The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-22

Pontoon bridges. have not improved since the day AleXande crossed the Ganges by their aid. Soldiers best know their value, and since the days of Cortez in Mexico each war-swept section has seen it's streams bridged in this fashion. The only floating bridge in the world that is not built on boats is believed to be in Lynn Mass It was built In 1902. when the pond it crossed was supposed to be bottomless. 1t was anchored to each shore, and though heavy and water logged. still remains as a historic relic it's original thickness of five and a half feet having been increased to r feet by con tnual patching. The largest concrete bridge in the world is that over the Santa Ana on the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake railroad. a few miles from Riverside, Cal. It was built in 1903 when steel was not immediately available, all shops being several months behind, and 200 men completed it in an incredibly short while at a cost of s200,000
 The most valuable wooden bridge in the world is that built across Pine Creek, in Warren county, Indiana. It was built nearly d century ago entirely of black walnut, is between 15O and 200 feet long and the timber is valued at $15,00O Lum- Der dealers have made many offers for it, and bridge-builders' have offered to re- place it with steel. but the county pre- fers to keep it. For many years the long est single stone arch in the world, since the destruction of the 2a0-foot arched bridge over the Adda, in the fourteenth century, was that of Cabins John bridge near Washington. This was built in 1870 by General Meigs and springs high across a ravine in an arch of 220 feet carving the acqueduct for the city water supply. Switzerland is now offering rival arch a few feet longer.
 The most historic-bridge in the United States was the famous Long bridge across the Potomac at Washington, which was torn down last winter. It was an un- slightly affair, completed in 1S35, and for mally dedicated by President Jackson in 1S36 Over this marched 100000 men to southern battlefields in the civil war, to 1t the longing eyes of Confederate gen erals turned more than once when plans were on foot to take Washington, and over it defeated armies came pell-mell after the battles of Bull Run and other Virginia encounters. The timbers are now being cut into walking sticks as sou venirs for Grand Army men. The aston ishing fact about the Long bridge, and a fact that makes it distinctive above all others in the world. is that the builders spent only one-third of the money on it that Congress appropriated for the pur- pose.
 A great national bridge. that will stand as a monument to General Grant, and be one of the most ornamental and artistic now in existence. is some day to be built across the Potomac at Washington. It will be bascule bridge. with draw span of 1G0 feet, and spans on each side of 2i0 feet each. The plans were drawn by Captain Symons of the United States army engineering corps and Paul J. Pelz, architect of the Library of Congress. An other proposed memorial bridge is one that New York is considering to mark the confines of the island at Spuyten Duyvil creek and commemorate the landing of Hudson in 1909.
 Dioa DicI.11ras