Omaha daily bee., 1897-01-09
FOURTEENTH HSTREET VIADUCT
To Be the Best Railroad Bridge in This
Part Of the Country.
PLAaS PREPARED BY THE UNION PACIFIC
Structure VIII lie Completed Early
Next summer nnd nt n Cost OF
S5O,OOO-Wiu Accommo-
date Eleven Tracks.

Within tho next three months the Union
Of an immense steel bridge at the crossing
of its tracks and South Fourteenth street,
the building of which will involve the expen-
dlture Of upwards of $50, 900 in Omaha. Chief
Engineer Pegram this morning announced
that the work of putting in the abutmerts
for the new bridge would be commenced as
soon as the frost was out Of the ground, and
that the structure would probably be com
pleted by the latter part Of June.
The engineering department OF the Union
Pacific has been at work upon the plans for
the new bridge for several months past.
They are now complete and the officials arc
merely waiting for the winter season to
pass. The receivers Of the company have
secured the necessary order from the United
States court to proceed with the work, and
the plans of the company's engineer have
been approved by the city.
This is the fourth time that an attempt has
been made to put in a steel structure at
Fourteenth street. Various obstacles have
prevented the success OF the three previous
attempts. This time, however, all the pre-
liminary arrangements have been completed
and necessary orders secured. There can
be but little doubt that the fourth attempt
to build the desired structure will prove sue
cessful.
The bridge will be of steel throughout.
1t will be 1888 feet in length, and will be
sufficiently wide to accommodate eleven
tracks. Eight tracks will be put in when the
bridge is built, and there will be room for
three more. The structure will be supported
by a row of steel posts, resting on stone
piers in the center OF Fourteenth street 1t
will consist of main cross girders resting on
abutments on both sides of Fourteenth
street and posts in the center of the street.
The bridge will be built on skew" because
of the oblique position of the tracks at this
crossing. The main cross girders at the end
will run into heavy oblique girders.
There will be a solid floor, and when 1t
is completed and the tracks all in the APP
pearance of the bridge will not be unlike
that OF a regular railroad yard. The floor
will consist of steel trouth sections resting
on the top of the main grders. These
trouths will be filled with Portland cement
concrete, and the ties will be laid in gravel
ballast resting on the concrete. This con-
struction will make floor throughout that
will be a permanent and as reliable as any
portion of railroad roadbed.
The bridge throughout has been designed
for the heaviest rolling loads now used in
the country. About three months will be
required to complete the structure. 1t Is
said that from an engineering standpoint
the building of the bridge will be one of the
best pieces of railroad bridge work that
has been done in this vicinity for a num-
ber of years past. From the standpoint of
the city and of the travelling public the
greater safety assured by the construction
of strong steel bridge at the crossing of
the railroad tracks and such busy thor
oughfare as Fourteenth street is said to be
of the greatest consequence.