New-York tribune., 1901-07-03
FOR EAST RIVER BRIDGES
ADMIRAL MELVILLE FAVORS RYr1rnYx,,
MANY LOW SPANS ON PIERS

SIR: The recent sinking. through collision =.
the ferryooat Mortified and the official .,
Vesusation instituted lately TO report upon tba
| extent OF and the available remedy IL anv -,
the crowdlng at certain hours OF the entrance .,
the East River bridge give striking testinnonr
to the whole inadequate means of commupies-
tion between Manhattan and the borouvS-
which parted from ii by water Nevryor,,
| City is the metropolis Of this country and thi,
continent. Industries of every nature within it
limits bring occupation, the means of living
and In many cases wealth TO the extra-urhar
population which surrounds it, and which i
now joined with its citizens under one nunict-
pal government. The claims of this populatto,
for the fullest possible means of communicates,
between the homes of Brooklyn and the business
centres of Manhattan are, if not paramount
among the most pressing and important which
require the attention of the authorities of New
York City.
In view of these conditions the whole obso
lete means OF transportation at present provided
cannot but be source of wonderment to the
engineer of experience. who sees as links be-
tween the districts of one of the greatest and
| nOblest cities in the world single bridge and a
| fleet of slow and uncertain ferry boats-carriers
which in this century nearly as much out OF
| place in these waters would be the sail oar
and horsepower craft of hundred years ago.
ways. and as we'll untrustworthy in fog and
winter weather. but is actual menace TO navt-
CATION in the crowded waters Of the East River
| The Mortified disaster is but the latest of a
| long series of accidents which have marked the
| history Of the obnoxious ferrybOat. the anach-
ronism which, like erratic shuttle. threads
| it's slow way across the great artery of travel.
rendering sluggish service and impeding all 1t
| is true that a second bridge is building and
that others and one more tunnels are pro-
| jected; but these works are most costly and
| must. even in so great city. be relatively few
and widely separated. Further. such bridges
are very high (the present East River bridge is
135 feet high in the clear at the central span).
! and as a consequence the entrances to their ap-
| proaches must be nearly half a mile inland.
The result is that vehicles and pedestrians from
| the waterfront, where heavy and important traf-
fic centres, must traverse this half mile TO mount
the bridges at the cost of much wear and tear
and with the loss of time which, in this rush
ing age is money. Such bridges evidently give
no adequate solution of the problem of full and
free intra-urban communication.
WOULD BUILD Low BRIDGES
Two years ago my views upon this subject
Were presented in the columns of The Tribune
While they radical and far reaching, I
regard them still not as an idle dream. but
of New-York City will turn. The system which
1 suggested has been applied with success in
two of the most crowded ports of the world I
refer to the method of connecting by low bridges
on piers, particularly at grade. but sufficiently
high in all spans. or in the central span only,
for the tugboats and barges in which nearly all
of the harbor commerce is now conducted. The
central span should be OF the eantiever type,
folding back on abutments TO permit the pass
age of the largest vessels.
I would propose dozen or more of these low
bridges across the East River. as many need
be for the freest communication. between the
foot of wall-st. and the opposite shore. in the
most direct line. and continuing all the way
up the East River TO or beyond BlackweIrs ISL
and. In fact. make in time. the connection OF
| every main street in either city with the cor
| responding street on the opposite shore.
| 1t may be urged against this plan that the
| proposed bridges would obstruct navigation.
| The piers however would be stationary; the
\ ferryboats are moving Instructions and there
! fore so much the difficult to avoid than
a fixed obstacle like the pier Further. the CEN
| traI spans might be built the bascule sys-
| tenn which would permit their being raised for
| the passage of large vessels, thus giving a fair
way for ships of all classes. The obstruction Of
navigable waters inadvsable it is from
military point of view, could scarcely be said to
| exist if the bascule system were adopted. al
| though the latter would be miserable make
| shift for permanent low bridges masonry
| piers. The demands Of commerce might well
| prevail in this over those Uf possible war, even
! to the extent of providing additional squad
ron or fleet during actual hOstilities for the
defence of the Block Island entrance to
| Long Island Sound The question is still an
| open one. in my mind. whether. from a strategic
! point of view. il would not be better to encpur-
| age the blockade of our fleet inside of Sandy
| Hook by an enemy's fleet in time of war; and
! whether such being the case. if the enemy's
/ fleet were long enough on the blockade. with
| depleted coal bunkers and wearied and dis
| tressed officers and crews. they would not be
more readily captured or destroyed by fresh
! home fleet speeding out of Philadelphia. Boston
| or Long Island Sound by the way Of Block
| Island channel
INCREASE NORTH RIVER WHARFAGE
| Again, the character of the waterfront on the
| East River mas changed radically during the
| last decade or two. 1t is no longer forest OF
masts from Coenties Slip to Jackson's Hook.
| The tramp steamer has driven the clipper from
the seas The Sound traffic. too-excepting that
| in the great passenger vessels-is largely con-
| Quoted in small craft. is that OF the Harbor OF
| New-York itself. There seems reason why
| the large Sound boats should not dock north OF
| the Harlem. why vessels coming in by
| Sandy Hook should not dock the North
| River as far up the Hudson commerce may
| demand. There is wharf room and depth OF
| water in plenty for them all.
| The Chicago River has greater tonnage
| traffic than either the Sault Ste. Marie or Suez
| Canal and greater than that of the entire har-
Dor of New-York. the Narrows and He'll Gate