New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-05-03
RI. BOARD TO CONSIDER TUNNEL
PRESIDENT ORR PROMISES THAT TRLBUNE'S PLAN WILL
BE THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATED


Alexander T. Orr, president Of the Rapid Tran
sit Commission. said yesterday that The Trib-
une's proposition for a tunnel under the East
River. instead Of completing the construction
Of the Manhattan Bridge, was of such impor
tance that IL would receive the thorough consiI
Grafton of the commission in its present inves-
tgation Of the problem Of rapid transit between
the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Mr..
Orr declined to discuss the subject further, ex-
cept TO say:
AT the recommendation OF Mayor Low, the
Board of Rapid Transit Commissioners has
taken UP the whole problem Of relieving the con-
gestion of transit between Manhattan Borough
and Brooklyn Borough. Three plans have been
presented relating TO connections between the
present Brooklyn Bridge and the new East
River. bridge building. The question of the,
practicability- Of Bridge No. 3, known also the
Manhattan Bridge, compared with tunnels
under the East River this or other points Will
also be considered. Our engineer will also study
the question thoroughly from a scientific stand
point, so that both the engineering and fnan-
cial aspects Of the problem will have the full
est consideration"
do you not think that better transit facili-
ties could be supplied by a tunnel and at much
less expense TO the city, than by the proposed
Manhattan Bridge?" asked The Tribune
porter.
Il do not care 10 express any opinion at the
present time" Mr.. Orr replied but l viii Say
that the proposition 10 connect the boroughs at
this point by tunnels has so much 10 recon-
mend il and is Of such far reaching Importance
that IL will be carefully dealt with in the report
of the commission to the municipal authorities"
LOOK WITH FAVOR on TRIBUNE'S PLAN.
From other sources it was learned that sew
erai members Of the Rapid Transit Commission
look with favor on The Trbune's proposition,
believing that tunnel can be built from Man
haitian Borough to Brooklyn which would offer
the same transit facilities as the proposed
bridge. and which would cost only fraction
much.
The agitation for a tunnel under the East
River, between the Brooklyn and Williamsburg
bridges, has awakened the interest Of the peo-
pie OF Brooklyn. and many have come forward
IN support Of building the tunnel instead of
third bridge. Bird s. Coler, ex-Controller, who
was instrumental in securing the construction
of the Brooklyn extension of the rapid transit
subway by means of tunnel from the Battery
10 the Brooklyn Borough Hall and the station
of the Long Island Railroad said yesterday:
The Tribune is TO be commended for taking
up this subject at this time. Even if the con-
tract has been let for the foundations of the
bridge at the navy yard. known the Man
haitian Bridge, IT is not too late for the city to
1aCS dDOul ana DullQ a tunnel instead. Inc
adoption by the municipal authorities of plans
for this bridge mistake in the beginning.
AS a member of the Board of Estimate and APP
portionment. I voted against the proposition of
a third bridge over the East River. The cree
ton Of such bridge VIII of course mean the
expenditure Of about S15.0O0OO0. A tunnel af-
fording the same transit facilities could be built
for one-third the cost. a double tunnel con-
meeting the boroughs of Manhattan and Brook
TE-la -
tan Bridge, would accommodate the traffic re-
quirements OF this heavily congested district
for the next twenty or twenty-five years
South Brooklyn is also in dire need of rapid
transit connection with Manhattan, and this
part OF Brooklyn will not be accommodated
until il is also tapped by a tunnel. It would
be possible, therefore. to build tunnel in place
or the navy yard bridge, a second to Long
Island City. and a third to South Brooklyn for
the same amount Of money that is contemplated
In the erection of the Manhattan Bridge
COULD BE BUILT IN HALF THE TIME.
Another reason why one or more tunnels
should be built instead Of third bridge is that
their construction will take one-half the time
A bridge. at the least takes seven years TO
build. The East River bridge is an example
Plans for the bridge We're approved in 1896. and
at the present time six years afterward. the
cables are only partly completed. According to
the engineers employed on the structure it may
not De thrown open to the public before the
end OF 1903. The conditions at this point are
declared by eminent engineers 10 be ideal for
tunnel construction"
II may be remembered that Mr.. Coler made
trenchant attack upon Mayor Van Wyck in De-
cember, 1893 when he characterized Mr.. Van
WyclTs scheme OF two bridges across the East
River, one at the navy yard and the other
across Blackwelrs Island, as "scandalously ex-
travagaDt.' Mr.. Coler went at the heart Of the
thing at that time, when he said:
The Mayor Of this city has publicly declared
that IL both Of the proposed bridges across the
East River be built at cost of 10000 600 il
viii be impossible 10 enter into the construc-
tiOn Of tunnels This declaration raises the
squarest OF issues. 1t means that the interests
of the teeming population of all the South
Brooklyn districts must be sacrificed for the
benefit OF a few real estate Spectators in
Queens County,
When the project for a third bridge over the
East River at the navy yard and for still an
other across Blackwell's Island persistently
pushed by Mayor Van Wyck and by various
,Tammany politicians who evinced an un-
wonted interest in these vast enterprises il
common talk that such improvements were
more for the purpose of stimulating values in
real estate than for relieving the population Of
the crowded districts of Brooklyn. When the
city committed itself to the erection of the Man
haitian Bridge by authorizing q contract for its
foundations there an immediate cutlery
from citizens in both Brooklyn and Manhattan
that the enterprise would entail an extravaganza
use OF the city's money, and by cutting down
the city's debt limit il would retard the extern
sion of the present rapid transit system.
WOULD SAVE NEARLY 100000
AS a consequence OF the recent successful agi-
tation for early work on an East Side subway
II developed that the city stood ready 10 build