The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-29
INDIANA-HVE. ASPHALT
BRECKINRIDGE COMPANY WILL DO
THE PAVING ON THAT STREET.
Claims Made by other Companies as
to the Inferior Work OF This
Competitor at Louisville.

The Board OF Public Works had another
round with the asphalt companies yester-
day morning, when it announced deter
mination to award the contract for paving
Indiana avenue, from North street to Fall
creek, to the Breckenridge Asphalt Com
pany, at $4.2S a foot, which is 73 cents a
foot cheaper than the next lowest bid. 1t
is said that by awarding the contract to
the Breckenridge company $4,62010 has been
saved for the property owners. In addition
to the usual guaranty bond the board will
require the company to put up another
bond equal to 40 per cent. of the entire cost
of the work, guaranteeing that it will re-
surface any portions Of the street that
prove unsatisfactory within the guarantee
period.
Representatives of the old companies re-
sisted the boards determination to let the
contract to their rival. S. H. Shearer, of
the Western Paving and Supply Company
showed photographs of work done by the
new company in Louisville, in addition to
which he had samples of the material used,
which he said had been kicked out of chuck
holes. He read a report of a committee
appointed by the Louisville Board of Alder
men and letters from members of the
Board of Works, showing that the work
done by the Breckenridge Company in that
city was inferior. He also pointed out that
the new company had not complied with
the section of the specifications requiring
asphalt companies to show that they had
used the same material proposed to be put
down in other pavements and that they
had proved satisfactory after severe tests.
President Downing said that Mr.. Shear
er's objections were entirely too trivial He
said the board knew that the Louisville
pavements were not up to the highest
standard, but the contractor would be re-
qulred to give bonds to do good work on
Indiana avenue. The board relies upon re-
ports from Buffalo, where it is said that
Germo- K entucky asphalt has proved bet
ter than any other kind. H. p. Wilding,
manager of the Breckenridge Company, ex-
plains that after the contracts were re-
ceived at st. Louis the Barber Asphalt
Company brought the Worwhol mines in
Germany, to prevent the Breckenridge Com
pany from getting the material wanted, but
that Marshall Morris, president of the
Breckenridge company. afterward went to
Europe so that the company is now safe. In
the Louisville contracts 1t was necessary
to substitute rock asphalt from Indian Ter
ritory for German rock in the mixture with
Kentucky rock.
After disposing of the Indana-avenue i'm
provement the board awarded a number of
other contracts:
The contract for cement walks and sod
lawns on Michigan street. IrOm missouri
to West, was awarded to Mathes Il Dunn,
who bid 50 cents a foot for seven-foot
walks. SO for three-foot approaches and
II cents for sodding. Their bid was the
lowest of several
The contracts for cement walks on Merid-
ian street. from Fall creek to Thirty
fourth street, in three sections, Were
awarded to Henry Macy, who bid SO cents
a foot for paving the walks on the east
side from Fall creek to Twenty-eighth street
and So cents for the east side from Twen-
ty-eighth to Thirtyfourth street, and 80
cents for walks on the west side from
Fall creek to Thirty-fourth street.
George w. McCray & Co. were the low
est of a number of bidders for the work
of crawling the road and cementing the
walks of Richland street from Washington
to Aston street, and received the contract
at $169 a lineal foot, each side.
The Germo- Kentucky Rock Asphalt Com
pany was awarded the contract for main
sewer in Washington street, from Rural to
the Belt Railroad. at 1918 a foot. NJ M
Defrees bid $i23; Daniel Foley, $4.15; Brow
der & Shower, S412; J. p. Knight $4.04; w.
H Albeit & Co., $403; Indiana Construc-
ton Company, 81, and Gansberg & Roney,
$685. When this contract was awarded
before the lowest bid, submitted by f. G.
Lingenfelter was $S.31. He refused to enter
into q contract and new bids were there
fore received yesterday The contract for
cement walks on Fort Wayne avenue, from
ST. Clair to Tenth street, was let to
Mathes & Dunn at Il cents foot.