USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Attleboro > Reports of town officers of the town of Attleborough 1893 > Part 5
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R. D. Manchester-stone
$100.00
McClintock & Woodfall-contract 2,888.64
N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R .- freight
229.46
-- $3,218.10
The other items cover work incidental to repairing the street, but not a part of the macadamized road, such as J. Kelley's bill for cutting driveways in the curbstones, Crosby & Manchester's bills for paving gutters, Fales' bill for raising manholes, and Gifford's bill, to the amount of $112.64, for water pipes to the crusher. This water pipe the town now has on hand available for any future work.
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ANNUAL REPORT.
The balance of Gifford's bill, $19.27, is for laying sewer con- nections to the sidewalk line for two houses now not connected, and this amount should be repaid to the town by the abutters when use is made of the sewer connections.
It is evident from the results obtained on Bank street that crushed stone and steam rolling are the materials and method by which the best results are to be obtained in our road building. How to secure these in the most economical manner seems to be the question to decide.
At first thought it would seem that it would be cheaper for the town to own a crusher and roller, than to hire them, but I think a study of estimates of cost in each case indicate that for the present at least it will be better to hire them.
There are three ways of obtaining crushed stone :
Ist. By rail.
2d. From a crusher set near the centre of the town where field stone is crushed.
3d. From a crusher set near a ledge, where ledge stone is crushed.
In the first instance the freight rate at the present time is pro- hibitory, but the road question is sure to develop rapidly, and it is extremely probable that a quarry may be opened near enough to Attleborough so that stone for $1.50 or even $1.30 per ton can be obtained.
The location of the freight tracks in the centre of the town is very favorable for an economical delivery of the stone on the streets, while stone could also be delivered in Hebronville and Dodgeville when roads are built there.
Again, it is possible that electric roads may be used for trans- porting freight.
The plan of locating a crusher near the centre and using field stone has the advantage of furnishing labor for the farmers. But experience shows that almost invariably this plan works to the disadvantage of the town in the long run, because field stone are of such different degrees of hardness that the road, being built of both hard and soft stones, soon wears unevenly, resulting in holes and ruts. The adjoining town of Cumberland, which has already macadamized several miles of her main roads, has had this ex-
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ANNUAL REPORT.
perience, and I am informed that they have now removed their crnsher to a ledge, from which they freight their stone by rail to the nearest station and then team it to the road. Pawtucket i also looking for a ledge with a view to abandoning field stones. Experienced road builders place great importance on the quality of hardness of the stone used for road metal, trap rock being con- sidered the best, while a good conglomerate ranks next.
Under the third plan, when a crusher is located at a ledge the quality of the stone selected will, of course, be of the best that can be found in this vicinity.
About the time work was finished on Bank street a ledge was found and examined, which is located about eleven hundred feet west of the present location of the crusher, or just back of the Macdonald farm. The rock has an elevation at the top of about seventy-two (72) feet above the the ground at the bottom of the exposed face of the rock, and almost the entire face is free from dirt, while the ledge is located near a small pond from which a supply of water for the boilers, etc., can be pumped both summer and winter. A blast was placed in this ledge and the rock blown out is of a good quality of conglomerate.
The Mass. Broken Stone Co. have offered to move their crusher boiler and bins to this location, and quarry and crush the stone for the same price paid them last season, which is $1.40 per ton for crushing and ten cents per ton for elevating into bins for load- ng by gravity. Possibly it might cost a little more to cart on to ithe streets from this location than was paid last year. Forty cents per ton was the price paid last year, and probably fifty cents per ton would cover the cost for next year, or a total cost of $2 per ton delivered on the road.
Assuming now that the town will use I,Soo tons next year the cost at the crusher in the bins, under this arrangement, would be $2,500.
I estimate that if the town were to buy a crusher the cost for the first year would be about as follows :
Quarrying and crushing 1,800 tons at $1.10, $1,980 00
Interest, depreciation and repairs on cost
of plant, 15% on $4,500, 675 00 $2,655 00
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ANNUAL REPORT.
It is quite likely that after a while we might be able to reduce the cost of quarrying and crushing ten or twenty cents per ton from the rate estimated above, but it is also to be remembered that if the town works the quarry and crusher it assumes a liability in case of accident which it would not be liable for under a con- tract with other parties. Again, if for any reason the crusher were not used in any year after it was purchased the item of in- terest and depreciation would be a dead loss to the town. Of course if the amount of stone to be used should amount to three or four thousand tons per year it would then pay to buy the plant, but for the limited amount of work in this line that the town will probably do for a year or two, I believe it advisable to buy the stone as suggested above, thus leaving the town free to take ad- vantage of any more favorable plan of obtaining stone.
In the matter of a steam roller, it is undoubtedly true that a roller would help all of our streets to some extent, if run over them in connection with the scraper in the early part of the season, but it costs money to run the roller even if the town owns it, and as the general highway appropriation is limited, I think there is use for it all to good advantage in other ways.
In building the macadamized road one hundred tons of stone per day should be laid, but assuming that but sixty tons per day were laid, it would then take thirty days to put down eighteen hundred tons, and if the roller were hired at fifteen dollars ($15) per day (the price charged) this would cost $450 and would cover the entire cost except the cost of freighting the roller here, which should not be very large.
On the other hand, if the town buys a roller, we have the item of interest, depreciation and repairs, 15% on costof $3,000 equal to $450, while we would also have to buy coal, hire an engineer and furnish a suitable place in which to keep the roller.
Thus it is evident that for a small piece of road it is cheaper to hire the roller than to own it, provided, of course, that we can hire one when we want it.
