Report of the city of Somerville 1904, Part 22

Author: Somerville (Mass.)
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Somerville, Mass.
Number of Pages: 496


USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1904 > Part 22


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$6,290 00


TABLE NO. 5.


Population and Gross Expenditures, 1883 to 1903, Inclusive.


Year.


Population (Estimated).


Expenditures.


1883


.


27,000


$15,959 80


1884


28,000


17,272 52


1885


*29,992


16,430 32


1886


32,000


14,341 83


1887


34,000


13,430 89


1888


36,000


13,375 98


1889


39,000


14,610 92


1890


*40,117


15,261 14


1891


43,000


15,980 49


1892


46,000


17,015 30


1893


.


48,000


17,799 58


1894


50,000


19,733 13


1895


.


*52,200


20,755 46


1896


.


54,000


21,999 79


1897


56,000


25,681 47


1898


57,500


28,522 21


1899


60,000


28,924 39


1900


*61,643


Miscellaneous, $23,697.62 City home, 5,528.83


29,226 45


1901


62,500


City home, 6,622.43


1902


.


63,500


Miscellaneous, $28,667.04 City home, 7,396.64


36,063 68


1903


.


65,500


City home, 7,548.39


38,018.59


1904


69.500


Miscellaneous, $20,476.54 City home, 6,563.11


27,039.65


·


*Census.


Miscellaneous, $29,171.15


35,793 58


Miscellaneous, $30,470.20


88


$5,000 00


287


TABLE NO. 6. Expenditures, in Detail, for the Year 1904.


1904.


Dry Goods.


Board.


Groceries.


Towns and Cities.


Boots and Shoes.


Medicine.


Burials.


Salaries.


Fuel.


Sundries.


Public Institutions.


Somerville Hospital.


Total.


January .


$80 72


$849 89


$361 55


$9 80


$19 65


$85 00


$316 66


$299 85


36 30


$4,027 35


.


$266 66


1,446 54


February .


$8 00


S8 00


301 59


6 00


6 00


.


·


.


.


38 01


512 42


39 76


18 80


391 66


176 35


41 34


391 63


133 33


1,743 30


April


2 50


81 01


392 95


314 00


40 00


341 66


9 45


38 82


181 48


133 33


1,535 20


May


38 01


296 20


21 75


1 61


27 00


341 66


20 68


34 05


133 33


924 54


June


37 So


400 29


10 40


15 41


20 00


341 66


39 17


337 99


133 33


1 336 11


July


77 29


376 01


566 13


2 30


341 66


18 42


382 58


133 33


1,901 47


August


50 11


444 61


6 70


10 00


341 66


46 11


133 33


1,032 52


September


4 60


45 43


418 20


260 43


10 00


5 50


15 00


341 66


34 54


306 50


1,441 86


November


65 58


451 95


16 45


341 66


20 75


46 88


113 96


1,057 23


December


29 15


12 50


..


10 00


341 74


115 60


24 02


90 03


623 04


Totals .


$15 10


$676 74


$4,773 30


$1,793 02


$68 60


$67 62 $247 00


$4,100 00


$802 11


$437 14


$6,205 91


$1,290 00


$20,476 54


DEPARTMENT.


SUPPORT


·


.


.


·


·


.


.


.


·


.


·


.


36 88


37 67


173 16


133 33


1,347 96


October


.


·


.


·


.


.


·


45 57


316 69


213 00


.10 00


·


·


40 00


341 66


143 23


53 19


257 21


March


·


· 10 25


3 75


·


·


·


OF POOR


$6,086 77


316 66


288


ANNUAL REPORTS.


TABLE NO. 7. Recapitulation (Miscellaneous).


Appropriation


Reimbursements


·


$14,000 00 4,374 62


Total receipts


$18,374 62 20,476 54


Total expenditures


Account overdrawn


$2,101 92


Net expenditures


16,101 92


City Home. TABLE NO. 1. Permanent Repairs and Fixtures.


