ton avenue and Kilgour street until the level of the track at the Little Miami freightdepot is reached. Eggleston avenue is completely blocked up, as the railroad grade is only from 8 to 9 feet above the grade of the avenue, and consequently there is not sufficient head-room for a bridge. At the crossing of Kilgour street the surface of the latter was raised 4 feet. The effect of the piers in contracting the water-way is as follows: The entire area of the natural river section at the stage, 6 feet above low water, the stage at which we observed, is 10,875 square feet. The piers, as they now are, with the piling around them, occupy 4,100 square feet, leaving 6,775 square feet of water-way. The mean velocity at that time is about 2,594 feet per second, and the discharge about 30,240 cubic feet per second. At this stage only piers Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 stand in the water. At dead low water, only piers Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are in the water-way, and they then obstruct an area of only 1,308 square feet, so that their effect is then inconsiderable. The highest water observed in a period of twelve years, during which we have a continuous record, is 574 feet above low water. During this period the water has five times been up to, or above, a stage of 55 feet above 'low water. The area of the natural section at the stage 55 feet above low water is 79,880 square feet; and about 980 square feet of this is obstructed by a wall just above the bridge, built by the iron-works of Gaylord & Co., Newport. The portion of this section occupied by the piers, and the piling around them at this stage, is 9,788 square feet, equal to 12.4 per cent. of the whole. Should the bed of the river hold firm, these obstructions would cause an increase of the mean velocity at high water of 12.4 per cent.; or if we suppose the maximum velocity at this stage of water to have been six miles an hour, it will now become six and three-fourth miles per hour. Judging from experience elsewhere, this increased velocity will, in all probability, so increase the scour as to restore the section to its former area, if the bed be not protected by riprap; and will so endanger the present foundations as to render extensive protecting riprap work around their bases a permanent necessity. The greatest flood ever noted at this place was that of 1832, when the river rose 624 feet above low water. At that date the natural channel had not been interfered with to any extent. It is difficult to estimate what would be the effect of such a flood with the bridge built as now designed, with the river narrowed, as it has been, by encroachments immediately above. The permanency of the bridge under such a visitation is questionable. The piers are all finished at the top with three courses of cut stone, each course about 1 foot thick, and each projecting slightly from the course of stone below it. At the distance of 23 feet from the top, there is a band of cut stone 15 inches thick, pro'jecting 5 inches. The stone between this band and the three topmost courses is a sandstone, sustaining a crushing weight of 11,137 pounds per square inch. The same stone is used as backing to the courses below the projecting band, but all the outside stones below this band are limestone, a material superior to the other in resistance to pressure and wear. The masonry is all laid as range work, in courses from 15 inches to 2 feet thick. The batter is generally 24 upon 1, the stone preserving its quarry face, except at the upper starlings, which are dressed off smooth. Piers Nos. 3 and 4 are 10 feet wide and 25 feet long on top. Piers Nos. 2, 5, 7, and 8, are 8 feet wide and 214 feet long on top. All these piers are rectangular on top, and the horizontal section continues of this shape down to the projecting band, 23 feet from the top, where the starlings are reached. The down-stream starlings have semi-circular horizontal sections, and so has the up-stream starling of pier No. 1. All the other up-stream starlings are composed of two plane faces, meeting so that the angle of the horizontal section is 674, and the angle of the line of intersection of these faces, or the cut-water, has a slope of about 4 upon 1. Pier No. 1 differs from the foregoing in having its top 5 feet lower, and in being on top but 5 feet wide and 214 feet long. The pivot-pier is circular, and built of the same kind of masonry as the others. Its diameter on top is 36 feet, but it is 6 feet lower than the others, to leave room for the drum and turning arrangements. It is not solid, but four openings or wells were left, in order to save masonry. There is no protection-pier or other work below it. The protection-pier or pivot-guard above it is a crib of sawed timber filled with stone. It is placed just near enough to the pivot-pier to support the end of the draw when open, and the space between them is occupied by a framed timber float, rising and falling with the river, and serving as a guide to passing boats and floating objects, so as to keep them from hitting the pivot or bridge. The cut-water of this protection-pier is formed in the same shape as the up-stream starlings of the other piers. The wooden nose is to be protected with iron. The protection-pier at the bottom extends 187 feet above the center line of the bridge. It is an inferior kind of a structure, and being of wood, will not be as permanent as such work should be. The foundation of pier No. 9 rests on 2 feet of concrete, which is laid on saud. All the other foundations consist of three courses of timber, of 1 foot each in thickness. We have received the following account of the work of laying these foundations: The pier foundations were commenced in August, 1869, and piers Nos. 1, 2, and 7 were put in before the close of the season. These were out of the water, and only required simple excavations. During the same time the coffer-dam at No. 