The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-05-14
NEW BRIDGE TO BE OPEN FOR
 FOOT TRAVEL
Contractors Will Turn it Over to
 Commission Next Week
ROADWAY TO BE BLOCK PAVED
Land For Approach to be Turned
 Over to Park Department

Congress street bridge will probably be thrown open to foot travel on Thursday of Friday, when Snare & 1'riest, the contractors. will turn ii over to the citys commission.
 President Manwaring of the bridge commission, said this morning, that the time of opening the bridge to foot travel would be decided at a meeting to be held in the early part of the next week.
 The broad sidewalks on the bridge were completed sometime ago and can be used by pedestrians without ham, pering the work of paving the road way that is still to be done.
 The contract of Snare & Triest will be completed by Monday or Tuesday, when it has finished the lift draw with wood blocks. The company is using Barbour wood blocks on the draw. They are the first of this make to be laid in this city.
 The bridge cannot be open too soon to please those who are now using the improvised foot path. This structure has been given a great deal of use and the dray shakes under the weight of even @. single person.
 At a meeting of the bridge commis- sion, last night. contracts were let for the laying of 3,O3S sq. yards of granite block. This morning an automobile owner asked; Is not the laying of granite blocks going back to the days of the old Belgian blockS?"
 Engineer R. D. Stoddard. who built the bridge, said this morning that the granite blocks come from the quaries much more even than the Belgian pavement, that the pavement is laid upon a concrete foundation and a sand cushion. Besides this there is cement grouting placed between the blocks and spread over the top of the pave ment to fill in the rough surface. The engineer said that the blocks wear evenly and that he had ridden over long stretches of the pavement in an automobile. thinking that it was as phalt or other smooth pavement before he learned that it was of. granite blocks
 The city of Worcester. Mass, has started a program of paving to cover a number of years. Starting at the City Hall and working toward the out skirts of the city a certain amount of granite block pavement is laid each year with the idea in view of event ually having all the streets paved with the material
 The contract for the furnishing of Co. of Worcester. at S1.S5 per square yard. The contract for the laying of the blocks was let to A. J. Langenfeld of Hartford, who bid "A cents per square ydrO TOT ldylnS the fOunddt1On. and 66 cents a, yard for the laying of the block. The total cost of the pave ment laid will be $3.25 per square yard. The contractor agrees in the contract to have the work completed in 26 days. Langenfeld was the low est of several bidders.
 As soon as the bridge is accepted from the commission by the city the remaining half of the old brick build- ing on the south side of the east ap- proach will be torn down and the com- mission will turn the ground over to the Park department The land is that which was purchased from Mrs. Priscilla Lyons to beautify the ap- proach to the bridge.
 The plot of ground forms an irregu- lar triangle with about 42 feet front age on Crescent avenue and 65 feet on the harbor. The bridge commits sion in much opposed to the idea of any buildings being erected on the plot, but would prefer that the Park use it as a place for a grass plot and a flower bed.
 Although there was some talk of a big celebration in connection with the formal opening of the bridge and it's acceptance, nothing has recently been said of such an event.
 It is the opinion of real estate men that the new bridge has done much to increase the value of property in East Bridgeport in proximity to it.