The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-07-27
SAW The LOOP )"
Boulevard Commissioners
Complete the Inspection Of
the County Road.
CONDITION OF EAST SIDE WALL
Possibility of It's Descending
on Trains Passing Beneath
Electric Lamp Loss.

-ElecJrlc Lamp Loss.
That portion of the Boulevard known as
the Loop received the attention of the
Boulevard Commissioners yesterday, clos
ing the thorough inspection made of every
yard of the twenty-five miles, extending
from Fourteenth street, Hoboken, to Ber-
gen Point.
This Loop section having been Sc
vereiy criticized by the Good Roads As
sociation and others interested in the
road the Commissioners were naturally
anxious to see whether or not these re-
marks were well founded, or in other
words TO criticize the criticisms.
1T is only fair to say at the outset"
observed one of the Good Roads mem
bers, that the grades on the Loop are
more severe than on any part of the road
and therefore after storms more damage
is inflicted there; but we complain that
there should be top dressing placed on
these places washed off and the road well
rolled and sprinkled."
In starting down the Loop towards 91o-
boken the Commissioners yesterday looked
carefully for the places complained of.
These they found and they frankly ad-
mitted they were bad. Big stones cropped
out on the surface; the face Of the road,
if it might be so described, was wrinkled
and furrowed, with the rain rushing down
the steep grades and the much desired
top dressing was washed into the cutters
and catch basins
Our remedy for this" said Commis-
sioner Daniel Y. Lewis, will be to put
inch and a half stone on this, roll it down
and then put on screenings. and this APP
plies to every place where the rain has
washed off the road. You can readily see
what storms can do here. 1t means
continual expense, not only for main
tenance, but the work necessary on these
places is construction and we haven't the
money to do it as we would like.
AS everybody knows who rides through
HfShWood Park, the Loop cuts its way
througa a mass of rocks which line one
side of the roadway. AS the party yes
terday drove up TO the place it was OBJ
served that tons of rock and debris had
fallen from the face of the cliff and COW
cred the sidewalk. Rain again. The
subtle fluid streams into the cracks and
crannies of the rock, and elbowing it's
way eventually loosens the binding earth
and down comes small landslide, and
the labor of carting this away is no
small item in the expense account of the
Board.
The most serious duty which the Com
missioners have to attend to on the Loop
is without doubt the matter of repairs
to the walls on the east side of the road
facing the Hudson. A casual observer
would say that here and there some hood
lums had pushed over the copings and
few dollars would fix that; but when the
Commissioners yesterday alighted from
their wagons and leaning over the wall
pointed out that in many places the wall
is cracked and bulges out, the serious
problem at once manifested itself.
Here exclaimed Commissioner Lewis,
leaning over the wall at Woodcliff, do
you see these stones giving way and OBJ
serve how far the wall is bulging out?
After some fine spring rain storm that
wall will go and take half the roadway
back there with it.
Such a state of things existed not only
at this point, but at others. At one
place people are quarrying the rock up
the line of the wall itself and the wall
there will have to be taken care of or 1t
too will take a header onto the railroad
tracks below and should a train happen
along at the time there will be a tragedy
and some one will stand a good chance of
being indicted for criminal negligence.
Commissioners Urquhart and Birdsall
laid great emphasis on the Importance ul
at once attending to the repair of the
wall Between the wall and the roadway
proper at many curves there exist spaces
at least 20 feet wide. Had they money
enough, the Commissioners said. they
would emibellish these waste places, put
seats on them and turn each into a verit-
able oasis. But alas the Freeholders had
hardened their hearts and drawn tight
the official purse strings.
During the ride 1t was observed that
many of the electric lights had no globes,
q condition of things explained by Com
missioner Birdsall who said hoodlums
broke the lamps. Since the loop has
been open fifty two lamps have been
destroyed in that way.
Nearing the end of the trip the Com
missioners halted at the viaduct of the
Weehawken extension and indulged in a
debate as to the care of the bridge and
its lighting. Several things were decided
upon, one of which was that electric lights
should be at once put on the viaduct pro-
vided that the Freeholders will wake up
and do it. Secondly, the sidewalks on the
bridge must be reconstructed. The plank
ing is at least five-eighths of an inch
apart, doubtless so devised by the con-
structors of the old railway bridge foist-
ed on the county as brand new one,
to permit sparks from the locomotives
passing underneath to fly up and burn
ladies' dresses, for instance
This bridge also needs painting and
other repairs, all of which must be borne
by the Boulevard Commissioners, and
again comes the puzzle: How can we
spend thousand dollars when we haven't
it to spend?"