Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1925-02-19
STATE HOUSE
Governor and Council Will Meet Today at 10 A. M.

! way from Portland to Rockland.
eight miles farther through Rich
mond than through Bath and when
the present dirt road along the river
from Brunswick to Richmond Is i'm
proved. the difference will be less
than six miles. One Of the few
concrete highways in the state is
on the direct road from Portland to
Poland Springs. Poland Springs Is
one Of the detectives Of the many
out-of-state visitors. Many tourists
therefore would go from Portland to
Poland Springs and from there to
Rockland. A great many others
iston In order to travel over this ce-
ment road. To all such the bridge
at Richmond would mean a saving
Of IL miles from Portland to Rock
land.
While a bridge at Bath would ac-
comodate only one artery of travel,
7 namely, that passing over the Atlantic
Highway, a bridge at Richmond
would serve several arteries of traf-
fic, discommoding one line only to
the extent Of eight miles and accom-
coating the other lines by a saving
in mileage Of from IL to 30 miles.
1t Is conceded that the difference
In the cost at the two locations
would be at least $4,000, 900 in favor
OF the Richmond site. 1t is admit
ted that thousands Of people have
been kept out OF the state on &C
count of bad roads. Improvements
to the highways, therefore, are very
important in developing Maine both
commercially and as a summer re-
sort. The 100000 saving by the
erection Of a bridge at Richmond
would build so miles of concrete road,
distance equivalent to that between
Portland and Kittery.
illustrating the enormous saving
In cost by use of the Richmond site,
the statement brings out. that from
the data available from the Rich
mond borings, it Is possible to get
a bona fide bid, and backed by this
confidence. the bill, already intro
duced into the Legislature, definitely
states that the act shall not take
effect until 1t shall have been deter
mined that the entire cost of a COM
b1nation bridge shall not exceed ST.
O6O,OOO, and q highway bridge not to
exceed $55O.OOO.
At Richmond every boring went to
bedrock. At Bath, of the 13 borings
taken, only four went to bedrock
and the engineer who made these
borings has frankly stated that he
would not recommend the building
or the latter bridge on the present
borings. In illustrating this point,
the statement relates that the Ports
mouth-kittery bridge. which reullir-
ed that the deepest pier be sunk only
~ feet. was undertaken only after
| three months work in taking borings.
| The cost of these borings and pre-
! Urinary surveys approximated $25,
| wv. The work was done by the
Government, which charged no
| profit, and was done preliminary to
| the making of a contract. If it had
been possible to get bona fide con-
tract. backed by a bond, the States
| OF Maine and New Hampshire and
the United States Government would
not have gone to this unnecessary
; cost. the statement says.
richmond proponents assert that
| Z combination railroad bridge is as
feasible and possible at Richmond
! as at Bath. The construction of the
bridge would be infinitely more sim
pie. The highway and railroad
bridges could be both on the same
surface and the expense Of the ap-
proaches would be very small. 1t
would require the building of s
miles of new road to Wiscasset, but
this would make it possible to do
away with the II miles of track be-
tween Bath and Wiscasset, so that
after the track was constructed there
would be actually a decrease in the
railroad mileage. The rental of the
Richmond bridge would he at least
one-third that OF Bath, the differ
ence in rental considerably more
than offsetting the additional cost
OF miles of new construction.
The present highway traffic in
crease and the corresponding de-
crease In railroad transportation,
urges the demand not Tor q railroad
bridge but for highway bridge, so
that since the need for a Kennebec
bridge for railroad traffic had de-
creased 1t Is obvious that the rail-
road would not be willing to pay
rental for bridge at Bath in. ex-
cess of the amount which It is now
paying to ferry the bridge at Bath
and from this sum would be de-
Quoted any amounts which it had to
invest In approaches. 1t is for this
reason undoubtedly that there is I'M
der contemplation by the promoters
OF the Bath project a plan to change
the location Of the bridge from that
originally designed by moving the
westerly end of the bridge farther
south and having the bridge cross