Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-01-02
WATERVIILE.
WIDEN THE BRIDGE
Is the Growing Sentiment Regarding
New Electric Road.
The Company Also Expected to Bear
All the Expense.

There is apparently b strong senti-
ment developing among the business
men of the city that is opposed, to al
lowing the Augusta & Watervihe
Electric Road to cross the .Tioonic
bridge without having several condf-
lions complied with, the principal one
being the widening of the bridge at
the expense of the road. Not all OF the
business men, Of course, hold this Opln-
ion, but there is a strong faction that
does and this will give it's hearty and
active support to the Winslow au-
| thorities in the position they have
| taken on the matter.
| A petition has been circulated among
| the business men to have a committee
appointed to confer with the Winslow
committee and to assist it as much as
possible in the position it has taken.
| There is no doubt but the committee
has the backing of its town in the mat
/ ter and that they will see the thing
through to a finish.
The principal objection,to allowing
the cars to cross is the character and
condition of the bridge, and the traffic
that it has to carry every day in the
year. The bridge is $50 feet long, of
the open deck style with an 18-foot
roadway and two 5-foot sidewalks. 1t
was built 20 years ago, sufficiently
strong to carry without danger all, the
traffic that could then be expected
Even at that time the committee was
severely criticized for not having the
roadway wider and this has been the
subject of much objection ever since.
CT, ;tc or +ro To
has, more, than doubled and can very
reasonably be expected to be greatly
Increased in the next five years. Wins
low is growing rapidly, especially in
the vicinity of the Hollingsworth &
Whitney mills and this bridge is the
only means of crossing the river.
OF the employees of the. Lockwood
Co., 500 live on the Winslow side and
cross four times each day, usually
at about the same hours. In addition
to these there are a good number of
H. & w. employees who cross six times
each day, at some hours in company
with the Lockwood people and at 9TH
ers by themselves. By this reckoning,
therefore, there are at least 1000 people
crossing regularly every day, say four
times. These include a good proper
ton of women and children.
Another regular class of traffic is
that Of the narrow gauge road This
is perhaps smaller than the other two
but it may be called regular. In ad-
dition to these classes there is all of
the country trade from North Vassal-
boro, Winslow, China and a good share
from other towns farther away. This
is large and and steadily increasing,
The bridge is also uSec great deal
locally by doctors, grocery teams, other
delivery teams, etc. Much has been
heard before the locations were asked
for by the electric road about the
bridge becoming rapidly unable to ac-
commodate the regular traffic. AS al
ready stated it was not considered wide
enough 20 years ago and. those who
thought so then have been thinking
more so ever since.
Such are the conditions as claimed
by those opposing the granting of the
locations without conditions. Taking
this view of the situation they claim
that if the request of the electric road
is granted that within five years or less
the bridge will be inadequate for the
needs and that it will be pronounced
unsafe by the railroad commissioners
and that Watervile and Winslow will
then be obliged to build a new bridge
at cost Of from 100000 to $4,000,
thing they say that neither place will
be in a position to do. They further
more claim that if the rails are allowed
on the bridge it will meanwhile be a