The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-01-18
STONE BRIDGE
ACROSS RIVER
Commercial Club Members
Start a Movement for One.
IRON BRIDGE is SMALL
And a New One Must Be Built
at No Late Date.

The members of the Commercial club
have started the bah rolling to have
new stone arch bridge across the Arkan-
sas rive ron Douglas avenue. The iron
bridge has stood for years; it has carried
thousands Of people across the river. and
in its day was the finest bridge in the
country. It is g feet wide and when
Wichita was a town 1t was plenty large
enough to accommodate the people and
the traffic. When the bridge was built
1t was too big.
Wichita has grown some In the past
few years. There are more business
houses and residences on the West Sioe
and there is not a minute OF the day
when the bridge is not filled with wag-
ons, and sometimes there is great In
convenience occasioned on account of the
number Of wagons On the bridge at one
time.
TIE iron bridge can stand just so much
weight 1t was not built for exceedingly
heavy traffic. No fast driving is allowed
and the amount Of weight allowed On II
is limited Many times during the day
There is a small path for pedestrians,
arc in the morning, at noon and in the
evening it is crowded and oftentimes is
not large enough to let all the people
pass.
Inis spring Douglas avenue will be
paved from Wichita street TO Seneca
street, almost mile, with asphalt The
resolution declaring 1t necessary to do
this work is now being published and
when it is completed Douglas avenue
will be paved for almost two miles of its
length. 1t will make fine drive, and
that is something that has long been
deemed necessary.
When the pavement is completed there
will be much more traffic over the bridge
and the little iron structure will not be
large or strong enough to accommodate
the people.
| The Commercial club has taken up the
work and every member is pledged to use
| his influence in getting a stone bridge
| built The bridge is to be built wide
enough to accommodate pedestrians
and street cars, and have a great dea
more space for wagons and carriages
In fact it Is planned to have the bridge
| Just as wide in it's roadway is the street
which it touches. When built it can bt
paved with asphalt and be as solid ano
substantial as roadway.
It is well known that within the space
of a few months, with the pavement or
West Douglas, the bridge will not ac
| commodate the traffic. 1t will hardly do
it now. and with the increased number
Of carriages that will use the street as &
drive the congestion on the bridge viii
be something terrible. With a stone arcl
! bridge there would be no difference be
| tween il and the street, and any one on
| for a drive could go as fast as the Law
allows without danger of a wreck on tn
| bridge.
The street cars would be placed on tn
north SIDE with a substantial railing
and this would do away with the littl
wooden bridge beside the present one
The path for pedestrians on the soutl
side. with a railing of stone, and wild
roadway in the center. Such bridg
would be a credit to the city and wheI
built would be of immense value ant
would insure the building up of all tn
vacant lands along the river.
The Commercial club has started goo
movement and the members are deter
mined to keep at work until the bridge
! finally completed