Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1910-08-18

Staten Island and Brooklyn Residents
Will Have Not Only Tubes For Cars,
but Carriage Road as WeII-Year Re-
quired to Construct Novel and Pre-
tentious Marine Driveway.
New York's latest plan to tunnel I'M
der the Narrows by laying tube on
| instead of under It's bed and 50 con-
meet Staten Island and Brooklyn has
surprised and interested tunnel ex-
| perts. 1t was a new way of tunnel
| building. but they admitted that it was
| feasible, provided sufficient depth of
water for navigation was left over the
tunnel.
| At the point where the New Jersey
and Staten Island Junction Railway
company proposes to build the tunnel
in the Narross the depth at mean low
| tide is declared to be fifty-six feet. AS
the tunnel is not expected to rise
above the bed of the Narrows more
| than eleven feet at any point, this
| would leave u depth Of at least forty
| five feet.
"There can be no possible Interior
ence with navigation" said Stephen
NJ. Hoye, president Of the company.
even if the depth over the tunnel at
mean low water was only forty feet it
| would still be deep enough to allow
| the very largest ships that will be
built to pass over it in perfect safety.
There are to be larger ships aoated
! than are now being navigated, it IS
| true, but they will not be built deeper
than they are, but longer and with a
greater beam.
Grade Too Much.
"The franchise permits us to build
tunnel under the Narrows from Staple
ton, in Richmond county, to Eighty
| sixth street, Brooklyn. On the Brook
Ign side the bluffs rise some fifty feet
| above the water. Now, the depth OF
| water at low tide off Eighty-siXth
| street is fifty-six feet. 1t can be seen
at what depth we would have to lay
| the tunnel to place it under the bed of
} the NarrOws. 1t would mean a grade
| at the shore ends of at least four de-
grees, which would make the under
| taking impracticable.
"Our franchise permits the building
not only Of a railroad but post road
under the Narrows. The value of a
post road in tunnel would at first
| glance appear absurd, but the man
who drew up the application for
franchise was farsceing. 1t needs lit
| tie thought now to see the value OF
such road in view of the vast num-
Der of autos in operation in New York
Our tunnel will not be entirely upon
the bed of the Narrows. In places the
level of the tunnel will sink below that
| of the bed of the strait
| 1T is Il we'll known fact that spiles
under water do not decay 1t is where
they are exposed part Of the time to
the air that they disintegrate. Now,
we propose to build this tunnel by
first sinking double rows of spiles for
the side foundation walls of our tun-
mel. The tops of these are then sawed
off under water and the spaces be-
tween filled with concrete.
Building Tedious Work.
Next we build the upper halves OF
the tunnel in sections. These upper
halves will consist of inner and outer
frames of steel filled in between with
concrete. and each section when COM
pleted will be foated and with the
water end closed will be sunk to its
position, the sides of the upper sec
tons resting on the spiles and concrete
| foundations.
"Probably the shore ends of the up
per sections will be placed first. The
water end of these upper sections will
be closed, and there will be n tempo
rary floor in each, so that the water
can be pumped out and allow workmen
to enter.
"Then the water end of the lower
part Of the tunnel under the upper
section will be closed and the water
pumped out. This will allow the work
men to cut through the temporary
floor Of the upper section and cut
down the floor foundation spiles to the
depth they wish.
when the under water part of the
tunnel is done, which it will be in
about Il year from the time work is
started, we will have a tunnel with
approaches of less than one per cent
grade. In Brooklyn the tunnel will
connect with the Fourth avenue sub.
way now being built"