Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1914-03-27
FARMERS COMMITTEE
AUTHORIZED TO PROCEED
Rebuilt in 1913.


THE county engineer having re
ported the Gibson bridge across the
Skookumchuck river as IN an iiupass-
able condition and in dancer 0t being
washed away at an. Time, :he board
proceeded to tn sit" of III" said
bridge and found Is follows; That
one pier of the said bridge had bee"
undermined by tho current, which
has allowed the bridge to settle, that
the bridge is a sc,entS-fupt span and
j. too short for the location and
should be at least 100 feet long in
order to allow placing the piers IN a
safe position: that the bridge is IA
new one erected in 1871 and in order
to save it from destruction il must be
removed as soon as possible, that the
removal Of the said bridge leaves the
said road without a bridge, and Gre
ateS an emergency to acquire new
bridge 10 replace it Of the proper
length 1t was therefore ordered on
motion, all parties concurring, that
the present bridge be removed to the
site of the Prince bridge, which needs
renewal, and that new bridge 100
feet long be purchased and erected
in its place, also that the new bridge
be erected in a new location about
one hundred feet from the present
bridge on the county road right-of
way.
"The board then placed the con-
tract with the Coast Bridge company
for a 10O-foot span steel bridge to
be erected on steel cylinder piers to
take the place of the present Gibson
bridge, for 500 complete except
approaches. as per contract entered
into in writing, the said company to
move the present sev<nty-foOt span
to its new location on the site of the
Prince bridge at the actual cost of
labor"
So your committee finds that while
the Coast Bridge COMPANY did no:
get the contract i'm September 1911.
II did finally get the contract in JAN
uary, 1913.
Your committee calls to your par
ticular attention the fact that in 1911
in two separate instances the COM
missiOners directed that a seventy
foot steel span bridge be erected at
this point. though in January, 1913,
q year after the bridge was complet-
ed. the commissioners discovered that
a one hundred foot bridge would be
necessary. This impresses Your COM
mittee an one instance where bad
judgment, at least, was used.
The O'COnnor Bridge.
Your committee is somewhat con-
fused over the references to the o.
Conner and Gibson bridges in the
commissioners minutes and is not
able to tell which the minutes refer
%. the names apparently having been
used Interchangeable except in the
commissioners minutes of January
20. 1918. just the day previous to the
commissioners discovery of the dis.
astrous condition of the Gibson
bridge. The minutes of January 20,
1913 contain this statement:
1.-THE county engineer having re-
ported that the O'Connor bridge
across the Skookumchuck river is in
an impossible condition, the said
bridge being located on the main
road between Bucoda and Centralia,
does hereby declare that an emer-
gency exists and that it is necessary
to construct a new bridge as soon as
possible, and it appearing to the
board that there is not sufficient time
in which to regularly advertise for
bids on the new bridge. and various
bridge companies having been mott
fed of the circumstances submitted
heir bids for the same, the follow
ing being received:
International Contract
Co. ------ $3.50 and $3.50.
Puget Sound Bridge &
Dredging Co. s5,67O.0O
E. w. Graves $5.625 and $6,125.
Coast Bridge Co. 100000
The Coast Bridge company having
the lowest bid, and no other company
being able to guarantee completion
of the bridge in less than six weeks
on motion the contract was let to the
said company as per their bid"
The HeIser Bridge.
Probably the most notorious
bridge constructed during the last
couple of years is the Helser bridge,
the first reference to which appears
in the commissioners minutes of
June 10th, 1912:
1.-THE auditor was directed to call
for bids, for material for bridge on
the Olympia-Shelton road at Helser's
place. Bids to call for the steel de-
livered at the bridge site, and also
for the bridge to be erected on con-
crete piers to be built by the county,"