Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1896-02-12
THE CITY ENGINEERS REPORT.

| THE CITY ENGINEERS REPORT,
City Engineer Dunn last night sub
mitted to the City Council the report o.
the operations of his Office for the past
six months, ending January 31st, with a
report of the condition ofstreets, alleys,
sewers, ETC., together with statement
of costs, etc.
The report states that the collecting
and hauling of ashes and house rubbish
costs a considerable sum, which can
only be reduced by enforcing the ordi-
nance designed to prevent the scatter
ing of such stuff in the streets.
With view of making test as to
whether broken cobble is fit for mac
adam paving, old cobble stones are now
being broken at the Jail lot to size for
macadam roads.
The report states that the foot arch
culvert near Washington and Wilkes
streets has been repaired. Three catch
basins have been built at the intersec-
tions Of Cameron and Henry, Duke and
Henry and Wilkes and Washington
streets.
The survey Of the city has not pro-
gressed as rapidly as wished. The COR
ners of all intersections between Fair
fax and Alfred and Franklin and
Wythe have been accurately located:
ten lots have been surveyed for private
parties, the city receiving fifty dollars
therefore. The repairs of the SO public
pumps amount to considerable sum,
but the attempt is being made to reduce
the cost by substituting iron
for wooden pumps, eight of which have
been SO replaced.
The statement of the area of Ale1sn-
dria shows 713 acres-1.1 IL square miles;
1914 miles of streets, of which 6.5S
miles aro paved with cobble stone, and
056 OF granite rubble. The condition
OF much Of the cobble stone paving is
bad, and much repaving is needed.
The dirt streets are mostly in bad shape
as to grades, etc, as is also much of the
curbing.
The report gives table of the city
sewers, many of which need repairs,
aud cleaning out of the deposit which
has settled in their bottom. The en-
gineer recommends that this be done
as soon as the spring opens. He also
recommends that the necessary repairs
of holes in cobble stone streets be done
whenever more radical movement is
not contemplated. Such street repairs
would cost about -, 200.
The engineer recommends that better
material than cobble stones hereafter
be used in paving, and that reduction
in the width of the carriage ways of the
residence streets, be made. He SUBJ
mits list of cities which have reduced
the widths of their carriage ways with
satisfactory results, and shows that but
few cities bave carriage ways as wide
as those in Alexandria. He adds,
"Of the economy of reducing the
road ways, there can be no doubt"
and cites authorities to prove this as
sertion. He recommends that hereaf-
ter whenever a, square Of a residence
street is paved the width of the road
way be made 80 feet on the &C feet
streets and 42 feet on the 100 feet
streets, and that foot walks in front of
improved property be maintained 10
feet from the building line on sc feet
streets and Is feet on the 100 feet
streets with reduction in the width
of the foot walk in front of unimproved
property.
In future paving the Engineer re-
commends the use of asphalt laid over
some of the cobble psvements, but in
clines to the use of vitre6ed brick for
paving. He says that the property
owners may be the judges of improve
ments needed on their particular resi-
dence streets, and advises that the re.
guests by them for any improvements
in the lines indicated be acceded to.
He also recommends that all the
sewers should have manholes $50 feet
apart to facilitate inspection, cleaning,
ventilation and repairs, and that all
the inlets should have trapped catch
basins. He makes various suggestions
as to the repairs of damaged sewers
with estimated cost of such repairs.
He recommends that combined sewer
be built from Princess and Pitt streets
to King and Pitt streets and thence
to Alfred street; such sewer would
serve more people than any sewer of
its length that could be built in this
city; this sewer would cost about $10,-
OOO sewer on Royal street from
Wilkes to King, which is recommend
ed, would cost 81 500.
He adds i Lateral sewers should 10
built from the above mentioned main
sewers as rapidly as the finances of the
city will Justify or as the citizens re.
quest. From my present knowledge OF
the city should say that when the
two sewers above mentioned are built,
one on Wythe street from Columbus to
| the river, one from thesnorthern limit OF
the city on Alfred to Wythe or Pendle.
ton, thence westward to the corpora
tion line, and one from Oronoco and
Patrick to Queen thence on Queen to
West aud thence to Duke and Hoof's
run. main sewers will have been built
that will practically drain the city oi
storm water. No house sewerage
should be allowed to enter the sewers
emptying into Hooff's run. AS to how
much sewer and street work is to be-
or can be done in the near future de-
pends much upon the public spirit O.
Yourselves and the citizens. | an
aware of the heavy burden the city ha:
now to carry, and the very small amount
of work that can be done if only tht
surplus OF the ordinary yearly revenue
of the city is applicable
The Engineer concludes as follows
T. r. -