Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-03-02

and the county is liable for all dam
ages. And the fact that we are liable
will make some men who are ordinarily
careful take greater chances and there
may be loss OF life thru such chance
The people of cur county can congrat-
ulate themselves on the fact that their
board of supervisors as far back as
have traced the records OF their pro-
ceedings. have been composed of men
who made a specially OF bridge work,
and Marshall county has today as good
bridges as any county in the state. and
better by far than many. Our repre-
sentative, Mr. Arney, says 1t is the in
tention of said section to compel the
building and keeping in repair all coun-
ty bridges so that they will sustain the
weight of anything run or drawn onto
them. The county last year expended
on bridges s30,579: will spend more
than that sum this year and there Will
still be number of bridges that the
careless engineer will take chances on.
1t is impossible to make all our bridges.
safe in the short time we have
Suppose we should make the effort.
let us consider the wooden bridge prop
osition l have gone over the bridge
account book where an account is kept
of cost OF building and repairing every
county bridge, and find the following
| for ten years. The cost of building
! twelve wooden bridges in 1900 was
$2,651.S9 cost of repairs $1.120.17. total
outlay, $3,772.2O or s314.33 each. and the
most of these bridges have been re-
placed by corrugated iron culverts or
concrete bridges and the remainder
must soon be. Pretty stiff price to pay
| for the use of twelve bridges for ten
years. In an emergency a wooden
bridge is all right. but for permanency
should no longer be considered.
| 1t is the intention of the present
board to put in concrete bridges to the
| limit of money at hand after allowing
sufficient amount for repairs on the old
bridges. / am earnestly in favor OF
bonding the county for at least 100000
for building concrete bridges alone. The
work could be done in couple of years
and those who In future years use them.
| can help pay the cost. Damage suits
would be eliminated and there would
be no further occasion to constantly
send men here and there over the
county to repair holes in bridges. In
building concrete bridges with money
obtained by the sale of bonds. the coat
would not be thrown on AUDITING prop
erty owners as street paving now is.
1
be when taken up, putting the bridge
building proposition far ahead Of good
road making in the matter Of paying
| for it.
| In the last two years the county has
put in twelve concrete bridges, sixteen
| to tWenty-four feet in length at an av-
erage cost OF $471 each, the work done
by home men under our efficient super
intendent Of bridges, F. L. Meeks. Ten
bridges thirty-five to sixty feet in
! length were buht by contract at an
average cost of $1.725 each. These
twenty-five bridges will have no repair
account tackled to the original cost in
the newt ten years the life of the aver
age wooden bridge. nor in ten times
ten years, If they have been properly
constructed
! The bridge tax of 1909 is nearly s32.-
900, a good share of it, j am sorry to
have to say, will have to be spent in
bracing up for while longer. old
wooden bridges. The present bridge
levy of 31s mills (should be ~ in if
teen years will raise $4SO000 Bond
the county for 100000 and at the end
of fifteen years We will have at least
400 concrete bridges paid for. bonds
paid, and the interest paid on the bonds
will not equal the cost Of maintaining
that number Of wooden bridges while
bonds Were being paid.
We have a total of 6S7 bridges Of all
kinds in the county. Eleven are river
bridges; Al steel, SO cast iron, Sc cor
rugated iron, 81 concrete and SPA of
wood
10. r. EMES.