AN ENGINEER'S OPINION OF THE TAY BRIDGE. 669 



of Charlotte and Nineteenth streets. The tunnel will follow the general direction 

 of Charlotte street to Ninth between Charlotte and Holmes streets, thence follow- 

 ing as near as possible the direction of the ravines north of Ninth and Independence 

 avenue to Gillis street, thence to the river. There will also be open trench work 

 in this route. Third route — This route begins south of Twentieth street on Main, 

 and follows the general direction of Main street to the Public Square, diagonally 

 across it to Third street, 200 feet or more east of Grand avenue, thence north to 

 the river. I consider 4 this route preferable to the others. In the first 

 place it is shorter and will cost less; secondly, it will at the same time serve the 

 ends of drainage fully as well as the others. The approximate length of this sew- 

 er will be 9,017 feet, having an inclination of six inches per 100 feet. At the 

 corner of Twelfth street and Main, the bottom of the tunnel will be 134 feet 

 below the surface. At the corner of Fifth and Main it will be sixty feet below the 

 surface. The tunnel will have a length of nearly 7,400 feet. Open trench work 

 will equal about 1,624 f eet - It will be necessary to build two ventilating shafts 

 to provide the sewer with as pure air as possible, and reduce the evil effects of 

 the gases. The approximate cost will not exceed $200,000 



It will not be many months before an increased population, building houses 

 in that section of our city, will demand improvements of a sanitary character. 

 The accumulations of waste matter in the area of drainage referred to in the early 

 part of this paper will be very great indeed and they must be relieved from the 

 evil effects of that accumulation. It must be conveyed away so that air and water 

 will be free from contamination. This can only be successfully accomplished by 

 carrying it by means of properly constructed sewers to the Missouri River, either 

 by tunneling or such other method as will fully meet the requirements of the pop- 

 ulation. There are not a few cities in the United States and Continental Europe 

 that have had to resort to the tunneling process to perfect their sanitary improve- 

 ments. It is the experience of all cities where these works have been completed 

 that it is far better to carry out a well organized system, even though it may cost 

 more in the first stages of the work, than for the sake of economy to establish little 

 local districts to accommodate every property holder that has some wonderful 

 notion of his own regarding the arrangement of sanitary works. There is no 

 economy in work of that character. It is far better not to begin these improve- 

 ments at all unless they will in the end be a part of a general system. 



AN ENGINEER'S OPINION OF THE TAY BRIDGE. 



Mr. E. W. Ives, C.E. , a well known member of the profession, who was 

 deputed by a number of London railway engineers to make an independent ex- 

 amination into the causes of the Tay Bridge disaster, has presented his report at a 

 meeting held in London. 



In the course of this report, Mr. Ives expresses the opinion that the whole 

 bridge was of far too light and flimsy a character, especially the piers, which also 



