,ssent, work is done in any
Iway. Those interested do IA know
whether the construction is faulty or not
and the State is the loser. Any further
action about the building of the ferry foun-
dation lies with the Harbor Commission
ers. They have to decide whether the
lprovisions of the contract have been COM
piled with or not. believe 25 per cent of
the contract price has been withheld. If
the foundation is faulty they will be able
TO withhold that, and of course they will
have legal recourse against the bondsmen
of the contractors
The report of Experts Donahoe and
Doyle is to the point and will surprise
many who have watched the growth of
the massive piers. 1t is as follows:
SAN FRANCISCO, Cal, Feb. Ii, 1895
The Hon. James II. Budd Governor of the State
of Cdtifornia-SIR: Pursuant to authority from
you we herewith respectfully submit our re-
port of the investigation made by us on work
and material and the San Francisco ferry foun
dation:
SAND - We found considerable inferior
loamy sand on the works, but since the dis
covery of our presence the sand used hereto
fore has been substituted by furnishing a wet
'bank" sand. The specification calls for the
sand used to be clean, sharp, coarse, a-beach
sand or its equivalent.
STONE OR BROKEN ROCK - The specifica-
tions say: "The stone used for the piers must
be clean, hard, durable blue trap rock of the
best quality, crushed or broken so that the
| greatest dimensions shall not be over 1L
inches, and ali pieces must have sharp we'll
defined angles and faces and must be free from
cracks, flaws or seams. All dust or dirt must
be thoroughly washed out before its delivery
for mixing" We find the rock used to be in
ferior to the true-blue trap rock and as now
delivered on the mixing platform not screened
or washed; and delivered with the debris and
loan from the crusher, it has greasy surface
and, in our opinion, does not possess the
proper adhesive qualities that the rock speci-
fed should contain.
MIXING - The specifications say: "The
broken rock must be first spread on wooden
platform in a layer not exceeding six inches in
| thickness, and this must be spread over its en-
tire area; first layer of sand, then layer of
cement, each in its proper proportion The
bed thus formed must be turned with shoyels
twice while dry and once after being wet or
the same may be mixed by any machinery ap-
proved by the chief engineer of the Harbor
Commissioners. These materials must be
thoroughly and completely mixed and incor-
porated so as to form a uniform and homo
| niyty ra IF a11 tha
proper proportion by measure: One barrel of
cement to six cubic feet of sand. and twenty
four feet of broken stone."
We find the process of manipulation differs
materially from the formula. In fact the law
ers of rock are about twelve inches in lieu of
six inches, and the mixture is not turned with
shovels, but dropped in hoppers by the raising
of ceats which form the platform. Nor could
we discover any accurate method of measure
ment by which the terms of the specifications
were being complied with as described above. .
We further find that in filling wheelbarrows
from the hoppers the materials are not
properly incorporated, and on reaching the
caissons the materials are not wet and turned
with shoyels, but are dumped dry through q
chute supplied with water. The material is
then distributed by means of shoveling for
tamping. In our opinion, the method used
is very much at variance with the requirements Is
, of the specifications, and in no way can the
same result be obtained by the present method
and we recommend that in the future the letter
of the specifications be strictly complied with,
as the method in use is all III favor of the con.
tractor and to the detriment of the concrete
The specifications say: "The concrete, previ-
ously prepared, must then be spread in LAYERS
not exceeding four inches in thickness and
firmly and properly smoothed and well tamped
J with ironshod tamping-bars of at least twelve
) pounds weight until the water rises to the sur
face.
From what we have observed the above
method has not been complied with. In lieu
thereof the concrete is distributed in very
careless manner The layers vary in thickness
rom four TO ten Inches, and to save tamping
: he same is flooded with water.
CONCRETE ARCHES AND VAuLTING-"From the