The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-10-17
SHOULD BE BY COUNTY.
Extension of MeIan Bridge May Not
Be Submitted Now.

There is said to be movement
among members of the city counclt 70
defeat the plan for a special eIection
on Nov. for the purpose OF Young
bonds to build a new span or spans
at the north end of the Melan bridge.
This proposed opposition is not with
any real hostility to the plan OF build
ing the new spans, but on the ground
that it is not the city's province to
issue bonds to do this work. 1t Is
held that the work should be paid for
with county bonds, issued under au-
thority of an act of the legislature.
The Melan bridge was of course
originally built with an issue of coun-
~ bonds The work of repairing Il.
however, has been done by the city
though when it came to building the
presen: temporary span. it vas PAID PAID
for half by the city and half by the
county. 1t looks as though it was Il
little out of the city's line 10 stand
the whole cost of putting in couple
of now spans, especially as it has been
found by the city engineer that it viii
he impossible to do the work with a
bond issue of $4,000 as was intended.
we can't put that work in right for
neer McCabe today. 4 have inVesti-
gated the matter pretty thoroughly,
and will at the Tuesday night council
meeting be prepared to submit some
estimates on the cost of the necessary
work. | will submit estimates on three
or four different kinds of work. 1 will
strongly recommend, however, shat the
city put in two Melan arches, and not
a steel approach. Aside from the looks
of the thing the work should be of ce-
ment and concrete, because in that way
the most substantial structure can be
made. A truss bridge of sufficient
strength to hold up brick pavement
would be very heavy and resting it on
that north pier would have a tendency
to overbalance the pier and cause a
serious structural difficulty. The con-
struction of two new Melan arches, on
the other hand, would strengthen the
whole structure. The bridge is now
on per cent grade, and thereS
fall enough between what is now the
north end of the bridge, and the end
of the North Kansas avenue pavement,
to continue this 2 per cent grade. 1t
would be perfectly symmetrical and
harmonious. 1t would be impossible to
put in a steel structure which would
look right"
this movement for a special bond issue.
is bitterly opposed to the proposed ce-
ment and concrete construction. He
quoted Assistant City Engineer King
as saying that ''he would give the
present Melan bridge only ten more
years to live"
Mr. King said today: Il did not tell
EIr. Thomas that the Melan bridge
would only last 10 years. What l said
was that unless the council should put
in the right kind of span to brace
that north pier, and restore the strain
which that pier was calculated to stand
when it was built into the bank, the
bridge would not last more than 10 or
Is years. 1 think that a cement and
concrete structure is the proper way TO
fix it, 1t would be carrying out the
original idea of the structure. and would
tend to brace up that north pier in
stead of adding more weight to the
north side, which would tend to tip
over the pier and cause the north arch
to fall
Tuesday night the council will be
called upon to pass an ordinance pro-
viding for the bond election to build
the bridge. The ordinance has been
drawn up by City Attorney Spencer and
is all ready to be passed as soon as the
description of the bridge is inserted.
The council will have to first decide
what kind of a bridge it wants.
Ordinances for a half dozen other
bridges will also be presented Tuesday
night. This is the Sinner omnibus or
by which it is proposed to vote
bonds to pay for all the bridges the city
needs to have built or rebuilt
1t begins to look now as though the
might knock out the whole bust
ness, Melan bridge and all, and have no
special bond election on November 8.