Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1922-11-02

iounoa ions The New York terminal
is IN almost direct line with the
oueenseorough Bridge acoss the
East River TO Long Island. which will
make a direct line of travel from
New Jersey to Brooklyn.
The cable towers. each COVERING an
area at the base 200 BY 400 feet. rest.
ing upon s caissons so feet in diameter
VIII be of steel skeletonry enclosed in
masonry, not only for the esthetic
value OF the stone but to protect the
steel against the weather The ma
sonry would cost less than the ever
increasing cost of keeping the expos
ed steel work painted
Corrosion is tine greatest enemy of
steel in this climate; nature is for
ever trying to change steel back TO its
ancestor iron. Therefore the protec-
ton from the weather. The painting
OF the Firth of Forth bridge requires
perpetual force of thirty painters
year in and year out. After reaching
one end of the bridge in from three
to four years, the painters return to
the other end for the next coat, to save
the structure from corrosion. In the
Hudson River Bridge that force of
men would have to be ten times larger.
the expense of maintenance would be
enormous; but with the steel protect
ed there would remain only eight per
cent exposed to the weather.
The four cables which are to Dear
the burden of the great weight will be
twelve feet in diameter They will
be protected by bronze shells.
The doorway will be in two decks,
the upper carrying the promenades,
four surface tracks, and a roadway
two and one-half times the width of
Fifth avenue. The upper deck will
form a fire and waterproof roof over
the lower deck, which will provide IL
railroads tracks each capable of carry
ing the heaviest trains and ocomo-
tives.
The greatest weight which the tow
ers and cables will have TO carry will
be the 100000 tons of the suspended
spans; compared with this the live
loads will be inconsiderable.
The bridge will ordinarily never be
called upon to carry at one time more
than one fourth the density and max
imum loads for which it was designed :;
but it was necessary to provide for a
transportation capacity and trackage
about equal to that of all four high
way bridges over the East River COM
bined. If passed through tunnels that
amount of traffic would require thirty
tunnels under the river, in addition to
the present l6 rapid transit and rail-
road tunnels now existing.
The passenger traffic available over
the North River Bridge was estimated
in 1900 at 100000 a year; for the
year 1910 the estimate is 2OO,0OO,O00,
not including the lOO,OOO,O00 passen-
gers who are using the six existing
tunnels under the North River. In
1910 it is estimated there will be 25,-
100000 vehicles passing over the
bridge yearly.
The grades over the bridge would
be less steep than they would have to
be in any sub-river tunnels at this
point.
The material will be of higher
grade than those used at present in
any construction. The steel called for
in the towers will be so per cent
stronger than the steel used in stand
ard structural work. The special
high-grade steel of the eyebar chains
will be 100 per cent stronger than
standard steel.
At the time the bridge was first
planned the time of completion was
reckoned at ten years, but this has
since been changed to fifteen years.
ONE u;.V tn GET AN EDUCATION.