Bedding platform


$23 70


House furnishings Hot-bed fence .


28 27


Cell in basement .


11 57


Closet in attic


20 41


Painting iron fence


50 00


Tide gate and digging ditch


24 68


Hot house


125 00


Carpenter, painting and mason work on hot house


126 97


Pigeon loft


77 88


New tools


48 53


Grading


49 50


Laying water pipe for hot house


22 26


Living expenses


5,926 09


Total expenditures


$6,563 11


TABLE NO. 2.


Reimbursements.


Commonwealth of Massachusetts (board)


$25 00


Board of sundry persons .


263 00


Produce and pork sold


3,317 36


Wood (for poor families)


.


144 38


$3,749 74


.


28 25


.


$637 02


289


SUPPORT OF POOR DEPARTMENT.


TABLE NO. 3.


Number weeks' board of inmates


1,015 3-7


Average weekly cost of inmates $2 15


Number of males admitted during 1904 8


Number of females admitted during 1904 5


Number of males discharged during 1904 7


Number of females discharged during 1904


5


Number of males supported during 1904


20


Number of females supported during 1904


13


Number of males died during 1904 .


1


Number of females died during 1904


1


Number of inmates in Home January 1, 1905,


19


TABLE NO. 4. Living Expenses.


Groceries and provisions


$1,633 26


Salaries and wages


2,541 23


Dry goods .


129 30


Boots and shoes


36 05


Grain and hay .


537 65


Seeds and fertilizer


120 08


New curtains


14 95


Kitchen furnishings


17 67


Sundries


309 25


Cash paid by warden, car fares for warden, inmates and laborers


47 30


Medicine


24 03


Horseshoeing


52 15


Repairs on sash


13 84


Telephone


51 93


Ice


14 40


General repairs


30 89


Swill and bedding


242 66


New tools


14 96


Credits :-


Commonwealth of Massachusetts (board)


$25 00


Board for sundry persons


263 00


Produce and pork sold


3,317 36


Wood for poor families .


144 38


3,749 74


Net living expenses .


$2,176 35


TABLE NO. 5.


Reimbursements :- Produce, pork, and wood sold $3,461 74 405 00


Produce used at city home


$3,866 74


Repairs on wagon


94 49


$5,926 09


290


ANNUAL REPORTS.


Extra Expenses on Farm.


Wages for extra help


$1,269 15


Feed for one horse .


·


138 86


Seeds and fertilizer


120 08


Shoeing one horse


15 38


Repairs on wagons .


94 49


Repairs on sash


13 84


Swill and bedding


233 06


Farm sundries


111 83


1,996 69


Balance


$1,870 05


TABLE NO. 6. Recapitulation.


Appropriation


$4,000 00


Reimbursements


3,749 74


Total receipts


$7,749 74


Total expenditures


6,563 11


Balance


$1,186 63


This report, with tables, is respectfully submitted.


EDWARD B. WEST, Overseers ALBERT W. EDMANDS,


HERBERT E. MERRILL,


of the Poor.


REPORT OF THE CITY PHYSICIAN.


OFFICE OF CITY PHYSICIAN, Somerville, December 31, 1904. To His Honor, the Mayor, and the Board of Aldermen :-


Gentlemen,-The following is a summary of the work I have performed during the year ending December 31, 1904 :-


One thousand thirty-eight house visits have been made. Six hundred thirty-seven persons were treated at my office. Eighty- five persons were vaccinated. Twenty women were attended in child-birth. Ninety-nine persons have had teeth extracted. Twenty-seven visits have been made at the police station.


Under the rules of the board of health, 395 cultures for re- lease have been taken in cases of diphtheria. Twenty-nine men were examined for the police force, and eight for permanent men in the fire department.


Respectfully submitted, ALVAH B. DEARBORN, City Physician.


REPORT OF THE CITY ENGINEER.


