The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-06-28
ROT Ten BRIDGE.
Greenville Residents Petition
Freeholders to Condemn
Wooden Cut Crossing.
DANGEROUS TO CHILDREN
Guard Rails Are Useless and
the Structure Is
Unsafe.

A number of prominent citizens residing
in the vicinity of the Bergen avenue
bridge which spans the cut of the Newark
branch of the Central Railroad, are speak
ing seriously of petitioning the Board of
Freeholders and the railroad company to
build new bridge at this point. Various
and good reasons are set forth by those
who are behind the movement. The
bridge. it Is claimed, is on the verge OF
collapsing, thus putting in jeopardy the
lives of many people. At present one can
readily judge even from a superficial OBJ
servation, that the old dilapidated struc-
ture has outlived its usefulness The
bridge when torn down will not even
make good frewood The wood is rotten,
a sign of the antiquity of the structure.
What the citizens want is a bridge that
will prove substantial and be of "a nom
combustible nature A steel bridge is
advocated. The present contrivance is an
old style affair, with Ugh fences, standing
seven feet, thus preventing pepole from
looking into the cut. These fences or
upwrights, are rotten and IN seVeral
places, the board have fallen away or
served for firewood for the boys of the
neighborhood. The sewer, water and gas
mains have long since laid in the open,
for the boxes which covered them IN
sawdust, have long since ben pulled OF
or burnt up by sparks from passing en-
gines.
On this point the people base their
claim for new bridge. They claim that
the old structure now graeing the site
is in dangerous and disgraceful condl-
ton 1t has been set on fire more than
twenty times, and the boards forming
the wagonways have been all eaten up
with the flames. These boards are par
ticularly dangerous to drivers and the
roadway is, without a doubt, in very
rickety state. In other places the flames
have found their way and rendered the
bridge unsafe for heavy wagons. Huge
crevices reveal the skeleton work OF the
bridge and the cut is plainly visipie
through them.
Not alons is the question of a new
bridge one of which Importance, but the
guarl rail along the sides of the steep
cut tn people intend bringing before the
Board of Freeholders. These are decided
ly shaky an da child would have no trou-
BILE in crawling between the rails and fall-
ing several hundred feet to the railroad
tracks over hunke rocks and boulders.
In slant death would result from such a
fall. Not more than two years ago little
boy about eight years old slipped on the
walk on Eye avenue and he rolled down
the steep enlbankment to the tracks right
in front of an engine The youngster was
chopped OF pieces.
Since then the railroad has erected
fence on the Ege avenue side to guard
against further accidents. These guard
rails on the old bridge are in danger of
falling at any time, and a slight push
would dislodge them without a doubt.
This is the highest point on the entire
route and safe bridge is badly needed.
The petitioners will make their appeal a
strong one, and will urge immediate ac-
ton, as they deem it dangerous to wait
longer.
There are other bridges. These are the
Clerk street and Arlington avenue struc-
lures. Guard rails are scare here,
although great many persons use these
bridges each days. The cuts are deep and
everyone who fell would unlikely to
escape with is life. The residents feel
that these are questions of vital import
ance and that the oard of Freeholders
and the railroad should take steps i'm
mediately to prevent serious accidents.
The ergen avenue bridge petition will
be sent to the oard of Freeholders in time
for the next meeting.