New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-01-01

which Frederick Uhlmann. who died last month.
was the executive head before control of the
company was secured by the Brooklyn Rapid
Transit Company. Mr.. Uhlmann was iEstru-
mental in securing two franchises for bridges
across the East River, which the city was forced
: 10 acquire when 1t was decided 10 proceed Win
municipal construction of these means of tram
sit. The second was for the route % the Nam
haitian Bridge, which is to extend from the
boweTy and Canal-st. to the vicinity of Flat
bush-avo. and Fulton-st.. Brooklyn The foun-
dations of the towers have been built and rise
a few feet above tidewater. but further prog
ress has been delayed by disputes over the plans
adopted, rejected and re-adopted by successive
bridge officials, another illustration Of munich
pal nlisnlanagement. The latest action taken
3 has becn the consideration of elaborate terminal
arrangements, when what is needed is direct
conneC tons between the new route and existing
routes Ct travel on both sides of the East River.
The projected cost of the Manhattan structure
! is placed 81 $12,000,000,
The BlackweFs Island Bridge is Of the old
est projected struC lures to span the strait that
cuts LonS Island off from the mainland, or
rather from Manhattan Island, but at last. after
long delays it is well under way. and its COM
pletion may be looked forward to within few
years. Unlike the other three bridges which
OF the suspension type this is like the ordt-
nary railroad bridge in construction of the can
tilever model, and from the central piers on
each side of BlackwelPs Island there is span
to the opposite shore, The Manhattan terminal
is in East 59th-st and the Long Island one
| in the Ravenswood portion of what was once
Long Island City and is now a part of Queens
Borough.
The only other bridge construction projected
is that for the New-York Connecting Railway,
which is planned to span He'll Gate from As
toria and cross by way Of Wards Island to the
Borough of the Bronx The scheme involved in
the construction is the linking of the NewYork
Central and NewHaven Railroad systems main
ly for freight purposes, with the South and
West by running trains from The Bronx across
the East River. and through outlying parts OF
Queens and Brooklyn bOroughs around 20 the
waterfront of South Brooklyn where a car
ferry to the GreenVe portion of Jersey City or
to Staten Island would connect directly with
fha mix lines To all r1rfG of The
If the tunnels under way or projected beneath
the North River prove adequate and satisfactory
it is most probable that the projected great Hud-
son River bridge will remain in the air, where
it has been for so many years, and never come
down to the ground as a solid and substantial
structure The only thing which would shatter
faith in tunnels beneath the encrcing waters
of this metropolis would be some awful acc1-
dent by which passengers would be imprisoned
beneath the bed of the river and perish InIser-
ably by drowning or suffocation
Even Richmond Borough within a few years
may expect to escape from the uncertainties or
municipality owned ferryboats by reason OF the
construction of a subway beneath the NarroWs,
connecting with the extension of the projected
Bay Ridge subway in Brooklyn to Fort Hamil-
ton, the cars of which viii come into the
centre of the city over the new Manhattan
bridge Or the growth of the Staten Island
region may warrant the carrying into effect OK
| the project for a direct tunnel from the Battery
to St George which would bring St George and
Fort George into close relationship in point OF
| time and directly connect the northern and
southern limits of the city
The fact that all of Manhattan Island and OF
Staten Island together with part of Long Isl
and in one body polite, may call 10 the
minds of those who lived in those strenuous
| times that there q project IL the early days
OF the Civil War for the secession Of Manhattan,
Long and Staten islands from the rest of New
York State to be formed into new common
wealth called "Tri Ursula" The scheme was
one fathered by Mayor Fernando Wood and
was due to the strong Southern proclivites or
many New Workers, j sentiment which led Gov
lected in front of the City Hall at the time OF
! the draft riots My friends" utterance
which had much to do with his defeat for
President in 1868 did the famous utterlnce
of General Hancock. The tariff is local issue"
with his loss of the Presidency in 1880. But
nothing came of the scheme for the State OF
| ..Tri- Insula' and New York sent her quota OF
men to preserve the Union
! In the wiping of the Harlem RIVER by
bridges much has already been accomplished
Whereas a few years ago there were only two
or three there are dozen, some of them
most artistic structures. The latest under way
| is from 14Jth-st., Manhattan to 149th-st., The
Bronx The new steel structure over the Harlem
Shin Canal at Broadway will be 4 tWo-Story
structure one level for the roadway and sur
face railroad tracks and the other fer the sub
way tracks. which will not be carried under
ground at that point The most elaborate
bridge structure planned for the uptown part or
the CITY is that for the Hudson Memorial Bridge
over Spuyten Duyvil Creek, which 1t is hoped to
open in 1909
While New York is extending northward and
southwark eastward and westward as far az
its limits will permit it is also extending up
into the air and down into the ground much