OFFICE OF THE CITY ENGINEER, CITY HALL, SOMERVILLE, January 18, 1905.


To His Honor, the Mayor, and the Board of Aldermen :-


Gentlemen,-In accordance with the provisions of the city charter, the following report of the work done and expense in- curred for the year ending December 31, 1904, by the depart- ments under my charge and supervision, including Engineering, Sewers Construction, Sewers Maintenance, Public Grounds, and other public works, is herewith presented.


ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT.


Statement of Expenses, 1904.


Salary City Engineer (including maintenance


of team)


$2,800 00


Salaries of assistants 7,818 33


Stakes, tools, and general supplies (outside work)


77 14


Draughting materials and office supplies (in- side work)


140 18


Setting stone bounds for defining lines


street


35 88


Car fares


188 40


Telephone, postage, and incidentals


150 72


Boston & Maine Railroad, engineering ser- vices, subway


190 53


Total expenditure in the department Transferred to other departments . 602 82


Total debit


$12,004 00


CREDIT.


Appropriation


$11,900 00


Amount received from making acceptance


plans


104 00


Total


$12,004 00


$11,401 18


YO


NATHAN TUFTS PARK, SOMERVILLE, MASS. Old Mill, Provincial and Revolutionary Powder House.


COPYRIGHT, 1905, BY G. O. W. SERVIS, ENG. DEPT.


293


CITY ENGINEER.


Classification of Expenditures, Assistants' Salaries.


Sewers,-comprising surveys, estimates, profiles, lines,


grades, titles, plans, assessments, and all engineering work relating to sewers Highways,-comprising plans, estimates, titles, profiles, lines and grades, and all other engineering relating to the department


$2,068 71


785 90


Sidewalks,-comprising profiles, lines, grades, measure- ments, titles, costs, and assessments


1,011 96


Water Works,-comprising lines, grades, locations of mains, gates, hydrants and services, and other mat- ters relating to water department .


266 34


Public Grounds,-comprising surveys, plans, estimates, profiles and grades, including laying out of parks and grounds


360 78


Public Buildings,-comprising surveys, estimates, lines and grades, and other work relating to construction


84 99


Street Numbering,-comprising locations of buildings, plans and affixing street numbers on houses


332 58


Street Lines and Grades,-comprising establishing of lines, grades, and miscellaneous data given parties for building and grading 211 18


Middlesex Registry,-comprising copying of plans and ab- stracts from deeds and examination of titles filed at East Cambridge, also tracings of street acceptance and sewer taking plans filed for record


334 07


Railway, Telephone, Electric Light, and Gas Light Com- panies,-comprising grades, plans, profiles and office notes, locations of poles and conduits


95 22


Stone Bounds,-locating and setting


77 78


Office Work,-comprising records of all locations, index- ing, typewriting, calculations, and general draughting, Miscellaneous Work,-comprising preliminary surveys,


875 05


designs, sketches, etc., relating to various schemes for different committees .


116 12


Vacations and Sickness


292 24


Total


$7,818 33


Office Records and Value of Instruments.


Number of survey note books, sewer permit books, and deed books 250


Number of plans, including sewers, highways, parks, house lots, etc. 6,000 ·


Value of field instruments, tools, and office instruments $1,600.00


The total cost of maintaining the city engineer's department since it was established. (1872-1904, both years, inclusive) has amounted to $214,421.68.


General Work. The number of assistants employed during the year on engineering work varied from eight to twelve.


The department has made designs, plans, estimates of cost of contemplated and completed public works, etc., as required by various orders of the board of aldermen and committees. All


291


ANNUAL REPORTS.


survey notes, records, and plans made of sewers, drains, highway work, water works, etc., have been filed and indexed for future reference.


All plans of estates in Somerville recorded at the Registry of Deeds, East Cambridge, have been copied, titles examined, and abstracts from deeds made for the purpose of assessments, and the proportional part of the cost of new work computed, and schedules of assessments made out showing the property owners.


