Smyrna times., 1922-11-29
STATE OF MARYLAND BUYS
BRIDGE OVER SUSQUEHANNA
GETS PERRYVILLE HAVRE DE
GRACE BRIDGE FOR $5S5,OOO
1t Had Been a Vertable Gold Mine to
Its Owners Since tue Advent of Au-
tOmOble Traffic-Built in rs


The State of Maryland and the own
ers of the Havre de Grace and Perry
vile bridge reached an agreement
Wednesday and the structure span
ming the Susquehanna river at Havre
de Grace is to be taken over by the
State for $585,000. This is a saving
of $105,000 from the price the State
Senate fixed as the maximum. An
amendment tackled on the bridge bill
in the House of Delegates provided for
commission to fix the price of the
bridge not to exceed $690,00O. ItI
was adopted after a bitter fight with
the bridge lobby. In the bill as it
first passed the Senate the State was
required to offer $690,000 for the
bridge. The Bridge Commission, COM
posed of Attorney General Alexander
Armstrong, State Roads Chairman
John N. Mackall and William M.
Maloy, chairman of the Public Service
Commission, met Wednesday in Mr..
Armstrong; office to receive the an
swer of the owners to the offer Of
$585,000 made by the Commission last
week. An answer of acceptance was
presented by Thomas H. Robinson and
Michael H. Fahey, representing the
stockholders of the Havre de Grace
and Perryville Bridge Company.
The bridge will be taken over by
the State and added to the highway
system on January l, according to
present plans. In the meantime the
Board of Public Works will arrange
to sell bonds to raise money for the
bridge. Interest on the bonds and
a fund for their redemption will be
provided out of the tolls collected
from traffic. After the bonds have
been redeemed the bridge will be made
a free thoroughfare.
A call will be made at once on the
bridge company for traffic figures fol
=. the last two years. With these it is
- probable that the Roads Commission
will be able to reduce the tolls. Ii
n was said Wednesday that in the cur
4 rent calendar year the bridge com
pany expected to receive in tolls be-
tween 100000 and $125,000. Take!
f and operating expenses have beer
e about $4,000 annually. AS the amount
needed for interest and redemption
fund should not exceed $4,000 year
n and as the State will not have to pa!
taxes, a reduction in tolls appears Ger
tain.
The bridge is 1890 feet long an
13 feet wide. 1t is built of wrough
iron and was erected for railroad puT
poses in 1875. 1t was turned over t
private ownership when the Pennsyl
vania Railroad built a double-trac
bridge. The railroad company face
E the expense of tearing down the struC
ture at the demand of the FEEDER;
- Government as an obstruction to nav
igation when the idea of making it
highway bridge was adopted
Hartford and Cecil counties refuse
to take it over as gift, and final
the late Murray Vandiver, Michael
ur Fahey, Clarence C. Pusey, Thomas
IN Robinson and Samuel c. Rowlan
with one or two others, took it aft
the railroad company had spent
large sum in fitting it for gener
traffic.
At first there was little revenue,b
the development of the motor C
made fortune for the. owners w
started the project with cash capt.
of $7O0. Even since increasing traf
III made a good revenue for the owne
'S there has been agitation for the pr
as chase of the bridge by the State.
State road has been built up to ca
end of the bridge.