New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-01-03
A WASTEFUL ENTERPRISE

The Engineering News" which long ago
adopted The Tribunes view that the proposed
Manhattan Bridge was n wasteful expenditure,
finds In the accession OF the law administration
reason 10 return 10 the subject and suggest the
suspension Of the work, which has so far been
occupied with the construction Of stone founda-
tons for the steel towers The Engineering
News" thinks that with the new Williamsburg
Bridge, the Pennsylvania Railroad tunnel. the
rapid transit tunnel and the BlackwelTs Island
Bridge all of which will be in operation long
before the Manhattan Bridge could be fin
ished, there IS 10 certainty that such a struct-
ure will be needed 1t urges that it would be
folly to incur the enormous expenditure blindly.
and says:
1t viii cost the city nothing TO wait The sub
structure for the Manhattan Bridge represents
a dead investment till made use Of It is true
but, the ether hand, the investment IN the
whole bridge viii be a dead loss except as II
carries traffic proportionate to its capacity
If il transpires five ten or fifteen years
hence. after all the bridges and tunnels now
under construction completed and in OPERA
ton, that there is need for still further traffic
faciities across the East River, the city
then raise the S15,o00.000. more or less neces-
sary TO place superstructure on the completed
foundations or the Manhattan Bridge, and TO
build the necessary approaches and terminals
and the work can be carried out in very short
time.
We are not inclined to think it wise to post
pone provision for new transit facilities to Long
Island in the expectation that those now under
way will be adequate to the demands upon
them. Nevertheless, we believe that the con-
struction OF the Manhattan Bridge IS wasteful
folly, and might wisely be suspended-to insure
the construction OF cheaper and more quickly
available means Of crossing the East River.
The Manhattan Bridge will be an enormously
!, l,r4r,-
stead Of difrusing traffic, it viii congest it 1t
will remove from the uses Of business and from
the assessment rolls Il vast amount of real
estate, and cut a cash across large sections Of
both boroughs damaging TO neighboring prop
erty and interfering with business. 1t will
likewise take many years TO build. For per-
haps one-fourth of the cost of the bridge q two
track tunnel could be constructed by the same
route and be Of use in less than half the time.
II more tracks are needed another tunnel could
be built near by or ar some other point, and,
If necessary, still other tunnels, that for the
same or less money the same number Of tracks.
much more usefully distributed, could be Sc
cured in much less time With Il bridge It IS
necessary to bunch tracks together thereby
causing crowds and discomfort, while the tun-
nels can be arranged to prevent the congestion
which is ut the bottom Of all traffic troubles.
The tunnel would not withdraw any consider
able quantity Of land from business or taxation;
it would cost much less for maintenance; It
would not interfere with surface traffic Ele-
waited or surface cars could be run into II and
easily be brought into touch with the proposed
subway to connect the two present bridges and
with the rapid transit subway.
Brooklyn is entitled to the most speedy pos
sible relief OF its East River traffic difficulties
and because we believe that in much less time
and for much less money Brooklyn can secure
| this relief by tunnels rather than by the Man
| haitian Bridge have long urged the substitr
ton Of tunnel plans. II Mayor Mcclellan
wants to win ultimate popularity in Brooklyn
| by speedily giving ii connections with
| Manhattan, lie would do well to consider the