The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-05-08
LARGEST BRIDGE IN WORLD.
Steel Arch Over Hell Gate Will be
Marvel of Construction.

The steel arch bridge over the He'll
Gate, in the northern part of New
York city, will be, with its viaducts,
the largest bridge in the world. Its
construction has only recently begun,
but preparations for it have been in
progress for seven years. 1t is ex-
pected that trains will run over it in
less than four years. The bridge and
viaducts will measure 15,S40 feet in
length. The Tay Bridge in Scotland
is 10,7S0 feet, and the famous Firth
Bridge 5000 feet.
The He'll Gate Bridge will form a
part of the so-called connecting rail-
road, which, though only ten miles in
length, will cost about 100000
pounds, out of which the cost of the
He'll Gate Bridge will probably be l.
100000 pounds.
The connecting railway, which
joins the New Haven system with the
Pennsylvania, begins at the New
Haven yards, in the Bronx. 1t is car
ried on q viaduct to the Bronx HILL
which it will cross by lift bridge
800 feet long. A viaduct $500 feet
long will bring the line to Little He'll
Gate, which will be crossed by a
bridge, and a third viaduct, which
crosses Wards Island, will continue
to the edge of He'll Gate, which will
be spanned by a great bridge.
The catastrophes of the Tay Bridge
and the Quebec Bridge are borne in
mind by all competent engineers, and
in the carefully wrought plans for the
He'll Gate Bridge every possible pre-
caution has been taken to insure
enough to support on it's four tracks
at one time four lines of the heaviest
modern locomotives. But it is hard
ly within the bounds of possibility
that under the worst conditions of
congestion it will ever be called upon
to bear such a burden.
About 100000 cubic yards of con-
crete will be required for this bridge
and 4,000 tons of steel. Some pieces
of steel will weigh 100 tons apiece.
The necessity of this bridge is very
urgent. AS Manhattan Island, on
which the major portion of New York
city is built, became more and more
congested by rapidly-increasing popu-
lation, the difficulty of transporting
passengers and freight increased
alarmingly, and it became essential to
make the island practically a part of
the mainland. The building of the
Greensboro, the Williamsburg and
the Manhattan bridges, the subway
tunnel to Brooklyn, the Hudson tubes
to New Jersey and the Pennsylvania
Railway tunnels under the East and
the North rivers, relieved the conges-
ton for local passenger traffic, but
gave no relief to the freight conges-
ton. The He'll Gate Bridge will pro-
vide for four lines of steam railroads,
two for passenger and two for freight
trains. When it is completed it will
be possible to travel without change
of carriage from Quebec on the north
to any of the Southern or Western
cities in any part of the great Penn
sylvania system; and Manhattan Is
land, instead of being an obstruction
to the traveller, will become con-
venience.
Freight traffic on the island at
present depends on ferries and floats,
and to a part at least of this traffic
the building OF the He'll Gate Bridge
will bring a very great relief. Despite
the great proportions and strength of
He'll Gate Bridge its architectural
features have been so carefully
planned that it gives the appearance
of symmetry and lightness.
The bridge, of course, will be Of
steel; the abutments of the arch will
be stone and concrete towers, which
will divide the arch bridge proper
from the steel viaduct approaches.
The base of the towers will be- of
granite, the upper portions of mold
ed concrete. The design of the sim
pie and massive towers harmonizes
with the design of the arch.
Gustav Lindenthal, formerly bridge
commissioner of lew York, is the
consulting engineer and architect.