Plans have been made and photographs taken where acci- dents- have occurred on the city's work, or where boundaries were in dispute, for the use of the city solicitor in court cases and hearings.


A number of street names have been changed and plans made showing a re-numbering of the buildings, and all old num- bering plans revised, new houses plotted, and numbers assigned ; some of the old main thoroughfares should be re-numbered throughout their entire length, so as to eliminate half numbers and letters now being used.


There are many streets, avenues, courts, and places in the city of the same or very similar name, which should be changed to prevent the confusion and inconvenience now existing.


Stone monuments have been set at a number of street inter- sections and angles to define and preserve the true lines of public streets, and this work should be continued as much as possible each year.


Lines and grades have been given for the erection of new city buildings, and plans and sketches made for the laying out of the surrounding grounds.


About seventy-five street lines and grades have been given by the department during the year for builders and private parties applying for established grades and lines in connection with the erection of buildings and fences and grading of property.


Plans have been made showing the change of boundary lines of precincts in certain wards of the city, from which large maps have been printed for various purposes.


Accurate plans have been made by The Edison Electric Illuminating Company, of Boston, the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company, West End Street Railway Company, Charlestown Gas and Electric Company, and Cambridge Gas Light Company, and filed in this office, showing the various lo- cations of poles, tracks, and conduits in this city which have been granted by the board of aldermen during the year.


Lines and grades have been given for laying 5,800 feet of water mains; 294 house services, twenty-five gates, and thirteen


295


CITY ENGINEER.


hydrants have been located and recorded, sketches and plans made showing the same, and the large water works maps cor- rected to date.


During the year the department has made plans and estab- lished grades for the acceptance, under the betterment act, of fifteen new public streets, a total length of 1.55 miles; copies of these plans have been made and filed at the Middlesex Registry, as required by law.


The line of Hall street, at the Cedar-street end, has been changed and re-located northeasterly about one foot from the old line, so that a building formerly encroaching on the south- westerly side of the old street is now back of the adopted street line, an exchange of land being made with the abutting owner.


The total length of public streets in the city amounts to 69.3 miles, and private streets 24.26 miles.


Eight streets have been constructed during the year where betterment assessments have been levied, and in the laying out and constructing of Clarendon avenue as a public highway, the city is removing, by agreement, the stone from the ledge on the abutting property on the southeasterly side of the street, where the surface in places was twenty feet higher than the established grade of Clarendon avenue.


When this work is fully completed, a dangerous locality will have been made safe for public travel, and a section of land de- veloped for building purposes.


Lines and grades have been given for setting 24,228.4 linear feet (4.59 miles) of new edgestone, and the re-setting of 11,861.6 feet (2.25 miles) of old edgestone and measurements taken for computing assessments.


4,185.3 square yards of new brick sidewalks and 1,002.9 square yards of granolithic sidewalks have been laid (about 1.54 miles in length), and 7,464.1 square yards of old brick sidewalks re-laid.


The average cost for the year of setting edgestone has been ninety cents per linear foot, and laying brick sidewalks ninety- six cents per square yard.


8,010 square yards of new paved gutters have been laid, and 706.7 square yards of new vitrified brick, concrete, and granite crossings and driveways constructed ; 3,678.4 square yards of old gutters, driveways, and crossings have been re-laid, all requiring lines, grades, and measurements.


(See tables in this report for cost of new work. 1904, and total lengths of sidewalks constructed in the city to date.)


1


296


ANNUAL REPORTS.


Streets Accepted as Public Highways in 1904 under the Betterment Act.


NAME OF STREET.


WARD.


FROM


To


Width in Feet.


Length in Feet.


Date of Acceptance.


Edmands st.


4


Angle .


Bonair st. . .


40


86


Sept. 23


Farragut ave. .


7


Broadway .


Woodstock st. Ex.


40


905


Nov. 1


Glendale ave. .


