The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-04-13
ENGAGED
TO OBTAIN BRIDGE
Several Matters Decided
Upon in Meeting of
Selectmen
NEW PLANS TO BE
DRAWN AT ONCE
Various Steps to Be Taken with Care
as 1t Is Well Understood That Man S
Size Lawsuit May Follow with Con-
necticut River Power Co.

Although much remains to be done
before the work of putting on a new
bridge across the west branch of the
Connecticut river between here and
the island can. be started, several i'm
portant matters in connection with the
proposition have been decided upon
definitely.
One of these is the engagement of
John w. Storrs of Concord, n. H., as
drafting and consulting engineer.
Hampshire public service commission,
to this morning and met the selectmen
and their attorney, Arthur P. Carpen-
| ter. They were in session until late
! last night.
| a contract will be prepared and
signed stating just what the scope of
/ Mr.. Storrs's work is TO be, the com
pensation, etc. In general he will have
| the oversight of the whole proposition,
including the calling for bids for new
| bridge Mr.. Storrs is about so years
old and ranks high in the engineering
profession. He is not a stranger here,
| already having done work for the town,
including the examination of the West
River highway bridge to determine its
safety.
/ Mr.. Storrs will take up his new duties
at once, and probably will return here
in few days. Detailed plans and
specifications under which the United
Construction Co. built the steel bridge
which high water and ice showed off its
foundations the night of Farch % are
not available, so Mr.. Storrs will make
Il new set of plans. He will then call
4 for bids for construction. and when the
bridge is put on he will look after the
interests of the towns of Brattleboro
and Hinsdale, seeing that the work is
done according to specifications.
Meanwhile he viii have the old
bridge examined to see how much if
anything can be salvaged There are
not many persons, however, who ex-
pect that the examination will show
that the bridge is worth much more
than it will bring as old steel
As is well understood, the denial OF
any liability for the loss of the bridge
on the part of the Connecticut River
Power Co. is likely to result in a man 1
size lawsuit, so it is realized by al
concerned that all steps taken in put
ting on new bridge must be takeI
with care and prudence.
: Another thing decided upon, barring
the remote possibility of utilizing tn,
old bridge, is that the new structur,
will be several feet narrower than tn
old one, as there is no prospect that il
} the present generation the bridge viii
be needed for street railroad traffic.
Narrowing the bridge will reduce tn
;, weight, and this would permit a heav
= Ter and more durable roadway than tn
old plank roadway, but whether
change in the roadway material vii
be made is not definitely settled
. 1t has been decided also to put th
,e new bridge on the old site To choos
10 a new site would add materially to tn
" expense and would involve the situa
ID tion in other ways. Moreover, the pre-
70 ponderance of sentiment favors the oil
"a location.
~ The new bridge also will be set u
8 higher from the water by several fee
than was the old one, and in this cor
rv nection one cannot help rejecting tha
Ks if the warning given several years ag
90 to the effect that the old abutment
ID ought to be built higher had been heeC
ed many thousands of dollars woul
nb have been saved-to whom is que
NJ tion.
is Whether increasing the height of tt
of abutments will necessitate strengthen
.. ing them or enlarging them to confor
to the old rule of having the abu
ments twice as thick at the base
they are high is another question
be determined.