The evening times., 1899-12-05
THE DISTRICT ENGINEER.
Water Meters for Prfvate Houses
strongly Urged.

1
| Water Meters for Pr'vate Houses
| strongly Urged.
| Sheet asphalt and asphalt blocks were the
only materials used for street pavaments
during the fiscal year. vitrified block was
used mainly for the alleys, a few, however.
being paved with asphal; block. Fifty-four
thousand eight hundred and eighteen and
seventy-four one-hundredths square yards
of the new sheet asphalt were laid, which
makes the total area of asphalt and coal
tar in the District e,6e7,sS1 square yards.
4 with a street mileage OF 111.6I.
| Twenty-one thousand eight hundred and
| twenty-five and five one-hundredths square
| yards OF asphalt block were LAID, making
the total yardage 359, ,79S. The number Of
miles of this pavement in the city now
| amounts TO 1858.
Forty-ole thousand seven hundred and
thirty-three and seventy three one-hun-
dredths square yards of old pavement were
resurfaced. all resurfacing having been
with sheet asphalt, and the work having
been confined almost entirely to the old
| coal tar or coal-tar distillate pavements.
The objection throughout the city to the
| granite block pavement is apparently
greater than ever before, and the office
| is constantly in receipt Of petitions and
| individual requests to have such pavement
removed from streets upon which it now
exists and the streets provided with
smoother and less noisy pavement. Con-
gress has recognized the objections to the
granite block by causing its removal from
| various streets adjacent to Government
buildings. The annoyances and disadyan
| tages to the people occupying stores and
buildings adjacent to this class Of pave
ment are great, and the money loss is
larger than il was to the Government or
its employees along those streets adjacent
| to Government buildings from which the
block has been removed.
| The amount of cement sidewalks laid
during the fiscal year was 57.538 square
yards. The price-9s cents square yard
| was so favorable for doing this work that
many citizens availed themselves of the
| opportunity to have walks constructed in
front of their premises. Most of the brick
| walks throughout the city are in a lament
ably poor condition. and it is doubtful if
there are many cities in the country Of
| the size of Washington which are not
better provided than the Capital City in
| this respect. The work of replacing these
bad walks has progressed as rapidly as
possible, with the amount Of money avail
| able for the purpose. and the demand for
new walks in the various sections OF the
city was so great that the office was unable
to do as much toward replacing these cd
walks as il desired, they being replaced.
| as a rule, only in cases where the work
was especially requested by the property
| owners.
street Railways.
| The year has marked a new era in the
street railway history of the District All
! the street railway lines in the District of
! Columbia except the Capital Traction and
Mount Vernon lines-namely the
! Anacostia and Potomac River Rail-
road Company, the Belt Railway
| Company, the Brightwood Railway
Company. the Capital Railway Company
The Columbia Railway Company. the Eek
ington and Soldiers Home Railway Com
pany. the Georgetown and Tenleytown Rail-
way Company, The Maryland and Wash
ington Railway Company. the Metropolitan
Railway Company, the Washington. Wood
side and Forest Glen Railway Company, the
Washington ard Rockville Railway Com
pany. Washington and Glen Echo Railroad
Company. and The Washington and Great
Falls Electric Railway Company-have been
consolidated under one management, termed
the Washington Traction and Electric Com
psny. Free transfers are given at all con-
Meeting points of these various lines eX-
cept at such places where the issue of trans
fers would make possible a perpetual ride
for one fare. Although under one manage
ment, ii is understood that the organiza-
ton of each company is preserved, the same
set of officers serving for all.
During the year the old lexington and
Soldiers Home Railway, now the City and
Suburban, has been equipped with mod
ern underground electric system in the city
and overhead trolley outside Of the city
limits: the Columbia Railway. which was
operated by cable. has been changed to
underground electric within the city and
extended in the county to Deanwood by
the double overhead trolley system, con-
Meeting there with road running to
Chesapeake Bay. Permits have also been
taken out for the reconstruction of the
Anacostia. Belt, Great Falls, Brightwood,
and Tenleytown lines. and work there
under is being pushed as fast as practical
BILE. although 1t is understood that con-
siderable delay has been caused by the
difficulty in securing steel rails and other
construction material. The work of re-
construction. as far as carried out, has
been done in most thorough manner.
On the streets S-inch grooved rails have
been used. it having been found by ex-
perience that rails of this depth give much
greater stiffness and consequent less dis
turbance of the paving, requiring less re- |
pairs to the rcadbed, matter which be-
Genes of great economic importance where |
the streets are provided with an eXpen- |
siye pavement. On streets provided with |
sheet asphalt pavement the companies have |
laid either vitrified or scoria block imme- |
diately adjacent to the rails, double row |
being laid lcngitudinally outside Of the |
rails and single row loIgitudinally inside |
of each rail. This construction has given |
much better results than the former |
method of laying the asphalt up to the |
rails.
solidated companies upon all roads where |
the lines have been reconstructed pro-
vides for a metallic return of the electric |
current. The system used within the city |
is Identical with that previously in use on |
the Metropolitan and Capital Traction |
lines, and where the roads are operated |
outside of the city by the overhead trolley |
the cars have been provided with double |
trolley. the return wire being similar In |
situation and capacity to the feed, wires |