7


Cameron ave.


Yorktown st.


40


410


July 1


Hawthorne st .


Willow ave. .


Cutter ave.


30


807


Dec. 23


Holyoke rd ..


6


Elm st.


Elm st.


40


637


July 15


Josephine ave.


6


Morrison ave.


Broadway .


45


1,718


Nov. 1


Malvern ave .. Milton st.


7


Cameron ave.


Yorktown st.


40


410


Dec. 23


Moreland st.


5


Main st.


Meacham st. .


40


691


Nov. 28


Ossipee rd.


7


Packard ave. .


Curtis st. .


40


682


Nov. 14


Pritchard ave.


6


Morrison ave.


Frederick ave.


40


511


Nov. 1


Richardson st.


5


Lowell st.


Lawrence st.


35


467


Dec. 23


Seven Pines ave.


7


Cameron ave.


Cambridge line .


40


92


Dec. 27


Veazie st.


4


Bradley st.


Marshall st. .


40


261


Dec 28


Yorktown st.


7


Cambridge line .


Malvern ave.


40


294


Dec 23


Total


(1.552 miles)


..


8,194


Length of Public Streets in Each Ward.


Miles.


Ward one


9.155


Ward two


7.615


Ward three


7.086


Ward four


8.951


Ward five .


10.386


Ward six .


11.386


Ward seven


14.715


Total length of public streets in the city


69.294


Miles of Edgestone, Brick Sidewalk and Gravel Sidewalk, in Each Ward.


Edge- stone


Brick Sidewalk 11.687


Gravel Sidewalk


Ward one


·


Ward two


.


11.896


4.207


7.689


Ward three


12.784


11.496


1.288


Ward four


12.499


8.725


3.774


Ward five


15.679


9.794


5.885


Ward six


19.408


10.226


9.182


Ward seven


16.399


7.731


8.668


Total miles in the city .


105.143


*63.866


41.277


.


·


.


*Includes 2.07 miles granolithic and tar concrete walk.


.


Cambridge line


40


223


June 13


Orchard st.


.


16.478


4.791


Table Showing Sidewalks Constructed (not exceeding one-half cost assessed on abutters) and Paved Gutters Laid in Connection Therewith in 1904.


MATERIALS.


PAVED GUTTERS.


STREET.


WARD.


SIDE.


FROM


To


WIDTH OF SITEWALK IN FEET.


Gravel and Edgestone. Lineal Feet.


Bricks. Sq. Yards.


Sq. Yards.


Cost.


Avon


3


Southwesterly


School st. .


Central st. .


6.67


950.6


$914 74


Bartlett .


5


Both .


Medford st.


Broadway .


6.67


1,449.4


1,287 97


563.6


$918 18


Beacon .


6


Northeasterly


Ivaloo st. .


Near Kent st.


11.00


387.4


346 71


129.1


240 26


Bowdoin


2


Both .


Fremont ave.


Lincoln Park


6.67


201.6


176 38


67.2


91 50


Broadway


1


Northerly .


Boston line


Cross st.


15.00


2,120.8


2,308 93


706.9


1,813 39


Broadway


5


Southerly .


Glenwood road.


Norwood avenue.


7.31±


219.1


221 67


Cameron avenue


7


Northwesterly


Holland st.


Seven-pines ave.


10.00


1,010.8


861 21


336.9


514 15


Cedar


6


Westerly


Hall st.


Near Summer st.


6.67


108.7


104 47


36.2


106 11


Charles


1


Both .


4


Both .


Medford st.


Angle


4.00 and 4.50


437.5


386 56


99.0


264 90


Chester


7


Northwesterly


Herbert st.


Northeasterly


6.67


72.6


60.1


102 28


24.2


79 15


Dane


Southeasterly


Washington st.


Somerville ave. .


6.67


1,217.9


1,115 27


405.9


793 81


Eastman road


6


Both


Highland ave.