5 was commenced. This was a double frame filled with puddling. Work was continued on the coffer-dam until high water stopped operations. In the spring of 1870 the programme was changed, and the coffer-dams used were constructed of sheet-piling 4 inches thick, put down in single rows and calked, the lower ends of the piles being shod with iron. They were put in place, and puddling of mud, &c., piled about the foot on the outside to a height of about 10 feet, with the natural slope. This was found not to accomplish the object of keeping out the water, until the entire bottom, on all sides for a distance of 75 feet, was covered, to the depth of 3 feet, with clay, and an embankment of clay was built up on the outside to the surface of the water. The work of excavation was carried down through the gravel bottom of the river, to the rock in place at pier No. 3, and to heavy limestone boulders, supposed to rest on the rock at the other piers. It was found impossible to excavate to the rock in place by the method pursued. Pier No. 3 was put in while the water was 9 feet above the zero of the water-works. Piers Nos. 5 and 6 are thought to be within 3 feet of the rock. It is thought that a much cheaper and better method of building these piers would have been to dredge out the place for the foundation, and to lay the masonry in caissons. A permanent protection to the foundations remains to be made. The space around each pier should be covered with riprap for a width of 40 feet; under no circumstances coming higher than 3 feet below low water. No stone should be used of less size than two perches, or 50 cubie feet, and they should be laid in contact and well fastened together. The material in the bed of the river, in the order in which it is met, is one foot of coarse sand with small boulders, two feet of coarse gravel, and then flat stones, that seem to have once been in motion along the bed of the rock beneath. The brick-work of the approaches is of medium quality, trimmed in part with stone. The foundations of the arches, in some cases, seem to have yielded, causing cracks. Some of the bricks will be submerged in high water, a test to which its quality does not well adapt it. The wooden trestle-work of the railroad approach on the Cincinnati side is of the ordinary kind, and is temporary in its character. The following estimate of the cost of the substructure, on the present plan, we have made ourselves, with as much care as possible, having failed to get any such information or estimate from the bridge company : Pier No. 1. Excavation for foundation above water, 490 cubic yards, at 75 cents.... Timber grillage, 1,600 cubic feet, at 30 cents 833 cubic yards masonry, including cut stone, at $18 Pier No. 2. Excavation for foundation above water, 540 cubie yards, at 75 cents... $368 00 480 00 14,994 00 $15,842 00 Timber grillage, 2,880 cubic feet, at 30 cents... 1,160 cubic yards of masonry, including cut stone, at $18. 405 00 864 00 20,880 00 22,149 00 Riprap protection 4,000 00 Excavation for foundation above water, 540 cubic yards, at 75 cents 405 00 Timber grillage, 2,880 cubic feet, at 30 cents 864 00 1,160 cubic yards of masonry, including cut stone, at $18. 20,880 00 33,649 00 2,500 cubic yards masonry, including cut stone, at $18. 45,000 00 432,000 feet, board measure, of timber, in crib of pivot-guard, framed and bolted, at $40......... 17,280 00 3,100 enbic yards stone for crib, at $1 50. cents 54,000 feet timber for guide-float, at $40 Pier No. 9. Excavation for foundation above water, 360 cubic yards, at 50 cents... 30 cubic yards concrete foundation, at $6. 360 cubic yards masonry, including cut stone, at $18 Total cost of piers Approach for railroad and wagon-road on Newport side from main abutment on Market street: 578 yards stone masonry, at $18... 718 yards concrete, at $6.. 486 yards brick-work, at $15 240 yards Macadam stone, at $2.... Bridge for railroad of 58-foot span Approach for railroad in Newport between Market and 772 feet rails, 257 yards, (at 60 pounds per yard)=15,440 pounds, at $35 per ton....... 193 ties, at 50 cents.. Total cost of approaches on Newport side Cincinnati approach for railroad and wagon-way from abutment to Front Street: $4,650 00 800 00 2,160 00 $94,200 00 180 00 180 00 6.480 00 6,840 00 307,224 00 $10,404 00 4,308 00 7,290 00 480 00 3,000 00 $25,482 00 3,600 00 1,800 00 2,700 00 164 00 500 00 656 00 96.00 9,516 00 34,998 00 64,000 feet lumber in trestles, framed and erected, allowing for only single track, at $35.... 22, 400 00 1,000 yards embankment, at 50 cents. 500 00 2,000 feet of road, requiring 1,3334 yards of rails, at 60 pounds DESCRIPTION OF THE SUPERSTRUCTURE OF THE NEWPORT AND CINCINNATI BRIDGE, AND ESTIMATE OF ITS COST WHEN COMPLETED ACCORDING TO PRESENT DESIGN. The charters of this bridge, obtained from the legislatures of Ohio and Kentucky, leave it optional with the company to construct any kind of bridge which they may select that will not obstruct the navigation of the river more than is authorized by the laws of the United States. The ordinance of the city of Newport, granting the use of portions of the streets for the purpose of a bridge, makes one of the terms of the grant that said bridge shall be constructed and used for "the passage of vehicles and foot-passengers across the Ohio River, and for railroad purposes." It therefore became necessary, if the bridge was to be built within the limits of the city of Newport, to construct it as a combined wagon and railway bridge. The trusses are being built by the Keystone Bridge Company after their usual designs. The plan of superstructure adopted is to place the two trusses so close as to allow a clear space of 13 feet for the passage of trains. This is the very least that will admit the largest-size passenger-cars capable of using the Little Miami gauge of 4 feet & inches. The floor-beams are of iron, suspended generally from the lower ends of each