The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1908-09-25


best serves the peoples Interests.
The amount agreed to be hsked in
a lump cash payment is one third
the cost of the bridge.
| Corporation Counsel L. r. Ham
blen, at the request of the board
of public works, is preparing a con-
tract to be submitted to Jay P.
Graves, president of the Spokane
Traction Co., on his return to the
city next week. The contract en-
bodies the provisions of the pro-
posed settlement with the Traction
company for it's share of the cost
of building the proposed new steel
bridge at Olive avenue. The plan
of settlement proposed was first
recommended by the special bridge
committee of the city council and
ratified by the council last Tuesday
night.
What the Traction company will
do in the matter of signing the
agreement Is uncertain. Mr.. Graves
made an oyer of paying $4,000 in
cash for steel bridge, but as the
plan of settlement proposed calls
for nearly double this amount, he
may balk on signing and stand
pat" as in the case of the Wash
ington street bridge. AS Mr.. Graves
| is the great factotum in all his
enterprises, none of his assistants
will venture an assertion as to his
stand in the Olive avenue bridge
settlement. The bid of the Burrell
Construction Co. on the Olive ave-
nue. bridge is $4,000.
Under the plan of settlement
with the street railway companies
adopted by the city council for the
Olive avenue steel and Howard
street concrete bridges, the car
companies are asked to pay a lump
sum of one third the cost of the
bridges in cash. In the event sthe
cash settlement is not desired by
the car companies they are given
the alternative of paying Interest
on one third the cost of thes-Ee-
spective bridges for a period of
years believed to cover the, life Of
the bridges, which is estimated at
so years for steel and 100 years
for concrete. '7
This is the deferred payment
plan. the rate of interest to be the
same as the city will pay on it's
bonds issued to build the bridges.
In addition to this interest pay
ment the car companies are re-
quired to provide for depreciation
by paying into a sinking fund. to
be held intact for replacing the
bridges, per cent of the total il
the case of the Olive avenue steel
bridge and ! per cent for the How
ard street concrete bridge. AT the
end of the period of the expectancy
in the life of the bridges, so years
for steel and 100 years for con-
crete, these payments will have, it
is figured, provided fund that will
be ample to build a new bridge If
the old one is worn out
In addition to the payment of
share of the cost of the bridge
| the car companies are required, un-
der the city charter, to provide for
the maintenance of the roadway be-
tween their tracks and for two
| feet on either side. This provision
covers the care of roadways on
streets and bridges.
The cost of the Howard street
bridge is $4,000. AS the Wash.
ington Water Power Co. at one
time offered to pay $4,000 toward
the cost of this bridge, it is pre-.
sumed that it will not seriously OBJ
| ject now to paying a smaller
amount under the new order of the
city council. When the w. w. P.
made the 100000 offer there was
talk of the bridge costing from
| $3.50 to 100000. Mr.. Huntington,
general manager of the w. W..Pr
| tOlu lne special uIluBe COulluiIlCO
that he considered 20 to rs per
cent enough for the street rail
ways to contribute on any bridge
The city council has adopted no
plan of assessing the car companies
on the Washington street bridge or
the proposed new bridge at Monroe
street. In the case of the Monroe
street bridge the special bridge
committee reported that no definite
plan of settlement could be reach
ed until the cost of the bridge was
ascertained, but added that in the
case of concrete at Monroe street
theh street railway company should
not be asked to pay one third the
cost for the reason that a con crete
bridge at that point, it is estimated
will be so much more expensive
than steel bridge Of sufficient
strength to taket care of street rail