The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-07-19
THE NEW EAST RIVER BRIDGE.
How 1t Is Being Ignored by the
Railway Companies.

How 1t Is Being Ignored by the
Railway Companies.
From the Scientific American.
In few months time the East river
bridge will be completed and at the
disposal of the travelling public, to meet
whose pressing needs this great struc-
ture was projected. Like all our pub
lie works, it is years behind the time
set for it's completion, and therefore it's
lOng-delayed opening would, under or
binary circumstances, be doubly well
come. Unfortunately, however, the
question of the utility of the bridge is
ultimately dependent upon the coop
GRAFTON of the street and surface rail-
roads, both in Manhattan and Brook
Ign, for whose accommodation the
greater part of the space on the bridge
has been reserved. No bridge with a
floor space approaching that of the
new East river bridge has ever been
built and there is provision for four
street railroad tracks and two elevated
railroad tracks; this provision being
made under the very natural expecta-
ton that long before the bridge was
completed the various railroad comps-
MES would make application to the
city for the right to use these tracks
at a stated rental. Nothing of the KIND
however, has occurred, and to-day the
companies are as mute upon this cues
ton as though they were unaware
that a new East river bridge had been
even so much as suggested; or if the
matter is mentioned, the railroad COM
pan1es seem indisposed to make con-
nections across the bridge except at a
rental which is purely nominal, and an
altogether inadequate return for the
great advantages to be derived by the
companies from this means of inter-
borough connection.
There is a growing conviction among
the city officials and the general New
York public that the railroads are
purposely holding back in the expect
alton that the city, weary of waiting
and prompted by the urgency for i'm
proved communications, will allow the
railroads to use the bridge for partic-
ally no rental whatever. In view of
the larger numbers of valuable fran
chlses that have been practically
given away during the past so years
of the city's life, franchises which to-
day should be yielding a princely re-
venue to the city itself, it should be
taken in the present case; and we
think that the very successful manner
IN which the city operated it's own
railroad across the Brooklin bridge
VIII fully justify it in laying it's own
tracks across the bridge and opening
them by a system of electric cars run
upon the shuttle or the loop system
In the case of the Brooklyn fridge
the city ran the bridge cable roads
itself and was able to show an annual
profit on the operation. By laying four
tracks across the bridge, the city would
be able to put the bridge in full oper-
ration on the day on which it is open,
and could to that extent be independ-
ant of any attempt on the part of the
railroad companies to force its hand.
1t is true that the tracks that are all
laid down Delaney street belong to one
of the transportation companies, but
there is nothin to prevent the city from
laying its own tracks parallel with
these upon that portion of the street
which is available when the widening
of Delaney street has been accom-
plished.