Evening star., 1922-10-20
W0RLD'SLARGEST
BRIDGE IS PLANNED
Hudson River Span to Cost
More Than Digging of
Panama Canal.

me proposed 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" nc.
| cording to Representative Ernest
Ackerman of New Jersey. The plans
call Tor single span of 1000 feet.
| without single pier in the river,
| hung on four immense cables sus-
pended from terminal towers 6S5 feet
| high, or 1870 feet higher than the
famed Washington Monument in this
city.
The bridge will contain $4,000 tons
or steel. which is twice as much as in
| all the five well known East river
bridges combined. and which far ex-
ceeds the tonnage OF steel in ali the
existing bridges spanning the Ohio,
Missouri and Mississippi rivers COM
bined
The Hudson river bridge would
mage of the stupendous Quebec
bridge. in Canada. which is the long
est span in North America, and which
look seventeen years to build. II
would contain thirty times as much
steel as there is in the great Brook
/ Al Ill
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.
Urged in House Bill.
These and other breath-taking
! facts concerning the proposed con-
struction, the authority for which is
included in bill now pending before
Congress. are contained in Mr. Acker-
mans remarks printed ir the Con-
gressiohal Record as part Of the
record OF debate on the bill in the
House Of Representatives. The bill
ment.- September %
In return for the immense cost, the
great amount of labor and engineer
ing involved. and the fifteen years es-
timated as the minimum time required
to build the gigantic bridge. Repre-
sentative Alderman presented many
advantages to be derived
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 rall connections from the
north and south. east and west would
occupy one level of the structure
thus giving greater speed and con-
venience Of travel with elimination
| OF some unnecessary 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
ef!iciency.
The history Of the efforts 10 con-
struct the bridge goes as far back as
1890. when an TACT Incorporating
| company to build the bridge was ap-
proved
The bridge is not to cost the federal
government cent. II is 20 be
erected by the same engineers who
built the He'll Gate Arch bridge. with
finances raised by The states Of New
York and New jersey. The only fed
era, participation is in authorizing
its erection over tidewater. which is
under government control.
L.tisaiion, injunction and other
factors have prevented actual con-
struction since 1890. Work was
started on the New Jersey founda-
tions in 1898. but persons living in
the vicinity stopped work with an
Injunction, complaining of the noises
OF drills and blasting. The money
panic OF that year also had hand
in stopping the work for ten years
Later the world war caused another
delay.
In the meantime. the plans for the
bridge have been greatly changed
Traflc has increased by leaps and
bounds. The present plans cal! for a
bridge four times greater than the
original. 4 new location also had
to be found because the center of
the city had moved farther north. and
instead of being located at 22d street,
as first planned. she New York tcrmi-
nal will be a: about 57th street.
sixteen Deep Foundations.
For the present structure there will
be sixteen deep foundations of eighty
feet diameter from 1eo to zoo feet
below the surface to rock, which
alone will require severa, years work
met The bridge will hang $50 feet
above water level in the center. to
allow the passage of vessels. The
solid rock formations at the terminal
the strongest foundations. The New
York terminal is in almost direct line
with the Queensborough bridge
across the East river to Long Island.
which will make a direct line OF
travel from New Jersey to Brooklyn.
area at the base 200 by 400 feet. rest
ing upon eight caissons eighty feet
in diameter. will be of steel skele-
tonry inclosed in masonry, not only
for the esthetic value of the stone.
but to protect the steel against the
weather. The masonry would cost
less than the ever-increasing cost of
keeping the exposed steel work
painted
The four cables. which are to bear
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 5th avenue. The upper deck will
form a hre-and- waterproof roof over
the lower deck. which will provide
twelve railroad tracks. each capale
of carrying the heaviest trains and
locomotives.
The greatest weight. which the
towers and cables will have to carry
will be the 100000 tons OF the sus-
pended spans: compared with this the
live loads will be fnconsiderable.