Arizona republican., 1909-05-14
THE GREATER PROFIT
 IN PERMANENT BRIDGES
The Advantages of One Which Needs Neither Replacing Nor Repairing.

The following communication deals the construction and not the location of bridges:
 Why Build Permanent Bridges?
 A county with excellent credit and no indebtedness. but using all it's in come for current expenses. desires to build small highway bridge of 50 1t. span. The county borrows from bank 5000 and buys a steel bridge with wooden floor. At intervals of five years the bridge is refloored at a cost of about S1G0 for each renewal At intervals of eight years the bridge Is repainted at a cost of $50 for each painting.
 Now at the end of 25 years. in spite of painting and floor renewals, the steel bridge is worn out and must be replaced with a new structure. The in terest of the 5000 borrowed at the bank has amounted to $60 each year on per cent basis, and the 5000 still remains unpaid. The county now bOrrows another s1OOO and builds new bridge of the same kind. and for the next 25 years must pay interest on the s200O amounting to S12O a
 
 wuold probably not borrow at the bank but in any case the money is worth 6 per cent as an investment so that the result is the same
 The county has then paid for the first 25 pears the following amounts: Interest on 5000 at $6O per
 year. ........ $500 Reflooring every five years, 1
 times '..'. ........ ...... 400 Repainting every eight years,
 times. ....... ... eco
 Total. .... .... s2OOO a total of $2O0O which amounts to ssO per year, and the s1COO originally bor- rowed still unpaid, and must not be in creased to $2000 or do without bridge,
 For the next 9 years the cost per year runs S6O more. by reason of the interest on the additional 5000 and Che county is in debt 5000. At the end of 50 years the county will be paying at the rate of S2OO per year and be in debt S3000. At the end of 75 years. the county will be paying at the rate of S260 year and be in debt s4OOO And at the end of-10O years it will be pay ing at the rate of s32O year and be in debt S5OOO.
 It takes no financier to see that the building of temporary steel or wooden bridges will lead to bankruptcy or to higher tax rates.
 Suppose instead a permanent con- crete bridge had been erected costing nothing for repairs and repainting but costing third more than the steel bridge in first cost, the only charge to the county would have been sSO for in terest and an indebtedness of S1333. .33 which would never need to be fncreas- ed for that bridge
 Yet a properly designed concrete bridge will usually compete in cost with steel bridge of the same load ing capacity, and the concrete bridge employs materials and labor from the county while the greater part of the cost of the steel bridge is expended out of the county. The money the county spends for concrete bridge is returned to the taxpayers of the county, while that expended for a steel bridge is a constant drain on the taxpayers
 If the money can be borrowed at a lower rate on a bond issue say al four per cent. the showing is ever more favorable for a concrete bridge and the county can then afford to pay fifty per cent more for a concrete than for steel
 Permanent Bridges.
 Many taxpayers have the idea that steel bridge is a permanent i'm provement. Such is. however. by n, means the case. A steel bridge begin. to deteriorate from the first day it i! thrown open to traffic. due to rust O steel and wear of floor. The bridg,