The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1907-08-14
OF REINFORCED CONCRETE
Portland 81 Seattle Railroad Will Have
Only Bridge OF Its Kind on coast--ls
Part Of Geology Of count,y--vaneou-
vet viaduet win be Same Material.

for bridge work where that material cal
be used to advantage. Notable example,
OF this will be the viaduet in vancouvel
land the bridge over the Klickitat River
The latter will be single arch Of q
span of 100 feet, as viewed from the
Columbia River. Being INTELLECTUALLY
beautiful this will form a notable fea.
ture of the scenic value OF that stNam
The Wallace, Coates Engineering Com
pany OF Chicago and Portland, specialists
in this class OF construction have been
retained by the Portland 4 Seattle Rail,
road to draw plans and specifications
and supervise the construction of this
work. They have also been retained by
the city OF Spokane in the same capa-
city to replace steel bridges in that city
with others OF reinforced concrete.
Buildings OF this material are not
unknown in the northwest but it is
believed these will be the first bridges
to be built OF reinforced concrete in this
section. They have advantages over
steel or wood in being unaffected by
weather, growing stronger with age, re.
quiring no painting or repairs and con-
sequently doing away with maintenance
charges. They are also OF the greatest
stability, as is the case with all masonry
work, and not subject to the great
vibration noticed in steel bridges under
passing trains. Steel or wood highway
bridges are subjected to racking stresses
caused BY the rhythmical impact of the
hoofs of horses trotting or troops
marching in unison. For this reason 1t
is common thing TO find signs at either
end of such bridges commanding drivers.
to slow down to walk under penalty
OF fine. The officer in charge OF troops
commands them to break step, Other
wise these stresses may become so great
as to cause the collapse OF the structure
under the passing load. A comfortable
amount OF time is lost by drivers FIRE.
quently crossing such bridges. Rein
forced concrete bridges are not thus af-
fected because they become practically
one piece of stone and consequently "as
firm as a rock"
This form of bridge construction is
not at all new, having been in use in
Europe for over a generation. 1t has
become common in the eastern and
middle states both for railway and
highway work. Notable example are to
be found over the Piney Branch in
Washington, D. G., and near Belvidere,
Ill. The latter was built under the
Strauss patents for the Egin- Belvidere
Railroad and consists of four low arches
placed without wood form work or CEN
tering. this feature being embodied in
the Stratus system.
1t is expected that reinforced concrete |
bridges will eventually replace steel and |
wood in the majority of cases because
of its unquestioned advantages. Beside
those stated above it is impossible to
burn these bridges and since they are
usually founded on bed rock, and are
themselves essentially rock reinforced /
with steel rods, they are part of the
geology and safely withstand floods
that would carry away structures built
Of other material. The weight and mon.
olithic charter of the concret aid the
reinforcement greatly to this end.
The features Of reinforced concrete
bridges make them the safest for trave.
ers to cross and the engineers of the
?. & 5. Railroad are to be highly com.
nended for their selection Of this ma.
erial
Because of the characteristic of rein
orced concrete the installation of dams
'uilt of the material ia considered by
.dvanced engineers to be the most de-
irable method of impounding water for
irrigation, power and other purposes.
he Reclamation service is using it
cry largely.
With the advantages of reinforced :
oncrete buildings we are made acquaint-
d by examples in the principle cities
+ Oregon and Washington. One of the {
1ost recent is the Proudfoot Building in h
'ortiand. This was also designed by the
Wallace Coates Engineering Company.
hese buildings are Of the most durable 8
ature and are SO thoroughly fireproof
$ to make fire insurance unnecessary.
here general adoption in Europe is n