Southwesterly to end. Cambridge line .


6.67


2,040.2


1,617 87


680.1


1,248 80


Glendale avenue


7


Both .


Cameron ave.


Yorktown st.


6.67


850.1


625 44


283.4


460 30


Hall


6


Southwesterly


Cedar st.


Cherry st. .


5.00


232.3


240 56


64.5


193 30


Hancock


6


Southeasterly


Highland ave.


Lexington ave.


8.33


304.6


298 55


127.4


208 83


Herbert


7


Easterly


Chester st.


Day st.


6.67


319.0


256 77


106.3


189 45


Holyoke road


6


Both


Morrison ave.


Broadway


7.50


3,269.1


2,947 72


1,089.7


1,898 50


Knowlton


1


Tufts st.


Northerly .


6.67


813.2


681 05


469 98


Lowell


North westerly


Highland ave.


Crown st.


6.67


401.5


356 03


Lowell


Southeasterly


Bingham School


6.67


102.3


96 88


Milton


Both .


Orchard st.


6.67


290.3


242 83


Morrison avenue


Northeasterly


Martha Perry Lowe School


6.67


77.7


76 90


Morton .


Both .


Glen st.


Knowlton st.


6.67


338.6


319 01


140.3


354 25


Richdale avenue


Northeasterly


School st. .


Sycamore st.


6.67


719.2


655 71


239.7


440 98


St. James avenue .


North westerly


Elm st.


Summer st.


6.67


333.4


307 55


Sycamore


5


Both .


( Pembroke st.


Willoughby st. .


5.83 and 6.67 {


607.9


530 47


202.6


374 41


Washington .


1


South westerly


Boston line


B. and L. R. R.


11.50


1,666.6


1,652 34


555.5


1,577 00


Washington .


2


Both .


Union Square


Cambridge line .


10.00+


2,775.1


2,590 32


925.0


1,756 84


Wigglesworth


Both .


Pearl st.


Bonair st. .


6.67


929.6


968 29


. .


. ...


Wigglesworth


4


Northwesterly


Near McGregor pl.


Bonair st. .


6.67


1,02.0


....


79 80


34.0


121 30


Winter .


Both .


College ave.


Holland st.


5.00


....


386 27


140.8


597 05


Total assessment, $12,778.29


Net cost to city, $12,778.35


24,191.3


4,007.8


25,556 64


8,010.0


1,6027 35


Amount of edgestone and brick sidewalk, including granolithic, in front of private estates Totals. ( Gravel sidewalks, 4.555 miles. Brick and granolithic sidewalks, 1.542 miles.)


37.1


1,180.4


.


5.00


307.5


237 66


85.4


82 88


Elmwood


7


Both


Holland st.


6.67


589.9


532 65


229.4


420 75


Hancock


6


North westerly


Highland ave.


Lexington ave.


8.33


382.3


326 90


1,135 93


458.0


811 28


Josephine avenue .


6


Both .


Both .


45771157 7 1 6 1 7 7


Both .


Somerville ave.


Joy st.


5.00 and 5.83


629.3


566 95


Richdale ave.


Montrose st.


5.83 and 6.67 §


.


...


4


7


Elm st.


Elm st.


6.67


1,374.0


. .


278.9


Cambridge line .


Poplar


Washington st.


Southeasterly


Chester avenue


·


505.9


TOTAL COST.


297


CITY ENGINEER.


Table of Street Construction.


Miles.


*Streets paved with granite blocks


2.80


Streets paved with asphalt


0.73


Streets paved with vitrified brick (Davis square)


0.14


Streets paved with "bitulithic" .


0.34


** Streets macadamized


64.75


Streets graveled .


16.00


Streets unimproved


8.79


Total


93.55


*Also 29.6 miles (single track) electric railway, paved with granite, asphalt, "bitulithic."


