The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1902-05-01
CITIZENS OBJECT
Tell Freeholders They Don't
Want a Viaduct Over
Paterson Plank
Road.
EXPENSE UNNARRANTED
Thoroughfare Will bs Widen
ed If All the Property
Owners Consent.
EXPENSE UNNARRANTED

Whether the dangerous grade crossing
of the West Shore Railroad at the foot
of the Paterson Plank Road shall be
abolished through the building of via
duct over the tracks to a point on Har-
rison street. Hoboken, is a question the
interested property owners must decide.
Tho Freeholders have had Engineer
James Leahy, who has been appointed to-
| superintend the Improvement of the road,
prepare the plans for a viaduct about
| . coo feet long, and if damages are not de-
| manded by the abutting property owners.
| it will be built and the dangerous grade
crossing thereby abolished. If the con-
| sent of all the property owners affected
is not obtained the plan will be abolished.
and the improvement of the road con-
tinued as first intended.
While originally laid out for 50 feet
roadway the inquiry of the Freeholders
into the title of the lands has revealed
that considerable portion of the prop-
| erty owned by the county lies east of the
big retaining wall and is therefore of no
use for the purpose of widening the road
beyond its present 80 feet.
| Yesterday the representatives of the
| Ogden estate, which owns frontage Of.
| 2.250 on the west side, notified the
Freeholders that they would give to the
county without cost a ten-foot wide
stretch in order to have the road widened
to 40 feet.
| If the other property owners, UP to the
point near the top of the hill where the
county owns a full 60 feet, can be induced
to do as the Ogden representatives have
done, it will enable the Freeholders to
/ c4r. ha fo vKfit n
81 feet and have six-foot sidewalk with
a curb alongside of the retaining wall.
The plans, as at present prepared by
Mr. Leahy, call for the paving of this
roadway with granite or Belgian blocks,
and the work on the upper part will be
done at once so as to have it completed
as far as the proposed viaduct before the
cold weather sets in.
! The plans for the viaduct embrace a
spur to be constructed by Jersey City to
trians travelling to or from the Heights
in that way will also avoid the danger
Gus grade crossing.
| Yesterday afternoon a committee of the
| Hudson City Business Mems Association,
consisting of DR. U. Allen, Henry Rollfs.
| George Won ARK, Edward Reinecke and
|
with the Freeholders relative to the pro-
posed improvement of the road from the
top of the Hill to Monroe street, Hobo
ken.
DR.. Allen and Messrs Rollfs and Won
ARK We're especially interested in learning
| If, under the act passed last winter to
| improve the Paterson Plank Road the
| long contemplated viaduct from Bowers
or Congress street, on the Heights, to a
central point in Hoboken could not be
built
DR.. Allen in few remarks showed the
need of such an Improvement by point
| ing out the present lack of proper street
| connections between the Heights and Ho-
! boken.
/ County Counsel John Griffin said that
under the law in question such viaduct
could not be built by the county. He
said the act under which the Plank road
was to be improved allowed the contruc-
ton of a viaduct to avoid grade crossings.
This part of the Improvement, the en-
gineer estimated would cost about s300 600
and it was thought that the railroad and
trolley companies would defray about
| two-thirds of the expense, leaving the
county to pay only about $4,000.
| Henry Rolffs wanted to know if, under
! the existing Boulevard act. branch
| boulevard connected by viaduct, as sug
! gested by DIR. Allen, could not be con-
structed by the county from the present
/ Weehawken loop terminal to the main
Boulevard. He pointed out that such
road would be of inestimable value to the
! residents of North Hudson and Hudson
] City as a means of reaching the Four
teenth street ferry, from which they were
at present practically cut off, except by
circuitous trolley connections
| Counselor Griffin thought it might be
possible to do this if Supreme Court JUS
tice Collins could be induced to reappoint
an engineer under the old act.
This ended the discussion of this matter
and Gustav Koven, who owns considera-
bic property abutting the Paterson plank
road near the foot of the Hill. then took
the floor and spoke against the proposed
viaduct across the West Shore tracks.