post, and projecting each side of the truss so as to permit of a wagon-way 6 feet wide, and a sidewalk 3 feet wide, the space outside of the trusses being 10 feet. The superstructure is thus 384 feet in width over all. The railroad-track rests on the suspended iron floorbeams, except for two spans on the Cincinnati side and one span on the Newport side, in which spans the railroad-track is supported on separate floor-beams, intermediate between the top and bottom chords. These spans are further peculiar in having a horizontal top chord, with the lower chord on the grade of the wagon-road approaches, to wit, on a slope of 5,637 feet to 100. The tops of the piers are 73 feet above low water, but as the floor-beams are 14 feet deep, suspended below the bottom chord, there is left an unobstructed headway of 714 feet. The drawings which we have received show the proposed arrangement of the first two spans on the Cincinnati side. The trusses already erected over the space between piers Nos. 7 and 8 show us what that span is to be. We have also been furnished with drawings of the pivot or draw span. Thus far we have not been informed of the moving load the bridge is designed to support. It is probable, however, that an allowance of load equal to 2,500 pounds per lineal foot of the railroad, and 100 pounds per square foot of the wagon-road, and 75 pounds per square foot of sidewalk, has been provided for. The load to be sustained outside of the trusses is, therefore, about 1,575 pounds per lineal foot, making the total of the moving load 4,075 pounds per lineal foot. The width of roadway and sidewalk is very small, and the arrangement for wagon-way alongside of the railway is very objectionable. The sum of the weights of roadway bearers for both kinds of roads, longitudinal beams, railroad ties and rails, wagon-road floor, and hand-rails, is about 1,000 pounds per lineal foot of bridge. From these we obtain the proper elements for calculating the dimensions of the trusses required for supporting these permanent and rolling loads. The bridge company not having furnished us with any statement of the cost of making the trusses, we have made out calculations on the basis of the cost of the bridges heretofore built by the Keystone Bridge Company, and have allowed market rates for the kind of work required. The following is an estimate of the cost of the superstructure, as now being built, from abutment to abutment, a distance of 1,7824 feet: Estimate of cost of superstructure of bridge, as being built, including roadways, rails, siderails, &c., complete. One span, 132 feet, including bottom chord and double roadway bearers. 16,000 00 14,000 00 Total.. 375,500 00 EFFECT WHICH THE BRIDGE, AS NOW BEING CONSTRUCTED, WILL HAVE UPON THE NAVIGATION OF THE OHIO RIVER. The objections urged by those interested in the navigation of the Ohio River against the Newport and Cincinnati bridge, are as follows: 1st. That the bridge is too low. 2d. That the character of the commerce of the Ohio River is such that no draw-bridge can be made at Cincinnati that will not seriously obstruct navigation. 3d. That the channel-span is so located that it is difficult to reach and dangerous to run. The question of the proper height for a bridge at Cincinnati to connect that city with Covington was agitated for many years, and the existing suspension-bridge is the result of a compromise between the interests involved. For a long time the river-men would not agree to a less height than 125 feet, with a span equal to the average width of the river. As a bridge of such great height could not be built with practicable grades for vehicles without excessive cost and limited usefulness, a compromise was finally effected, in accordance with which the present structure was erected, with a height of 103 feet at the crown and a clear span of 1,000 feet. But even this bridge is somewhat of an obstacle, as in high water the larger-sized steamers cannot pass under it, and the velocity of the current is perceptibly increased by the contraction of the water-way by its two piers. But the river interest concedes the fact that it must submit to some inconveniences for the general public good, and the compromise which resulted in the erection of this suspension-bridge has been generally accepted as equitable to all parties. The result is that the bridge has been taken as the boundary between the up-stream and the down-stream traffic, one class of boats having permanent landings above the bridge and the other below. Comparing this bridge with that now being built between Newport and Cincinnati, we find that the latter is 314 feet lower, with a maximum channel-span of 400 instead of 1,000 feet. The Newport and Cincinnati bridge is 714 feet above low water, or 9 feet above extreme high water, the maximum difference between high and low water at Cincinnati being 624 feet. It is manifest that in extreme high water nothing but low flats or rafts could pass under the bridge. In order to show what depth of water may be expected at Cincinnati, we have carefully compiled the following table from the official records of the city, as kept at the water-works office, since the 1st of June, 1858, being taken twice each day, and covering a period of over twelve years. The heights given are those above the official “O,” which shows dead low water, at which time there is 14 feet of water on Four-mile Bar above, and on Rising-Sun Bar below. The figures show the number of days in each month during which there is in the river the specified number of feet above low water: River-record at Cincinnati. When the river at Cincinnati is 5 feet above low water, there is 5 feet on the bars above and below. When there is 10 feet, the same bars show 9 feet of water, and at 15 feet by the water-works marks, they can be crossed by boats drawing 12 feet. As they are the ruling bars for long distances above and below, the depths on them show the |