The Newtown bee., 1896-04-24

Al the ,lanuqry. 1895, session of ta, state Legislature. O. Vincent Clniu l.. K. Hubbard, William fl. Burrows, John N. Douglass and W. 7. Elmer, ot MlIdlttuuu: Churll T. Cole, ilGuTy \ Hrdnr}d, James l.. Howard, of IIHijfArd IEuuua- R Pickering, john II. Sage nd lUi~An F. Brainard, and ( hNrlu9 Nj J4r si~, Frank L.. WilcnN and Burr K. Fieid, If Berlin, were granted a charter for the construction of d highway bridge across Thr Connecticut river, connecting the city of NiddIrCOWu with the town of Portland. For over 70 years there Las been ferry in operation at this point of rhc river, but some years ago, when Frederick DcPcystcr became general manager of the ShaICr & Hall Quarry co 0f Portland, noticing the antlquar"d Ar engagement, and the large amount of traV- "I, h" suggested to President Jarvis, of
 he Berlin Iron Bridge Co.,, the icasjbiji, Y of constructing an iron bridge to G9kc
 he place of the ferry. IL WAS tbis sug- zrstiOn, first made by Mir DePeyster, that >tartfd the ball rolling. The result l. hat to-day the COnnCCticut river is span ned by one of the finest bridges in the Cnitcd States. It is 1900 feet long with 8 driveway 2l feet wide in the clear, The illustration gives a good idea of the location and general features of the bridge, but the portion 70 which lartiCu- lar attention i> called, is the center or draw span, which is IJO feet in length, the longest highway draw bridge ;n the world. Few Fr .ple realize the magnitude If the river tranic up and down rue Con- nec5iCur in the viCInuy of Middl town. It is for the accommodation of this im- mcuso traffic that this extraordinary span was required.
 As already noted, the original charter was granted by the General Assembly of 1893 but owing 10 objection by the river navigation interests tu the location of t 1G bridge, it v'as placed by the legislature at point 1900 feet above the present Air Line railroad bridge. On account of the large quarry Interests located at Portland 1t vas found impractiCubie tO Conetrucr the bridge at this point, and the General Assembly of 1895 amended the charter, allowing the bridge to bG constructed 0n the lines of the old ferry, with the prOVisO that the draw span should be not less than 1JO feet iii length, WiihA clear Opn- ing on each tide of the center pier of 2QU feet. Immediately upon the passage of this act, the incorporatoTs organized, md the following directors were elected
 Henry 4. R"dticld, William II. Burrows Q. Vincent Colin. James l.. HOWNd William T. Elmer, Charles NJ. Jarv,e and F. l.. Wilcox. Al a subRequcnC meeting of the dire cJOrs, the following Ct1iCers were elected Henry A, Redfeld, pr"si dent; William II. Burrows, vicc-presi dent; and F. L. Wilcox, secretary and treasurer The contract for the cnnatruc tiOn of the bridge WAS awarded t0 Ih2 Berlin Iron Bridge Co.,, of East Berlin Conn, for 3 lump price of $IS0,O00 It was also voted by the directors to buy all the stock of the MiddlGtOwn & Port land Ferry Co.,, thus controlling the fran. chise. Work was commenced on the bridge on August 10th, 1895, and has prOgressedsvery rapidly. Considerable difficulty was experienced in the sub structure of the bridge owing to the eX- cessiVe depth Ot the water in the river al this point, but the masonry was practic ally completed early last December, and the erection of the iron superstruCtuTc O1 the bridge immediately commenced The very. open Wiuter and the frequent flood: and consequent moving of the ice in the past two months has greatly delayed the putting up of the bridge, so that while il was the original intention to have it com. pIeted for travel on the first of March, the company have been unable to open il
 
 md ready for travel, and although not completed in all it's details yet g careful examination of the structure shows evi- dences that it is one of the greatest pieces of bridge engineering in the world, and great credit is due to the officers of The Berlin Iron Bridge CO,4 for the energy and expedition with which the enter prise has been carried out. When com. pleted, the entire work, including the ferry franchise, will have cost somewhat less than $225, 900. The rates of toll tC be charged on the bridge ave provided by the charter. The stock and bonds have all been disposed of and are owned en- tirely by Connecticut capitalists. Based upon the receipts of the ferry which has been in operation at this point for over 50 years, the investment promises to be very profitable to those who have been allow ed to subscribe for the stock.