The Oskaloosa herald., 1902-03-27
GREATER OSKALOOSA
Iowa Central to Do Lots of Work
Here This Season.

OShdlOOSd Is W Us Iuc UdSlo VI sup
plies for an immense amount of work
TO be done just north of the city this
summer, and work will be begun on
April 1, or as soon thereafter as the
weather will permit. The work as
planned by the engineering depart
ment of the road includes the NOV
ing of 500, 900 cubic yards OF dirt and
the construction of four new bridg-
es. A work of greater magnitude is
to be accomplished between Oskaloo-
ga city and the Skunk River. The
completed work will show
gradual grade of seven tenths
of one perstceut from the pres
emit location of the coal chutes to the
Skunk River in place of the hills and
says that now characterize this part
of the road. The present grades
amount to one and half and even
le and .three-fourths percent and
all of this is TO be done away with.
In order to accomplish all of the
work it will be necessary to make
the following changes. In addition
to the nine feet that the Skunk River
bridge has already been raised it will
be elevated nine mores feet Almost
every foot of the grade between the
river and the station of Lacey will be
worked to some extent to conform
with this fill. What is now known as
the "South Skunk Hill" will be cut
down. The cut will amount to fully
sixteen feet at the grade crossing
near West Center and an over head
viaduct will be made necessary here.
The raising of the grade at the river
and the cutting down of the top of
the hill makes difference of thirty
four feet between the new and the
former grades. The top of the hill at
a point about mile and half north
of the city known az Carbon junction
will be cut down six feet. The
"Quaker Sag" just north of the Year
ly Meeting house will be raised dis
lance of nineteen feet making diff
ference of twenty five feet in the
grades Immediately north of the city.
The enormity of this work is scarce
ly to be comprehendsd by one not
familiar with such operations. To
complete it by the winter season of
1902 will require the constant labor
of at least Two steam shovels all of
the time and possibly three part of
the season. Each shovel will be at
tended by gang of surfacers suffi-
GENTLY large to care for the dirt re-
moved. The new bridge at South
Skunk..will be placed as soon as the
fill at that point is completed. The
present structure will be elevated by
means of false work as the raising of
the grade at this point progresses.
The new bridge will not be compler
ed before the finishing of the grade
changing. The headquarters of all
of this labor will be made in this city.
The laborers will be paid off here and
a great amount of the money received
by the labors will find its way to o.
kaloosa trade channels. The amount
will be of sufficient size to make it.
self feltlin many directions.
Nv
The Osksloosa Water Company is
putting in a new filter at the filter
house on North d street. 1t is a
monster affair. Tue shell measures
eighteen feet in length by eight and
a half feet in diameter. 1t will be in
stalled on.the east side of the filter
house and will be in operation in
about three weeks. 1t is what is
known as the Jewell filter manufac
tured by the Jewell Filter company
of Chicago and is the. best that can
be purchased on the market today.
1t has Icapacity of five hundred
thousand gallons of water daily. The
cost oflthe improvement will be about
SO, 100000.
".
More new residences will be erec-
Ted in the city of Oskaloosa this sea-
son than ever before in the history
OF the city in a single year. 1t seems
hardlyIpossible and yet the fact re-
mains that there are now building
within the city or are being finished
since the first of the year no less
than thirty-three new dwellings.
Contracts have been let or arrange
ments made for fully three times that
number. seventy-seven absolutely
new residences were erected in the
city last year, this number not in.
Guiding residences made over. The
now arranged for this sea-
sons work exceeds the hundred