Evening star., 1928-04-22
MEMORIAL BRIDGE TAKING SHAPE
AS SHOWN BY TWO YEARS WORK

steel support is withdrawn the crown OF
each concrete arch must be Just 50
high, in relation to points on the shore
and in relation TO the crowns Of ad-
joining arches. And after this there
must be calculated the distance that the
concrete win sink or bend under the
dead load" Of the bridge deck and
other parts of the superstrUcture ii SUP
ports and under the "live Ioad' Of t1e
buses filled with corn-fed tourists from
the Middle West. There must be al
Iowances for expansion on warm days
and contraction on cold days. All such
calculations are done in advance. Tie
pretty part comes in watching 70 see a
actualities check with theories
ut Is very simple when you under
stand it." explained the engineer.
This. doubtless. Is true-Then you
understand IL.
The wonder of It, to the layman Who
regards a snug mortise Joint as feat
of engineering, is that with foreTnen
shouting and directing in picturesque
profanity the work Of their busy crews;
With cranes seiZing steel beams and
throwing them around like tOothpicks;
with scores of carpenters hammering.
saving and mailing boards together:
with concrete mixers, donkey engines
and gasoline motors chatter1ng and
accompaniments the bridge itself IS
slowly taking form, and there's a def
mite reason and a fixed end for every
little step. There's nothing haphazard
about any Of 1t. Each stone that Les
cut and ready on the Virginia shore Is
already assigned to the place It viii Ill
on the bridge. When lowered into posi-
ton, each one viii rest evenly against
its brother.
No contract has been let, for the de-
signs are yet to be chosen, for the steel
bascule. to lift over the rivers channel
for the ships passing through the
bridge. So the work being done now
really consists Of building two bridges,
one extending from the Virginia shore,
the other from. the Washington shore.
to the bascule, or draw. over the chan
mel. But in addition to laying the
strips and pouring concrete for the
arches. work is going ahead on the con-
struction of the columns, based on the
concrete piers, which viii support the
bridge deck. One may see their outline
now. taking shape on the piers out TO-
ward midchannel and represented o7
wooden frames into which the concrete
will be poured.
Another interesting part Of the work
is the laying of foundations On the
Washington side for the underpass arch
an arch which Is 70 pass over the river
side drive A model Of one Of the en-
trance pylonS-tan, columnhke struc-
lures on each side OF the bride en-
trance-was finished last week TO give
members of the Fine Arts Commission
an opportunity to study IT, The model
consists of beaverboard tackled On
wooden scaffolding. and is not unlike a
moving picture directors conception OF
the Tower Of Babel. 1t is placed where
the completed pylon will stand. so that
the Fine Arts Commission may debate
among themselves about whether II VIII
make the Lincoln Memorial look too
small. or whether the Lincoln Me-
mortal will make the bridge look too
big. or vice versa Prom the crown OF
the second arch the model Of the pylon
appears TO dwarf the Lincoln Memorial,
but from farther out In the river 1t at
tains more proportionate prominence
The experts are the only ones. az this
early date. qualified 70 Judge how the
completed structure viii appear IN re-
lation to other portions Of the land
scape.
Good weather and good fortune have
enabled the contractor. 50 far. 20 keep
ahead of schedule. But the race OF
building the bridge against time goes
ahead every day. A contractor must
ne a born pessimiSt, always ready for.
and more or less expecting. the worst
thing that could possibly happen 70 lie
up his JOB.