The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-03-29

The upper left hand plcr=-s
shows the work of driving pilee for
the concrete abutments of the steel
and concrete trestlework in the low.
lands.
Palisades at EIgin, New, where
hundreds of tons of rock were re-
moved to provide secure roadbed'
a good Illustration of the extent OF
the improvements, shown in the up
per right hand photograph.
The left hand picture just shows
a piIedriver at work putting in piers
for a permanent bridge.
The picture at the right shows a
concrete mixer at work making ma
teriaI for the concrete ahutments OF
a new steel truss bridge.
The set of six numbered pictures
are described as follows:
L Providing a new course Tor the
stream that is the outlet for the
melting mountain SHOWS. This stream
is dry in summer, but a swift torrent
in early spring -
?. Steam shovel at work cutting on
the point of a mountain in order that
the track can be moved away from
the dangerous stream.
3. Another mountain being cut in
two to make a more direct waterway
for the spring floods.
4. The riprapping on the side Of the
new channel. The stones are fitted so
closely together that the work might
almost be looked upon as masonry.
). A norton of the old bed of the
stream being Strengthened to make
less likely the chances for an over
flow.
6. More riprapping at a dangerous
point.
Within another month the improve
lnents on the Salt Lake route in the
Meadow Valley wash country will
have been completed. A thousand
men are at work on the eighty miles
of track between St George and Min
10, New, putting the finishing touches
on the great undertaking. When they
have completed their work the track
of the Salt Lake route through the
treacheTOus country will be secure
from any floods that can possibly
come rushing down from the noun
tainS.
The experience of the Salt Lake
route a year ago necessitated the re-
building of the greater portion of the
track through this territory, the es-
Establishment of a higher grade for the
track and a better channel to care for
the foodwater. To make these i'm
sprovements cost the company over
PTniIlion dollars. For the expenditure
of this amount the owners of the rail
H. srf1 or If
knowing that the work was well done
and that the roadbed is absolutely Sc
cure from storms and floods.
The magnitude of the undertaking
to conquer natural difficulties with
engineering skill, is hard to appreci-
ate In some places the track was
moved from the old roadbed up the
mountains hundreds of feet. To do
this it was in several places necessary
20 cut off great points of the noun
tains to secure a permanent, solid
roadbed.
Another feat accomplished by the
engineers was the changing of the
course OF a stream which in the
springtime is a surging torrent. This
: stream heretofore has wound in and
y out, crossing the tracks at several
places. In the spring of 1907 the melt
ing SHOWS of the mountains swelled
this stream until IL ONernOWeQ, the
rushing waters flooded the tracks, I'M
dermined the entertainments and took
out the culverts and bridges.
To remedy this difficulty the en-
gineeTs undertook to cOnfine the
stream in a new channel on one side
of the track. While the improve
ments were being made the bed of the
stream was dry but it is now begin
ming TO refill, although there was not
enough snow last winter to cause any
serious flood situation this year. With
the rocks hewed out of the sides of
the mountains the riprapping for the
new channel was made. The rocks
side outermost. SO that a smooth sur
face would be exposed to the water,
rendering less probable the washing
cater. The chinks between the larger
rocks are filled with smaller stones.
so that the riprapping resembles solid
masonry work.
All of the wooden trestles and
bridges in the flood district have been
replaced with steel and concrete
structures. large enough 10 care for all
of the flood water that may come
down from the mountains. The floods
of last spring were the greatest since
white man inhabited the district, and
the probability is that il will be many
years before a similar flood recurs. To
be on the safe side, however the en-
gineers have so constructed the i'm
provements that the water can rise
ktwo feet higher than il did a year ago
Without injuring the tracks
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