The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-11-24
CONCRETE VS.. STEEL
LATTER Is$1,944 CHEAPER THAN
FORMER, FOR BRIDGE.
County 3 ,ard Opens Bids for the New
Structure a Mile East Of
Vernon Center.

From Tuesdays Daily
The main interest in the present
meeting of the county board centers in
the opening of bids for bridge across
the Blue Earth river about a mile east
of Vernon Center, in section 26. The
bids were to have been opened this fore
noon, but this was delayed until after
noon. to allow one of the bidders more
time to prepare his bid on concrete con-
struction. To the lowest bid on a steel
bridge must be added the lowest bid on
the stone piers, while the bid on a con-
crete bridge includes this. If the cost of
concrete bridge does not exceed that
of steel bridge by more than $1,000,
County Surveyor Brooks is of the opin-
ion that it would be the best policy to
put in the concrete bridge.
Yesterday afternoon the hearing on
the school petition of Nels johnson to
be set over from district IA to district
So was held and as there was no opposi-
ton it was granted.
The hearing on the school petition of
Ole Aslakson to be set over from dis
trict II to l44 was granted, there being
no opposition.
County Surveyor Brooks reported
that ditch No. 5, the Danville- Medo
ditch, has been completed by Contractor
w. III. Tidland and submitted an ac-
ceptance, which provides for the release
of the bondsmen. 1t was approved by
the board. The ditch is ten miles long
and the contract price was $l0,0S4. 1t.
is the longest ditch in the county, and
Mr. Tidland has been four years in con-
structing it, owing to weather condi-
tions.
A letter from the state auditor was
read, advising the board that Blue
Earth county has been owing the state
1883 since 1882 for text books. An in
vestigation having shown that the bill
has never been paid, the board unan-
imously authorized its payment.
The bond of the State bank of Good
Thunder for the deposit of county
money was approved at $4,000.
The board will be in session through
tomorrow, as there is considerable 9TH
er business to come up.
The following were the bridge and
pier bids opened this afternoon:
hr; 70 ba
county surveyors plans: Mayer Broth
ers of Mankato, $500; Fair, Williams
& Co., $3,4s7; William S. Hewett & Co.,
$2967; Joliet Bridge & Iron company,
S., 2s7; Minneapolis Bridge & Iron COM
pany, $3,647; George E. King Bridge
company, $4,000; Hennepin Bridge
company, $3.50; Hewett Bridge com
|pany, 1880; A. Y. Bayne, $2,749.
For concrete bridge, bidders furnish
ing their own plans: Marsh Bridge
company of Des Moines, Iowa, .$7,474.
William S. Hewett & Co., So per yard
above the water and $40 per yard below
the water. The latter bid could not be
|
considered, as it could not be figured
out
The Hennepin Bridge company sub
mitted a bid on steel bridge with tub
ular piers and concrete roadway, at
SIS, 900. 1t was not considered, as tubu-
lar piers are not wanted there.
Stone piers: George Kaiser and JOS
eph Landkammer, $3.50; Alex Bashaw,
$3,575; T. R. Coughlan & Co., 1882; c.
is. Erickson, $3.50; Carlstrom Brothers,
$3,45O.
The lowest bids on the steel bridge
and stone piers make the cost of that
kind of bridge $3.50. This is 1914
below what concrete bridge will cost.
The board took the bids under con-
-