The San Francisco call., 1896-04-01

IL is trap. Everybody admits that.
FIVE or six years ago-the date is marked
more accurately in the death records of
several Oakland families-an engine and
one or two cars were caught. About year
ago another accident occurred, in which
car took twenty-five or thirty passengers
down into the water, killing some and in
luring many more. Last year an electric
car, crossing the bridge on a dark night,
plunged from the bridge into the water,
1or there were no lights and no signal was
gwen that the draw was open. No lives
were lost for the reason that there We're
no passengers in the car.
With suitable bridge accidents under
circumstances such as governed these
would be impossible.
The Alice-street bridge, apparently so
or 200 yards up the estuary, is owned by
the railroad company. 1t is hardly a
modern structure. and supported on piles
IL mas not been regarded with complete
confidence by those who travel over it.
mere is no public way over the Alice
street bridge and the main travel by
wagon between Oakland and Alameda
must be over the Webster-street bridge
=, With the two bridges SO close together
the narrow-gauge railroad and the broad
gauge are made to cross each other in an
awkward manner at the foot of Webster
street, Oakland, and the location of the
double crossing is disadvantageous to the
ordinary public travel from one city to the
other.
Equally Objectionable to navigation are
the two bridges regarded by the men who
have to take vessels up and down the estu-
ary. The slowmoving draw at Webster
street has span of eighty-two feet-the
railroad men in charge of it Say-that is.
elg hty-two feet on each side of the central
pier.
Just above that is the Alice-street draw
bridge. with span of only seYentynine
feet.
Over the Webster-street bridge are run
four trains an hour; electric-caTs pass one
way or the other every three or four min
utes; much of the freight for Alameda is
hauled that way from the boats that run
to the foot OF Broadway, and there is
constant procession of vehicles going in
each direction.
The marine traffic, up and down the es-
tuary, is also very large and the shippers
and boatmen have a hard time of IL in
getting through the pair of old draw
bridges. The bridgetenders usually have
somebody waiting for attention, either on
the roadway or in the stream, and their
lot would be hard one but for the navi-
gators directing their profanity at the rail
road company as responsible for the con-
ditions, and the trainmen and car con-
ductors have acquired the philosophical
habit OF swearing at the county for build
ing such bridge.
There is swearing enough on both ends,
but that doesn't help the bridge, which is
the middle.
Mayor Davie of Oakland even declares
that the railroad company has the bridge
men trained to keep the drawbridges closed
as long as possible when his freight
steamer Is waiting to go through, and
shipping men in general say that all the
advantages are given TO the trains.
nxr hi h..o oil -
men concerned agree that the Webster
street bridge cannot be made TO conform
10 all the demands upon 1t. In every
way 1t is too small. If the draw were al
ways open the room Tor the vessels to
pass would be limited, and if it were al
ways closed the jamming OF teams and
electric cars could not be prevented. Oc-
caslonally ship that is being taken up or
down the stream sweeps against the pier,
and in that there have been long DELAYS
TO travel over the bridge.
Various plans of effecting remedy have
been discussed during the past ten years
without practical result, but It is believed
that solution OF the problem has at last
been reached.
The railroad com pany has offered to
give up its right of way over the Webster
street bridge, leaving to the two cities the
entire use of that bridge. 1t wants to re-
place the Alice-street bridge with new
otSSl structure anu 10 run LDes harrow,
gauge and broad-gauge trains over that.
Plans for such a bridge have been pre-
pared about a year, the railroad men say
and it is apparent that the project was
adopted when Oakland clamored for such
a change after the accident in which Sim
mons and others were killed at the WEB
ster-street bridge.
The plans OF the proposed bridge, how
ever, call for draw with a span of only
100 feet on each side of the central pier
The shipping men Interested in the estu-
airy traffic demand that the span in any
new bridge be not less than $50 feet, and
upon this point hitch is expected.
w. G.. Curtis, assistant to the general
manager of the Southern Pacific Company,
said last night:
The railroad company's proposition is
to rebuild the Alice-street bridge, which it
owns. The company will build steel
bridge on a masonry foundation. The
plans that we have adopted call for 4 100
foot span. The company would object to
a 150-foot span as unnecessary, but would
accede to whatever might be required by
the Government engineers"
Mr.. Curtis says that the plan is for a
bridge to be used exclusively by the rail-
road. That would not do away with the
present inconvenience of two bridges so
close together, but Mr.. Curtis announces
that il the county wants to consider the
plan of building joint bridge with the
roadway over the railroad tracks the COM
pany is ready to enter into negotiations
The establishment of a county and rail
road brid e at Alice street would mean the
abandonment of the Webster-street struc-
ture. Then the electric railroad would
have to be changed like the narrow-gauge
road. In Alameda a new street would be
run through to the Alice-street bridge,
probably from MCPHERSON street. 1t is
urged by some that the change would be
detriment to Alameda, but there has yet
been no ofgcial action regarding the
matter.
Wha: Alameda men do speak about with
appreciation is the prospect OF having the
trains run over more substantial bridge
than the present one, and the Oakland
commuters who travel over the narrow
gauge line are enthusiastic about the con-
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