** Includes 2.84 miles boulevard.


Lines, grades, and measurements have been given and mis- cellaneous work done for paving with "Warren's Bitulithic Pave- ment" a portion of Bow and Summer streets, extending from Union square to the westerly line of School street, a length of 1,770 linear feet. The contract price for laying this new pave- ment complete, including a five-years' guarantee, was $2.25 per square yard.


In conjunction with the laying of this permanent pavement, the railroad company have double-tracked that portion of Sum- mer street, and the city has widened the roadway by setting back the edgestone on the sidewalk eight inches on each side of this street.


The total amount of "Bitulithic Pavement" laid, including an area of 1,824 square yards between the car tracks paid for by the railroad company, was 7,085 square yards, and the entire cost to the city of the new work was $14,422.78, and, deducting the amount allowed for old materials removed on the line of work as a credit to the account, shows the net cost to the city $13,- 964.63 for the improvement of a portion of Bow and Summer streets.


Union square has been enlarged at its easterly end by the addition of a triangular area in front of the new fire station, which was formerly occupied by old buildings. This additional space was paved with granite blocks amounting to 614 square yards, and also necessitated the re-laying of 748 square yards of the old granite paving, to conform with the established grade in the square.


There are sections of flat-grade macadam streets in the city where, in times of storms, they become nothing but mud holes, and it is impossible, under the present conditions, to drain the water from their surfaces; in these few places it would be ad- visable to re-construct the road bed with a permanent pavement, and the addition of catch basins between the car tracks would put these sections of streets in first-class condition for a nominal ex- pense. Also on some of the principal streets the edgestone should be completed and gutters paved, so that the street can be


298


ANNUAL REPORTS.


properly drained in times of heavy storms, thereby saving a large cost in the maintenance of the city's highways.


It would be advisable to lay with some suitable permanent pavement, bitulithic, vitrified brick, or asphalt, the narrow spaces left between the car track and sidewalk on certain streets where double tracks have been laid, and where it is impossible to main- tain a macadam roadway, even at a heavy expense yearly: sec- tions of Pearl street, Medford street, Washington street, Holland street, and public squares.


The West End Street Railway Company, by its attorney, the Boston Elevated Railway Company, in addition to the double- track laying on a section of Summer street, before referred to (on account of the paving of this street), have completed the double- track laying in Concord square, and two long turnouts in Spring- field street, where, on account of the narrow roadway, the rail- road company laid an asphalt pavement the entire width of the street where the new tracks were constructed.


A petition is still pending before the board of aldermen for a double-track location in a portion of Mystic and Middlesex avenues, extending from the Charlestown line to the Fellsway boulevard.


A public hearing has been held on this matter, and when- ever these tracks are laid, it will necessitate the widening and filling to grade of these avenues and macadamizing the roadways.


There are at present laid in Somerville streets twenty-nine and six-tenths miles of electric car track (single track location).


Bridges and Grade Crossings. All of the city's highways over the Southern division of the Boston & Maine railroad have good and substantial modern bridges, with the one exception at Lowell street, where there is great need of a highway bridge over the main line, and also the Arlington branch of the railroad, this street being one of the principal cross-town streets in the centre of the city. Negotiations with the railroad company are at pres- ent pending, but probably satisfactory arrangements will be made for the construction of these bridges in the near future.


The abolition of grade crossings in this city has been a mat- ter of discussion for a number of years past, and while the ex- pense to the city for changing these crossings would be large, the amount would be quite small when compared with the total cost and amount of work involved by the railroad companies.


Some feasible plan must first be agreed upon by the parties vitally interested, and this involves the steam and electric rail- road companies and cities of Somerville and Cambridge working in unison ; a petition has been before the courts for some time in reference to this matter.


Elevations and check levels have been taken on the Boston- avenue granite arch bridge recently constructed, and no settle- ment or change was found from the original construction work.


299


CITY ENGINEER.


SEWER DEPARTMENT. Sewers Construction Account. STATEMENT OF EXPENSES, 1904.




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