Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-07-16
100000 BID FOR
DEL, AVE. PAVING
Wonderful Boost in Price When
Proposals Were Opened by the
Street Board To-day

Nhcn the pie Was opened tho hlrds
hcgan 70 >.ug 80 goes the old nursery
rhyme al ont the four-ind twenty black
hlr,tS Put goodness knows they never
sang such vocticrouS song as did the
llds the one Ind rather for the re-
paving of Delaware avenue, whom they
were opened this morning at the meeting
OF he Street and Sewer Directors
Three keen business Incu IN the shape
of President Sparks and Directors Ku-
dolph and Johnson sat around the table
ia the department audience chamber.
The mavor was there 80 were City
Eng nccr lIoopos and street Commission
cr Frank plrrson They expected the
cost to ic heavy but what they SAW and
heard was far beyond even that
of course there's \ reason for IT High
prices of everything that goes INTO the
cost Of running nation, - ritN a home, or
even one own lonely self, these days
added to the high cost of labor. not the
least of the items by any means, Is the
scarcity Of that commodity
The bids called for were for grading.
cNcavating. coESt ructing concrete founda-
tIon and laying pavement Of sheet asphalt
with vItrifcd block cutters and with
vltrItcd blocks between the rails and for
thrC" courses outside rails or asphalt
block fron euro 30 curb on Delaware
avenue from point letWcrn Orange and
Tatnall streets 10 point between Van
Purrn and Harrison streets approximately
1000 square yards under construction
and Sl c 'itjcations of the Street ard
Sewer Department
There MS just one hid for he job IN It's
entirety, the WAY the department wants
il done
This was from the lnion Paving 60
Of New York. the concern which had al
ready done large amount Of paving work
here, and has lot of equipment "on the
Job, as il werp which in itself is a little
item OF expense that another company
might add TO It's hid
For sheet asphalt IT bid S473 a square
yard as against 81 - in It's last lid, two
wears ago This would include grading
and a concrete foundation The asphalt
used would BE either Standard, Prudential
or | 'nited States
For vItriEed block paving of cutters,
including grading and concrete founda-
tlon the price asked was So II a square
yard~as against 81 50 Of the last bid. The
brick used would | e Westport
For vltrEed blocks along and between
The rails using the same brick, the same
figure. So = square yard, was asked, as
against S2.70the last bid
Ths Hastings Pavement Company Of
New York submitted bid of 81 80 a
square yard to furnish and lay asphalt
block-top pavement only, the foundation
TO be prepared And the Warren Quin-
Ian Asphalt Co frankly said that owing to
labor conditions, etc, it would refrain
from bidding
Steel Commissioner Plerson did a
little figuring while discussion Of the
proposals was going on, with the result
that he estimated the total cost of
paving and nothing else but paving the
ewly-boulevarded avenue, would be
something over S102 900 Part of this,
Of course, is to be borne by the Traction
Company and part by the public spirited
citizen who made the widening Of the
avenue possible
To this figure must be added more, much
more, in the shape Of regarding the north
side Of the street, excayating, removing
and re-setting curving, etc
The bids were officially credited as
received The next step in the job is
conferral with the Traction Company and
the citizen who is paying such large part
of the bills Final action may be taken
at the meeting next week