Omaha daily bee., 1911-05-20
Council Bluffs.
PAVING BEGINS ON BROADWAY
Porphyry Blocks Will Be Taken from
First Street This Morning.
WHAT WILL BE DONE WITH STONE
The Old Pavement VIII Furnish Good
Material when Torn Up, which
May Go Into the City
He'll.

The long hoped for and long deferred
broadWay repaving IL TO be commenced
this morning Contractor wickham re-
turned early yesterday from Charlton
where he was called to start the gradins
work on the new sixty-mile line running
south from Carlisle. and completed ar
engagements for beginning the Broadway
work. A force Of men will be started TAX
Ing up the granite blocks at First street
and will continue the work without inter.
ruption until II is finished. Only one side
of the street will be torn up, and the work
there will be finished before the other Is
molested
Contractor wickham will finish the Mil
street paving within four or five days. The
work on Ross and Scott streets has beer
completed with the exception or srouting
and about 100 men are rushing the paving
on Mil street. a smaller force will be put
on Broadway to he increased by the add.
ton of the Mill street gangs as soon az
that Job Is finished, and as many more
men as can be worked profitably. Will
the exception of the asphalt filler all oil
the material for the Broadway paving has
been on hand for several weeks The as
phalt will be here before It is needed.
Whether or not tho delay Of the wir,
companies in complying with the city ordi
nance requiring the undergrounding OF al
wires on Broadway and South Main stree
TO the Pearl street junction will interior,
with the paving is yet to be determined
The statement that conduit space had beer
leased from the telephone companies /.
now denied by all interested parties, al
though It was said yesterday that such ar
rangements might be made with the West
ern Union. The Postal Telegraph com
pf - ma har laq OF al
with instructions to make the measure
mehts necessary for the plans OF conduits
The estimated costs of the conduits re
qulred ranges between $4,000 and SIS 900
! A good many thousand feet of cable will
be required, and II costs 70 cents a foot
If the Postal people do not make arrange
ments for the use OF some of the idle tele
phone conduits the understanding is thai
they will begin work laying new subway
as soon an the material can be got on tn,
ground Contractor Wickham says thii
will not interfere with the paving provided
Il is not delayed too long. He can confin,
his operations to one entire side Of Broad
way. while the wire company Is working
on the other, but says it will be impossible,
for both TO work in the same area at tn,
Same time.
Contractor wIckham Is somewhat at
blocks that will be removed. At the yer,
low price of 80 cents a square yard tn,
material will represent an investment O
$4,000. The blocks are as good as the,
were when laid twenty-eight years ago
The stones are red periphery, not granite
about the hardest and toughest stone tina
nature has succeeded In making. The oni,
sppreclable wear is a slight smoothing o
the exposed surface. He is anxious to tr!
the experiment OF building a house Will
them. The stone Is Sioux Falls so-calleC
granite. the same material that was uset
hi the construction OF the Finley Burk,
home on Oakland avenue. where regula,
1ized building blocks were used. The cos
was $4,000 The paving blocks. which av
bragg about twenty to the yard. would cos
ut least 50 a yard to be laid down her
now. Mr.. wickham believes they woul,
make excellent building material. Their
has been some talk OF the city taking owe
enough OF them to build a city hall som
time in the future