The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-18
That Simplify the
Puzzle.
MILL BROOK SEWER
And the Tracks Can Easily
Be Depressed.

City Engineer f. A. Mcclure is work.
ing on the profile of the Mlllbrook
sewer. Whether he is doing the work
for the grade crossing commission
alone. can only be guessed at, as he will
give no information which would en-
able anybody to know what the COM
mission is doing. When The Spy man
work or the profile. He was asked
if HI was doing the work for the grade
crossing commission. He replied that
he was doing it partly for the commits
sion and partly for the benefit of the
engineer and sewer departments in
connection with the separating system
which is being built
The greatest revelation which the
commissioners have had since they
assumed the duties of their office, came
yesterday, when they read The Spy
That was the possibility OF lowering
Mlllbrook. Some of them have been
entirely ignorant that Millbrook could
be lowered to the distance that is pos
sibie. Others knew of the existence
of falls in the bed Of Millbrook, but had
no iGea the falls made such a change
Of grade Now that they realize Mill
brock can be lowered a score OF feet
without changing the grade Of the
stream, they are at a standstil.
They realize that they have not
known the possibilities Of the best plan
for the solution of the grade crossing
question. and after learning these pos
sibilities, their calculations are entire
ly upset They are now making in
quiriea regarding the distance Mill
brook can be lowered. They hope they
can secure the authority of competent
engineers to say Millbrook can't be
lowered to any extent, as such a state
ment will let them out of perplexing
situation.
But they can't get any engineer to
say Millbrook can't be lowered many
feet 1t can. And the item of cost
which has so frightened the commits
sicnera that they have not given the
problem a SERIOUS thought, would not
be anywhere near as great as they
feared. The report Of the commission
appointed by the city Of Worcester ere
ated by an order passedby the cityooun-
ell Dec. &. 1890, considered the lowering
Of Millbrook, and says 1t could be low
cred eight feet from Green street to
north OF the Boston and Albany Rail-
road tracks a distance of 1906 feet, for
what it styles the enormous cost OF
100000
The report which the present COM
mission has studied, says the only point
HOfltl Oh the boSlOIl ana Albany tracks
at which the sewer could be lowered.
is at the building formerly occupied by
the Vail Company, where 1t could be
lowered eight feet That information
has Dlisled the commission. The sewer
could of course be lowered eight feet
all the way north of the tracks to the
building formerly occupied by the Vail
Company, and there 1t could be lowered
another eight feet, making 16 feet, In
al. that the sewer could be lowered
north of Green street without changing
the grade of the sewer. If 1t was low
cred that distance, the new grade
would run parallel with the present
grade 16 feet under the present grade
The commissioners followed the re-
port biindly, and did not give the sub
iect Of depression Of the sewer and
tracks proper consideration. 1t took
for granted the fact that the sewer
under Lincoln square could be lowered
but eight feet. BY beginning at Green
street, the sewer can be lowered l6
feet. according to the report OF the ex-
pert commission, and by beginning at
Cambridge street, 1t can be lowered
feet more, as there is a fall OF that dis
tancG In the sewer at Cambridge street.
The commission has not considered pos
sibilities Of the best plan.
Here is a profile which shows the
grade Of Miilbrook, which members OF
the commission can study to consider
able advantage.