The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1925-07-09
SURVEYING FOR
STOCKTON BRIDGE

Under the direction Of Commits
sioner Louis Focht, engineer for the
Joint Commission for the Elimin-
alton of Toll Bridges, surveys were
started last week on the site of
the Stockton-Centre Bridge struc-
ture which was destroyed by fire
when it was struck by lightning in
July 1928. Inspections are being
made to determine if the piers are
strong enough to bear the weight
of steel bridge, and the sur
veys are being made as the basis
for plans and specifications for the
new structure.
The old wooden bridge was built
in 1914, and was the only bridge
on the Delaware which was not at
least partly destroyed in the great
flood of 1903. But it was rapidly
disintegrating, and less than
year before it was burned, one en-
tire span collapsed with large
truck and fell into the river. For
tunately the two men on the truck
were not injured
After the bridge was burned the
owners were not financially able to
rebuild it, and so they appealed to
the Free Bridge Commission to take
il over. But former Attorney
General of New Jersey ruled that
the Commission was authorized only
to take over toll bridges over which
traffic was maintained, and for
which tolls were being collected. And
as there was no traffic there, of
course there could be no tolls.
But the present Attorney General
reversed the ruling, and said that
legally the bridge still existed. He
pointed out that if the bridge had
been of steel, and the wooden floor
ing had burned, that no traffic could
have been maintained, but still the
bridge would have existed. And
while the piers and right-of-way re-
main of the old bridge, there is
still bridge there in legal
sense.
Last January both the Jersey and
Pennsylvania Legislatures appro-
priated 100000 each for the pur-
chase of the bridge property and
the building Of a new structure. But
this money was not available until
after July LIST.
The inspections were begun last
week with assistant engineers John
T. Dean and Doster Focht on the
Job. Edwin T. Niece, Charles F.
Colligan and Kilburn LeCompte have
been employed to help them. While
running lines last week Doster Focht
got into a mass of poison ivy, and
was confined to his home several
days with painful swellings on his
face and hands.
Ladders and scaG oldings are be-
ing constructed about the piers to
facilitate the work, and motor
boat has been secured Tor use III
travelling about the piers. Engineer
Louis Focht has announced that 1t
has been found that the Pennsyl-
yania side had been higher than
the Jersey side, due to the fact
that level had to be reached over
the Pennsylvania Canal to allow
boats to pass under the canal
bridge The canal bridge is also to
be rebuilt, as the old one is not
capable to carrying present day
traffic.
Mayor T. S. Moore, of Stockton,
has announced that plans are to be
worked out for monster eelebra-
ton when the new bridge is com
pleted. 1t will be modern steel
structure with sidewalk, estima-
ted to care for increases in traf-
fic for thirty years. And the resi-
dents of both sides of the river
want to express their appreciation
by staging a celebration fit for the
occasion.