The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-12-18
$3.50 FOOT SPAN
ACROSS HUDSON
lSCONTEMPLATED
Financiers and Railroad
Executives Take First
Steps in Project.
COMMITTEE is FORMED
LindenthaI. He'll Gate
Bridge Builder, Submits
Definite Design.
OFFERS 20 TRAFFIC LINES
Union Passenger Station in
Manhattan Included in
the Measure.
COMMITTEE is FORMED
OFFERS 20 TRAFFIC LINES

The long cherished dream of great
suspension bridge spanning the Hud-
son and linking tGe New Jersey Pail
sades with Manhattan at or about
Fifty-ninth street at last finds re-
newed promise of realization.
1t became known yesterday that at
a meeting of railroad executives.
financiers, industrial leaders and CAPT.
talists held Thursday evening in the
Metropolitan Club, resolutions were
adopted directing a committee of what
is to be known as the Hudson River
Bridge and Greater Port Movement Of
New York and New Jersey to take
steps for the organization of great
public movement looking toward the
building of bridge across the Hudson
River and making certain important
related improvements at the port of
New York.
Gustav Lindenthal. engineer and
builder of the He'll Gate span and many
other famous bridges presented his
plans for the construction of bridge
with twenty lines of traffic and equiva-
lent in capacity to twenty underriver
tubes.
Notable Guests Present.
Some OF those who attended the meet
ing in the Metropolitan Club were:
Thomas f. Ryan. capitalist and rail-
road director Samuel Rea, president OF
the Pennsylvania Railroad Charles NJ.
Schwab. chairman OF the board of d.
lsctors Of the Bethlehem Steel Corpora
ton; Leonor +. Loree. chairman of the
executive committee of the Delaware
and Hudson Company and director of
the Baltimore and Ohio, the Erie and
many other railroad corporations; Rob-
ert A. c. Smith, former Commissioner of
Docks and Ferries Otis II. Cutler,
chairman of the board of the American
Brake Shoe and Foundry Company, d.
rector of the Ramapo Iron Works, the
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
a. the New York Telephone Company
Morgan O'Brien, director of the
American Trust Company, the Metro
politan Bank. the Metropolitan Life In
Eurancc Company aau the New York
Title and Mortgage Company Herman
A Metz. one time Comptroller of the
city of New York and president of the
Consolidated Color and Chemical Com
ps,ny Henry y. Walbridge, president
az the Pennsylvania Electric Company
and of the Citizens Light. Heat and
Power Company of Pennsylvania
Charles f. MacLean. director of the
New York Board of Trade and Trans
portation. and Mr.. Lindenthal. who is
the president of the North River Bridge
Company.
Among the guests also were members
of the Real Estate League OF New
Jersey.
Possible Cost s2oO,OOO,OOO.
II was decided by those at the meet
ing that 1t would be feasible TO finance
the gigantic project by means Of private
capital at a total cost estimated at
somewhere between S10o,000,0O0 and
5000. 100000. Mr.. Lindenthals plans
contemplate a steel suspension bridge
s330 feet long which is nearly as long
as from Washington Square TO Forty
second street. The great single span
across the Hudson would be 5000 feet
long, a few feet short of the combined
lengths of the Brooklyn and Manhattan
river spans. IL would be the longest in
the world II Is to be suspended from
two enormous cables each Ave feet
thick attached at either end 10 "A pair
OF towers between ZOO and 500 feet
high. which would be equivalent to
swinging the structure from two pin
nacles as lofty as the Woolworth Build
ing. The sustaining cables of the old
Brooklyn Bridge are only fifteen inches
thick
Embraced in the general plans are a
huge freight yard In Jersey City, an
elevated freight railway. connection in
Manhattan with the New York Central
system, a great union passenger station
in Manhattan for all steam railroads
which now have their terminals on the
Jersey side, and a platform conveyor
beneath Fifty-seventh street.
The bridge. which is to hang at a
mean beight Of so feet above the river
is 70 have two decks, accommodating on
the lower deck four freight and passen-
ger train tracks. and on the upper six
rapid transit tracks, besides two broad
driveways and passenger promenades
Its aggregate trackage capacity, 1t Is
said. would be seven times that OF the
present Pennsylvania Railroad tunnels
TO Thirty-third street.
To Meet Ports Weeds.
Resolutions we're adopted at the Met
ropolitan Club meeting pledging those
present Ito bring TO the attention Of tho
public and private authorities concerned
the conditions and facts relative TO the
urgent necessity for traffic and terini-
nal Improvement at the Port OF New
York: to foster by every proper means
tho great work Of constructing and
couippng along practicable and Imam
cially sound lines a highway and rail-
titles as may be required to meet tho
public need to support any proper
measures looking toward coordina ted
and harmonious development adequate
TO the needs OF the Port OK New York a.
nc principal gateway 10 America for
the commerce Of the world and to en-
courage the employment OF engineering
uians and architectural designs COM
patiblc m technical perfection and IN
dignity and beauty with the Importance
and magnitude OF the works contem-
pTatcJ"
when Mr.. Lindonthal last July ox-
planned his project TO the Mayors Com
mittec on Permanent War Memorial he
said tho undertaking would be amor.
tiled. each passenger, freight or other
service utilizing the bridge paying I'M
der toll system proportionate share
toward defrayinF the cost Of the enter
prise The United States Government,
he said, would become the final owner
1T cost price IN exchange for tax free
per cent. bonds The treatment Of the
vast bridge as a war memorial, as was
lhcn suggested by tho Mayors COM