The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1926-04-10
Tidewater Construction Go. Completes Steel
Bridge Connecting Key Largo With Mainland
REMAINDER OF ROAD
BED UNDER CON-
STRUCTION TO BE
READY IN 80 DAYS

The bridge built by the Tide.
water Construction Company, con,
meeting Key Largo with the main
land, has been completed, accord
ing to an announcement made by
the contractors and county engi-
neer. The road is being surfaced
rapidly, and the contractors plan
to complete the road within thirty
days.
The completion of this road
and bridge means that Monroe
County has made ready for use
her portion of the highway con.
Meeting Key Largo with the main.
land. In order to complete the
road in its entirety, Dade County
must finish her section.
The bridge just constructed is
q steel, draw-bridge structure, To-
Gates at Barnes Sound. Two ap.
proach bridges were also built al
Barnes Sound.
Only one-half mile Of roadway
remains TO be surfaced and oiled
and the road viii be completed.
On this end of the Oversees
Highway, the last pile will be
driven today in the Similar Sound
Bridge which connects Geiger's
Greek and Saddle Bunches.
Immediately after the work il
completed on the Similar Sound
bridge, the employees will be seni
ta Sugar Loaf Creek to start the
construction Of the bridge there
ghe contractors plan to begir
work tomorrow. Material is nov
on the ground and everything is
In readiness for starting work.
The contractors plan to bring
TIC Key Largo drivers to Key
West TO start work on the boule,
ward bridges in the next ten days
IL has been announced.
Enginaer Gives oatlsno
The bridge connecting Ge;g
eFss Key with Saddle Bunches i
approximately 5000 feet In length
Although the guard and hant
rails are aot yet ia place in /
very short length Of time tn,
bridge can be opened for travel
says Joseph N. Watkins, count.
engineer.
With the completion of thii
bridge and the suffacing of on,
mile Of road on Saddle Bunchej
and approximately 5000 feet o.
road on the Key Largo end Pro
jeets and 2 will be completed
in their entirety. Under this
first contract there were approx
mateIy 1913 miles of road worl
and 90 miles of bridge work
This construction was over the
most difficult and inaccessible part.
of the entire County Building
program. OF course, this Is ex
elusive of the proposed toll brid
ges. The difficulty encountered
by contractors and engineers vii
never fully be appreciated sine,
the autoist travels in such a hur
~ usually that only bumps in tn,
road or an uneven bridge timber
comes 10 his attention.
Nevertheless, when one con
s'ders the Key Largo end Of tn,
construction built through dens,
mangrove swamp where trees al
high as sixty feet rear their heads
where the rock Is fourteen fee
below the surface Of decayed veg
etable matter, peat and loan
where a FIJI five feet in heigh
and "a feet wide across the tol
had 10 be constructed over a mat
trese Of adjacent timbers and pea
ehsnked and packed in between tn
interstices; where six small creek
had 10 be bridged. one long spar
across the waters Of Barnes Scum,
and Cards Sound; with stee
draw bridge on concrete pier
70 provide for navigation had L
be constructed.
when one realizes that ever!
piece Of machinery had 10 b
brought to the job on lighters an,
every piece Of bridge timber in th,
same manners when mosquitoe
were 50 dense that clouds Of then