Perth Amboy evening news., 1905-09-08

In cases where they bid on their own
design there was a variety of prices
and quantities and the difference was
sometimes very great.
His Cross-Examination.
On cross-examinatian by Lawyer
Alan II. Strong the expert said he
had an Office at 116 Nassau street.
He had no bridge work at present
and the last bridge he superintend-
ed was the Long Beach bridge in
1898 which was 900 feet long and
over a navigable stream. He had de-
signed a 142 span bridge built In
Cuba in 1898, had had charge of the
Luilding of twenty-five or thirty one
span bridges for the>Wyoming branch
of the Lehigh Valley railroad
three years ago over freshet streams
and had also designed several Penn
sylvania railroad bridges.
He had spent two days and half
of eight hours each in examining the
plans of and the Amboy bridge. The
percentage of profit to the contract
or in his figures including the s10,-
600 allowed for extra hazard was rs
per cent Without the extra hazard
allowance the percentage was Is per
cent. A careful contractor he
thought by close buying could knock
out 20 per cent. profit on the job.
He would not guarantee that, how
ever. Contractors for whom he fig
ured had let him into their secrets
very often so that he could get an
idea of the profit on such work.
The Piling in the Bridge. -
The expert testified 30 there be-
ing 1927 piles figured on by him
in his estimate which was more than
the plans called for or we're in the
bridge. He had allowed for Asa spur
piles when there we're but twenty
in the bridge so that he he'd figured
on Ala that were not there. The
plans called for 1913 piles.
"Why did you figure on more than
there were there?" asked Lawyer
Strong, Contractors are not pre-
sumed to put in more than are in
the plans, are they?"
81 desired to estimate high" said
the expert.
He was then questioned as to the
cost of the pile according to his fig
ures and said Alt of them he had
figured at $12, they being yellow
pine, and the balance at 50 each. The
yellow pine could be secured for $6
each, fifty feet long and delivered at
the bridge and the others which were
spruce could be secured for 81 de-
livered. The difference between the
cost and the figure he had placed
them at was the allowance for the
work of driving them and the labor
in getting them in shape.
A wise contractor, the expert said,
would make borings befoye he made
an estimate on the contract, Haba1
made none in his estimate sbec& :,
he was not contractor. He woa 4
take the contract on the estimate he
gave of $10S,446 and make borings
to save money on that estitate.
Wooden Structure Not Sufficient.
''No wooden structure is adapted
for that place." said the expert.
Concrete piers and iron steel spans
were necessary where the stream
was. A bridge with two or three
spans of this sort near the draw could
be built for 1000 have no doubt
but | wouldn't want to say so on
hand. The cost would not be far from
that figure"
The expert was then asked as to
how he made his examination of the
bridge September 5. He said he
went around 1t in q naptha launch
on the draw flooring as not being first
AS to the driving of the piles, one
fifth of this work would have to be
done when it was high tide and the
balance could be done at any time.
He got his experience as to this from
building the Starin pier in New York
city where the water was twenty-five
feet deep.
Large cities did not get bids any
more as the bids on this bridge had
been secured, but on exact speclfca-
tions and plans. Counties still con-
timed as this one had. He was asked
it, in getting each bidder to submit
his own plans, suggestions OF valte
were not often obtained to which he
replied from the standpoint OF the
contractor only. 1t depended on who
made the selection of the plan as to
whether a good bridge was secured
or not
The expert criticised the lumber
on the draw floring as not being first
class, but full of knots and snappys
He added that all of the defects ne
found in the bridge on his examina-
ton and comparing it with the plans
and specifications wero immatefiai-