Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-28
PROGRESS ON BRIDGE
NEW HIGHWAY TO BE READY IN
SEPTEMBER.
Structure to Supplant the Historic
Long Bridge-Statement by
the Contractors.

The new highway bridge over the river.
| connecting the city of Washington with
| the Virginia shore of the Potomac. will be
| completed and ready for service possibly
| by September l. certainly by September 10
according to information received by a Star
| reporter yesterday evening. AS the informa-
! ton came from the representative in charge
| of the work for the Pennsylvania Steel
| Company, the contractors for the building
! of the bridge. it is authentic, and by the
| middle of September traffic will be pass
| ing over the new steel structure. and the
removal of the old wooden Long bridge Will
be in order.
| Mcmillan & McDermott, the contractors
| for the stone work, and the Pennsylvania
| Steel Company have big forces of men at
| work on the structure, and the building of
| the bridge is moving steadily along.
All the substructure. that is. the stone
work on which the steel spans rest, is COM
! pleted except the seat pier. on the Wash
| ington side of the river, and the pivot pier,
on which the draw will rest This is so
near completed that only three or four more
| days will be required on it, and the stone
| work will be done.
Floating Saw at Work.
large floating saw is a work cutting
the wooden cribbing from about the piers.
| This saw works under water and cuts the
| planks and timbers off two feet under wat
at low tide. The wooden cribhing left
under water serves to protect the concrete
| foundat ton from the work of the tides, if
| any such protection is necessary. With the
| completion of this last stone pier the work
| of Mcmillan & McDermott will be COM
pleted. and It is understood they will send
| the greater part of their floating plant to
Havre de Grace, Nd, where they are build
| ing a big bridge over the Susquehanna river
for the Pennsylvania Railway Company.
Since work was resumed the steel
structure about three weeks ago, the steel
| work of span five on the Washington side
OF the bridge has been placed in position
and part of span six is also in place and
the big travelling crane is now employed in
lifting and carrying the heavy steel parts
to the place they are wanted. The non-ar-
rival of a steam boiler and engine has de
layed progress on the Virginia side of the
bridge, but the machine is now on hand and
will this week be taken to the spot want
ed and installed. The work the Viz
gnia spans will be pushed along rapidly.
The electric railway tracks have been laid
on the completed portion of the bridge and
are used by donkey engine and car in
rying the steel parts from the Potomac
INark where they are stored, to where the
new work is going on. A steam lighter, the
Daniel X. Jackson, is also employed in this
work. The sidewalks, which project like
shelves from each side of the bridge on big
brackets are in process of construction
along the completed parts of the new struc-
ture and will follow the new work II is
completed.
Painting in Progress.
The painting OF the new steel work is also
going on. To paint the underneath portion
of the bridge float on which a trestle has
been built is in use in order that the work
men may reach the bridge. AS the trestle
has made the float topheavy it sometimes
With he nd ba ma
row escapes from ducking in the Potomac.
To supply the air that works the pneumatic
riveters employed on the bridge work
in which is a gas engine and big air COM
pressor is stationed on the bridge, and from
the car big pipes run in all directions over
the bridge. carrying the compressed air
where needed by the workmen.
The false work which the structure
rests before ii is Joined together has been
built between all the piers except piers Il
and on the Washington side of the draw.
This space will be kept open in order to al
low vessels to go up and down the river
When the draw is completed and can be
swung around on the platform that sup
ports it while open the span between these
piers will be built 1t Will be the last one
completed, and when work on it is done
the bridge will be practically ready for
service.
Washington Approach.
The approach to the bridge from the
Washington SIDE Is DelnS WlueIleu, ana II is
about completed. but on the Virginia side
but little work has been done on the APP
proach. The contractors have force of
about a hundred men engaged in laying
railway track from the clay banks on the
Arlington reservation to the approach, and
the filling in of the big embankment will
be begun, 1t is stated, in a few days.
The men employed in the building OF the
new bridge must have strong nerves and
steady heads. They run about on the mar
row iron beams, from 80 to 80 feet above
the water with the greatest unconcern. y
false step and they would go through an
opening and down into the water. 1t
looked dangerous to The Star reporter
standing IN safety on the completed por-
ton of the bridge but when he inquired OF
one Of the worknen what his sensations
were while working high over the water,
he was told:
Don't have any sensations; we are used
to it, and have to make a living, anyhow.