Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 54, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 October 1910 — STUNG AGAIN ON BURK BRIDGE [ARTICLE]

STUNG AGAIN ON BURK BRIDGE

Specifications Not Followed and Work Being Done Over. CONTRACTOR PAID LAST WEEK And Grade Fell Through Before Ink was Dry on His County Order— Contractor, Engineer and County Commissioners to Blame for the Botch Job —Alleged That Contractor Cleared SI,OOO On the $1,785 Contract.

One of the worst stingings the taxpayers of Jasper county have had for some time on a single contract was that of the recent “repairs” to the notorious Burk's bridge, four miles north of Rensselaer over the Iroquois river. As stated by The Democrat recently, this bridge was the longest wooden wagon bridge in Indiana, being some 920 feet long, and as the dredging of the river has lowered the water’ level there considerably, it was thought that the north end of the bridge could be shortened 525 feet, by “cutting off the piling 8 inches below the surface of the ground, dropping down and replacing the caps, stringers and floor planking and then covering with 765 yards of earth and covering the earth one foot deep with 310 yards of gravel 16 foot wide for roadway or grade.” (The part above in quotations is taken verbatim from the specifications in the auditor’s office.) To this end specifications were prepared as above by the county surveyor and the work was advertised to be let, and the contract was awarded last month to Ben McColly of Chicago Heights, formerly of Rensselaer, at $3.40 per lineal foot. While there was apparently good money in the job at SI,OOO or $1,200, no one else for some reason made any bid on the work. McColly hired teams and hauled in dirt and gravel and the job was accepted, and as will be seen by the October allowances made by the county commissioners, published in Wednesday’s Democrat, he was paid $1,785 for the work.

In its issue of Sept, 27 the Rensselaer Republican said: Contractor Ben -MeColly Friday noon completed the long grade on the north side of the river at the Burk’s bridge, and the work looks good and will apparently overcome the long bridge proposition. The grade is 525 feet in length, just that many feet of bridge having been disposed of. The bridge was let down by sawing off the piling and the grade constructed right over the heavy timbers. Special attention was given to the weak spots, including the old channel by doubling up the heavy planks and in some places making them three or four thick. Three feet of earth and a foot or fourteen inches of gravel consitutes the grade, which is 16 feet wide on the surface and consequently about 20 feet wide at the base. While it is probable that some repair work will have to be made in the grade as time goes on, it looks like a very sensible way of repairing the long approach to the present channel anitiiatAlr lfcColjy gave careful attention to the specifications of the contract there can be no doubt. The writer visited it a few days since and inspected it thoroughly. Mr. McColly has done more than he was bound to do. He has had Alex. Hurley in charge of the dumping and leveling of the earth and gravel’ and had instructed him not to stop with the bare num-

ber of loads required if more would make a better road. The result is a solidjgyrade that will be a big improvement over the old frame ramshackle. That the planks may rot and let the grade down in spots after a good while is probable but it would seem that the repair of the grade would be much cheaper than the repair of the bridge. If it proves a success the commissioners will do well to have the south approach similarly altered. Probably in time a 100-foot span steel bridge, will be all that the river at that point will require, which will be a big improvement over the 1,500 foot bridge that was required before the dredge was completed. On the north side of the river and

the east side of the grade, a ditch has been dug that will conduct much of the water to the river before it reaches; the grade and it is probable that a similar ditch will be dug on the west of the grade. The contract Mr. McColly was for $1,785. He will probably make some money at that figure. That is what a man is in the contract business for, but the job was advertised two different times and was open to any responsible party that wanted to bid. That he has done his work well we feel confident and that the plan will prove successful we also have great hopes. The above endorsement was published, it will be seen, before •_ the iclaim came up for action by the commissioners. Whether it was published as a paid advertisement or intended to influence the acceptance of the work we know not, but that it is very far from the facts is apparant to anyone

who has examined the "improvement." the grade fell through before the ink was/dry on the county warrant issued last week in payment for this work. And it fell through because the specifications were not complied with. The bridge has been closed for several days and Road Supt. Battleday with a force of men has been at work repairing the work completed "so well” only a few days before. aftemone or two horses had partly fallen through the cracks caused by failure to let the planking down to the surface of the ground as required in the specifications. Instead»of cutting the piling off eight inches below the surface of the ground, lots of it was cut pff 18 inches above grdund and the plates, stringers and planking replaced. leaving a two foot space underneath.- Then . the dirt and gravel was put on, but not to the depth of more than four feet, as the Republican states. The result may be anticipated. The wood work between the piling gave way, breaking the plates, stringers and planking to the surface of the ground, where the specifications required that they should have been put. Where the piling stood the cross pieces and planking remained like an inverted letter “V” and cracks appeared through the grade clear down to the surface of the -round. One or two 'horses got their legs down in these cracks before the bridge was again closed to traffic and the work of repairing begun. After these breaks took place, riding on the grade was a good deal like "bumping the bumps,” it being up here—where the piling was—and down there —where the tressle had given way. The work was certainly the "bummiest” piece of public work ever done in long-suffering Jasper. and both the contractor, who had no legal right whatever to depart from the specifications — the engineer for allowing him to do so, and reporting the work as completed, and the commissioners for accepting it, are to blame. It is reported that the commissioners never went out and inspected the work even, allowing the claim for 51.785 simply on the engineer’s report.

As the old planking, plates and stringers, supported by the piling. was intended to help the muck ground hold up the grade, is now all broken up and the piling simply sticks up with nothing resting thereon, it would appear that the greater part of the $1,785 paid for this work—not including the cost of repairs now being made —is practically" thrown a wav.

Whether there was the amount of dirt and gravel put on that specifications required, we do not pretend to say. but it is currently reported that the contractor cleared mure than a thousand dollars on the.job. The repairs how; being made by the road superintendent consists of digging down to the rows of piling, cutting loose the stringers and plates and letting them drop down where the specifications said they should be, when possible, except that they lie upon the ground unsupported instead of resting on the tops of the piling as intended, and hauling in gravel to fill up the holes.