6

THE MEMPHIS BRIDGE.

intimated that if this length of span could be increased to 770 feet byplacing the east pier 40 feet back from the low-water line, it would beunnecessary to provide any special fenders to keep tows from strikingthis pier.

As the requirements of the new charter and the conditions imposedby the Secretary of War made essential modifications in the plan of thebridge which affected the cost, you asked for another estimate. This es-timate was made and is embodied in a report dated August 2d, 1888,which is attached to this report as Appendix F.

The last suggestion of the Secretary of W ar was adopted. On the3d of August, 1888, I submitted personally to the Hon. William C. Endi-cott, Secretary of War, in Washington, the plans of a bridge meetingthese conditions. These plans were approved in a contract between theWar Department and the Bridge Company, which is printed in Ap-pendix D.

The charter required that provision should be made “ for the passageof railway trains, and wagons and vehicles of all kinds, (and) for thetransit of animals.” The Secretary of War insisted that the plans shouldshow provisions of this character; and as he considered it possible that aprovision for highway traffic on the same floor with the railroad traffic,the arrangement which has been in use for twenty years at Kansas Cityand at other places, might prove inadequate, a special clause was insertedin the contract under which the Bridge Company agreed to run ferrytrains, similar to those formerly run between Omaha and Council Bluffs,whenever the accommodations afforded for highway traffic should proveinadequate.

As the financial arrangements for the construction of the bridge werenot then completed, I advised you to put in the foundation of Pier IVduring the low-water season of 1888, in advance of any final action as tothe construction of the bridge, believing that the information to beobtained by sinking this pier might be of great assistance in preparingthe plans for the other piers. The authority to put in this foundationwas given.

On the 1st day of October I appointed Mr. Alfred Noble, who wasthen Resident Engineer of the Cairo Bridge, Resident Engineer of theMemphis Bridge; it being understood that he should divide his timebetween the two bridges until the Cairo Bridge was done.

Lines were retraced, the axis of the bridge was definitely marked,and on the 7th of November, 1888, actual construction was begun byframing timber for the caisson of Pier IV. Meanwhile the steamer

JOHN BERTRAM, fitted with a complete pneumatic plant, and whichhad been used on the Rulo and Nebraska City bridges, had been boughtand brought to Memphis.

The work continued during the fall and winter, though it was con-fined entirely to the foundation of Pier IV. The foundation of this pierwas completed in February, 1889, and about the time of its completionthe plans were worked up for the large caissons of the two river piers.

In January I was authorized to proceed with construction in thehope that the bridge could be finished in 1891.

To accomplish this it was necessary to put in the foundations of thetwo river piers (II and III) during the low-water season of 1889. If theseason had been favorable this could have been done. But the seasonwas too short, and the foundation of Pier II had to be abandoned beforeit was completed. No harm was done, but two seasons instead of onewere required for the foundation work.

In June, 1889, a special building adapted to the requirements of anengineer’s office was erected on the bluff at the foot of Virginia Avenuea little north of the bridge line. This office served a very useful purposeduring the whole construction of the bridge, and its situation was suchthat it was a comfortable place to work in at all seasons of the year.

The original estimates contemplated building the piers of limestone.It was decided, however, to make the face stone of granite.

On the 3d of April, 1889, a contract was executed with Lewis M.Loss to build the masonry of the piers.

On the 24th of January, 1890, a contract was entered into with theUnion Bridge Company for the manufacture of the superstructure.

On the 10th of May, 1890, a contract was entered into with the firmof Bair Brothers for the ei'ection of the superstructure.

On the 6th of March, 1891, a contract was entered into with thePennsylvania Steel Company for the manufacture of the viaduct on thewest approach.

These four contracts were the only important contracts let duringthe entire work. All other work was either done by the company’s ownforces working under the direction of the Resident Engineer, or consistedof small work let to local contractors.

In the early part of 1890, during the long session of the Fifty-firstCongress, an attempt was made to have the charter amended so as topermit the bridge to be built sixty-five feet above high water, the heightpermitted by the Act of February 26th, 1885, and a bill to accomplishthis was introduced in the United States Senate by the Hon. Isham G.

Harris. I had a careful set of measurements made of the heights ofsmoke-stacks and pilot-houses of nearly every important steamboat run-ning on the lower Mississippi River and embodied the results of thesemeasurements in a printed argument which, as it contains many valuablefacts which may otherwise be lost, is printed in Appendix G of thisreport. The bill failed to pass and the bridge was built of the elevationrequired by the charter. The result is a heavy grade on the east ap-proach which could otherwise have been avoided, a disturbance of streetlevels, and the constant hard working of locomotives within the citylimits.

An ordinance of the Taxing District of Shelby County, passed March23d, 1891, authorized the crossing of streets and alleys.along the line ofthe east approach. A copy of this ordinance is printed in Appendix H.

The erection of the superstructure began in January, 1891, with theanchorage span. This erection continued without interruption, the lastpart of the superstructure erected being the central portion of the channelspan. This was connected through on the 8th of April, 1892, sixteendays before the expiration of the time limited by the charter for thecompletion of the work and finally swung clear on the 23d of April, oneday before the expiration of the charter time.

The small amount of work then remaining to be done to open thebridge for the passage of trains was rapidly completed, and on the 12thof May, 1892, the bridge was formally tested by the passage of a trainof eighteen locomotives and was immediately thereafter opened torailroad traffic, since which time it has been a source of revenue to yourcompany. The opening of the bridge -was made the occasion of a greatpublic celebration in Memphis on the 12th and 13th.

The deflections and other movements under the passage of the testtrains were carefully observed by a committee of engineers especiallyselected as a testing committee, whose report will be found in AppendixP. The same appendix contains a list of the eighteen locomotives.

There still remained a considerable amount of work, the principalfeatures being the sloping and paving of the east bluff, additional riprapprotection around the river piers, and the construction of the highwayapproaches, so that the bridge could be opened to highway traffic asrequired by its charter.

Mr. Noble left Memphis on the 1st of June, 1892, and Mr. M. A.Waldo was given the title of Resident Engineer, though Mr. Noble con-tinued to assist me in the supervision of the work.

The highway approaches and floor were completed so that the bridge