The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-10-20
BIGGEST BRIDGE THAT
EVER WAS BUILT

Washington, Oct. 19.-The propos-
ed North River Bridge, spanning the
Hudson from the center of New York
city to Weehawken, n. j., will be,
with its connections and terminals,
"the most stupendous engineering
work yet undertaken, surprising in
that respect and also in final cost the
Panama canal" according to Repre-
sentative Ernest Alderman, Of New
Jersey. The plans call for single
span of 5000 feet, without a single
pier in the river, hung on four i'm
mense cables suspended from termi-
nal towers 685 feet high, or $50 feet
higher than the famed Washington
monument in this city.
The bridge will contain 100000
tons of steel, which is twice as much
as in all the five we'll known East
river bridges combined, and which far
exceeds the tonnage of steel in all the
existing bridges spanning the Ohio,
Missouri and Mississippi rivers COM
bined.
The Hudson river bridge would con-
tain more than ten times the tonnage
of the stupendous Quebec bridge, in
Canada, which is the longest span in
North America, and which took sew
enteen years to build. 1t would con-
tain thirty times as much steel as
there is in the great Brooklyn bridge,
hailed for many years as the greatest
work of man, and would require ten
times the tonnage of steel in the
Scotch bridge over the Firth of Forth,
the largest steel bridge in the world.
These and other breath-taking facts
concerning the proposed construction,
the authority for which is included in
a bill now pending before Congress,
are contained in Mr.. Ackerman's re-
marks printed in the Congressional
Record as a part of the record of de-
bate on the bill in the House of Rep
resentatives. The bill was before the
House on adjournment, Sept. %.
In return for the immense cost, the
great amount of labor and engineer
ing involved, and the fifteen years
estimated as the minimum time re-
quired to build the gigantic bridge,
Congressman Alderman presented
many advantages to be derived.
Automobiles and motor trucks would
be able to cross from New York to
New Jersey in few minutes instead
of being held up for hours as is now
the case.
A saving in the cost of delivery and
a certainty of supplies, fuel, food and
other necessities to the metropolis
would result.
Reduction in shipping costs to and
from the port of New York, and con-
sequent benefit to the nations COM
merce, would follow.
Through rail connections from the
north, and south, east and west would
be possible, as railroad tracks would
occupy one level of the structure, thus
giving greater sped and convenience
of travel with elimination of some I'M
necessary costs.
Besides allowing for greater bust
ness expansion and home building in
New Jersey and along the Hudson.
the bridge would offer in time of war
an important element of safety and
efficiency.
The history of the efforts to con-
struct the bridge goes as far back as
1890, when an act incorporating a
company to build the bridge was ap-
proved.
The bridge is not to cost the fed
eral government a cent. 1t is to be
erected by the same egineers who
built the He'll Gate Arch bridge, with
fances raised by the states of New
York and New Jersey. The only fed
eral participation is in authorizing its
erection over tidewater, which is I'M
der government control.
Litigation, injunction and other
factors have prevented actual con-
struction since 1890. Work was start
ed on the New Jersey foundations in
1898, but persons living in the vicin-
ity stopped work with an injunction,
complaining of the noises of drills and
blasting. The money panic of that
year had hand in stopping the work,
and before railroad finances had set
tied down ten years had elapsed.
Later the World War caused another
delay; but now, it was said, every
thing is ready to go ahead.
In the meantime, the plans for the
bridge have been greatly changed.
Traffic has increased by leaps and
bounds. The present plans call for a
bridge four times greater than the
original. A new location also had to
be found because the center of the
city had moved farther north, and in
stead of being located at Twenty