The herald., 1896-01-23
COMPTON FILES A REPORT
Some Data Pertaining to Street
Improvements
MONEY FROM THE OUTFALL
The Big Sewer Is a Source OF Good
Revenue
Number Of lilies of Graded Streets in the City
MONEY FROM THE OUTFALL
Number Of Niles of Graded Streets in the City
and the Curb and Sidewalks
Laid in 1895

City Engineer Compton's annual report
has been finally completed. The docu-
ment was yesterday formally filed. Some
of the principal data in the report was pub
lished in these columns three weeks ago.
The expense for assistants for 1895 is
$26, 6,I71.75, while for 1894 it was $780,
O72.5O, an increase of only $lO99.25;
while the total amount tofimprovements of as
shown on page 81 is 1896 miles for
1895, as against SOFT miles for 1894.
The financial statement shows that
1913 was expended for surveys to resel
street centers that had been deen destroyed
by street paving and sewer construction
and to establish uniform bench mark
system.
In addition to street centers and bench
mark work, the Office has, at an expense
of about $3.50, during the year. prepared
plans and estimates for the Broadway tun-
mel, also new bridge plans, with a detailed
report upon the conditiun of old bridges,
and has also expended about S9G5 in main
tanning the cement testing department,
which had not been maintained during the
previous year.
While the expense for drafting material
has been considerably in excess of that for
1894, the ratio of increase for the improve
ments has been far greater, tho former
being that of S0.77 miles to 1896 miles,
while the latter, $SS3.S5 to $1139.62; or,
in other words, about sixty miles, or nearly
so per cent more of public work was
planned for, at an additional expense of
about $3.50, Or about so per cent for ma
terial.
The total expense for running the de-
partment was about $4,000 in excess of
that of 1894, or an increase of about l
per cent. while the work had increased so
per cent.
By deductng the 5000 that was ex-
pended on the street centers, bench marks,
bridge and tunnel plans, bridge inspection
and maintaining the cement-testing de-
partment, which are expenses which we're
not incurred the year previous, will leave
the actual expense for assistants on the
new work about 500 more than in 1894,
though there was an increase in the amount
of improvements of about 80 per cent.
In re.setting the street centers the old
method of setting was abandoned at the
intersection of the center lines of the
streets, whers street repairs and improve
rnents are constantly interfering with
them, and have placed them in the side
walks at the intersection of lines five feet
from the property line.
Street centers are composed of concrete
monuments 6X6 inches for the top, 12x12
inches for the base and IA inches deep,
made of one part of Portland cement to
three parts of gravel. with copper bolts for
centers. This system, it is suggested.
should be extended SO as to embrace all of
the improved streets of the city, but the
work has been discontinued because the
street work under way requires all atten-
ton.
The bench marks are now uniformly es-
tablished by setting copper bolts with
rounded heads in the cement curb returns
and running an accurate set of levels, es
tabiishing their exact relative elevations
above city datum.
In this connection the engineer again
recommends that the city datum be
changed to sea level, as all surveys are
made with elevations referring to sea level
to obviate the necessity of using minus
terms. The city datum is 255 feet above
sea level, and all of the city south and
west of Main and Fifth streets is below the
datum, necesstating reducing our notes
for ordinances in this territory SO as to read
below the datum or resort to distorted
phraseology to make them read SO many
feet above point which is so many feet
below the city datum. The matter is not
of serious nature, as your honorable body
may suppose, affecting the city IN no way,
but is matter entirely of convenience to
this department.. The existing condition is
stated to be ridiculous.
The drafting department is in very un-
satisfactory and even serious condition,
owing to an insufficient force having been
employed for years past. The labor OF
compiling an annual report is alleged to be
at least three or four time what it should
be if the records were properly systemat-
lied and kept posted to date. This condi-
ton accounts for the delay in presenting
this report. In the past six or seven years
Los Angeles has commenced and COM
p!eted about all of her public improve.
meuts in the way of street grading, paving
and sewer construction, that now exist, and
yet the force in this department has not
been increased, but diminished.
The payroll for this department for SSS
and prior to that time amounted to over
$4,000 monthly; yet with less force, the
office is attempting to handle all the i'm.
meuse amount of new work. There is
only one way this can be done, says Comp
ton, and that is by doing the necessary
amount of field work to carry on the con.
siruction work and ncgecting the record
ing of work, and this is what has been
done for several years, till the only way tC
refer to past work is through the memory
of those familiar with it, This condition
Of the records causes the city a large adj
ditional expense upon every proceeding
instituted in this office, through extra Tins
and labor and through unavoidable errors
A recent instance is the location of tbs
Orange street sewer beneath water main
costing the city $4,000; this amount OF
money expended properly would have
gone far towards rectifying the cause oi
this error.
The sewer maps showing the location OF
"Y's" for house connections are about two
years behind.
The district maps of the city, which are
used for general reference, are severa
years behind; that is, they do not show al
4l 1JN1; I.,tr
exist.
The district sewer maps are reported ir
a like condition, which entails an immense
amount of labor in the writing of ordnan
ces for improvements. and has been The
cause of several expensive errors. The of
flee has name eight new general distric