Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 January 1911 — New York’s Big Bridges Are Useless [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

New York’s Big Bridges Are Useless

NEW YORK.—After having spent between J 90.050.000 and $100,000,000 fpr bridges over the East river, Father Knickerbocker is now informed that all of this sum except about one-quarter —the amount expended ou the original Brooklyn bridge—represents money thrown away. The persons responsible for this disquieting statement are the more or less eminent engineers who have been criticising the latest rapid transit plans of the city. * These plans, which provided for a $100,000.000 subway to serve three of the five boroughs of the greater city, contemplated the use of two of the new bridges—the Williamsburg and the Manhattan—to carry these lines over the river, but the engineering critics declare that this is not feasible for the reason that these bridges are

not located on any main lihes oi travel; in short, they do not lead tc or from anywhere. In support of this view they polni out that none of the three bridges built within the last few years at ai outlay of over $60,000,000 is use« to more than a small percentagi of its carrying capacity, while th» Brooklyn bridge, in spite of the effortmade to divert traffic from it, remain, at the daily rush hours the scene of thi worst congestion and the most inde cent crowding to be witnessed any where in the world. Moreover, according to the view o! these experts, bridges are out of date for the purposes of rapid transports tion. and are far inferior to tunnels Just what is to be done with these expensive luxuries in the form of mag nifieent bridges, if they cannot be made to fulfill the purpose for which they were built, is difficult to say. At a mark-down sale they would hardly bring 10 per cent, of their orig inal cost, so it is probable that they will remain where they are in the hope that the future development? of the city will bring them into greater usefulness.