In making an appropriation for macadamizing it should be kept in mind that the main streets of the village which will prob- ably be the first to be macadamized are wider than Bank Street, and also that on these streets it is desirable that a somewhat greater
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ANNUAL REPORT.
length should be done than was done on Bank Street. Also that it will be necessary to either purchase land or the right to use the stone at the ledge referred to above.
Therefore I recommend an appropriation of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) in case the town desires to build a macadamized road in 1894.
SIDEWALKS.
The permanent improvement of the sidewalks during the past season has been :
South Main Street, west side, concreted and curbed from Park Street to the railroad.
North Main Street, west side, curbed front of Dr. J. R. Bron- son's, and concreted from concrete laid last year on County Street to Crandall's block on North Main Street.
North Main Street, east side, fence of Peck heirs reset and con- crete laid from Dr. J. M. Solomon's to Academy Street.
Park Street, south side, curbed and concreted from the railroad to Union Street.
County Street, south side, curbing extended from front of resi- dence of Dr. E. Sanford to County Street Bridge.
The gutters were paved next to all curbing which was set. The curbing was furnished by Curry & Ladd, of Foxboro, Mass., for sixty-five cents per lineal foot delivered on the street. This price, I believe, is the lowest paid for several years. The curbing was of good quality of stone, well cut, and was promptly delivered.
The concrete laid on the east side of North Main Street was done by P. Whalen, for forty cents per square yard. The rest of the concreting was done by F. M. Ballou & Co., of Providence, at fifty cents per square yard, and is guaranteed by them for ten years. The work done by F. M. Ballou & Co. was undoubt- edly the best concreting ever done on the town sidewalks. It was done promptly, in a workman-like manner, and with little inconvenience to abuttors or the public. In making the improve- ments on South Main Street the owners of abutting property all
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ANNUAL REPORT.
assented to having the walk laid eight (8) feet wide, measuring from the face of the curbing, and where fences interfered with this plan they were either reset or removed as the owners wished. At the same time the drainage of the street was greatly improved by placing a catch basin in the sidewalk, opposite Mill Street, into which the gutters on both sides of the street were drained. Drains were also laid from the gutters in front of the residence of Dr. E. Sanford and Cushman property.
I recommend an appropriation of two thousand ($2,000) dollars, and the amount received from betterment assessments for permanent improvement of sidewalks next season.
DEAN, DUNHAM AND PEARL STREET SEWERS.
Plans and specifications of the work to be done having been prepared by me, bids were invited, and proposals received by the Selectmen from J. W. Gifford & Co., Nahum Perry & Co., and A. H. Tucker. The contracts were awarded to J. W. Gifford & Co., they being the lowest bidder.
The work was promptly executed by them in a satisfactory manner.
GUIDE BOARDS.
I wish to call attention to the fact that there are few, if any guide boards in the town and this fact has caused great incon- venience to the traveling public, besides being a neglect to comply with the State laws which provide that the town shall annually + forfeit five dollars for every guide post it neglect to furnish. There are about sixty (60) street corners and inter-sections of roads where guide boards might be placed to advantage, but if fifty of those could be furnished next season the town would be fairly well
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ANNUAL REPORT.
equipped with guide boards. A lathe turned, painted post, with a substantial guide board properly marked could probably be fur- nished and set at a total cost of not far from three ($3.00) dollars each. An appropriation therefore of two hundred ($200) dollars would probably cover the cost of the work.
STATE HIGHWAYS.
By Chapter 476 of the Acts of 1893, provision is made for the building of state highways throughout the state and at the expense of the state.
Two methods are provided by which attention of the state highway commission may be called to the necessity that any road should be acquired by the state as a state highway :
IST. By the county commissioners who may be petitioned either by individuals or by the town.
2D. Two or more towns may petition the highway commis- sion.
In either case the state highway commissioners consider the petition and if they adjudge that it ought to be allowed, it then be- comes the duty of the county commissioners to layout the road, the entire expense of the layout to be borne by the county.
The highway commissioners then submit to the Secretary of the Commonwealth (who lays the same before the legislature) and an esti mate of the cost of building the road and maintaining it.
If the legislature makes an appropriation for the same, the high- way commissioners at once cause the highway to be built at the expense of the state, except that in case any hills are so steep that a change of grade is necessary, or bridges or culverts are out of repair or need rebuilding, the expense of this work shall be borne by the county. The road having been built by the state it is to be forever afterwards maintained at the expense of the state and the state is to be liable for all accidents due to defective condition of said road.
85
ANNUAL REPORT.
As 37% of the valuation of the state is found to be within twelve miles of the state house, and as it is probable that no state roads will be built in that area, it is evident that this is a move- ment by which the poorer towns of the state will be partially relieved of the burden of maintaining their many miles of high- ways.
It is to be noticed that unless action is taken either by the county commissioners or the towns of the county to present to the attention of the highway commissioners such roads as should become state highways, no roads can be built by the state in this county, while at the same time, state roads may be in process of construction in other counties by reason of the energy and ac- tion of their county commissioners.
At the public meeting held by the highway commissioners in the court house at Taunton, of Nov. 27, 1893, the state commis- sioners called attention to the fact that this is just what will happen unless the towns and county commissioners of Bristol county take action in the matter.
As it was stated that about $11,000,000.00 will proably be spent for state roads it is advisable that this town should act in this matter.
There are at least four roads in this town which might properly be made state roads :
IST. The old Boston and Providence turnpike in the west part of the town.
2D. The road leading from this village through Dodgeville, Hebronville and Seekonk to the Pawtucket line.
3D. The road from Attleboro through Norton to Taunton.
4TH. The road connecting Attleboro and North Attleboro.
In regard to the turnpike the towns of Norfolk county and North Attleboro have already taken action.
I believe it advisable that this town should act promptly in re- gard to this road that the location may be made from the Paw- tucket line to North Attleboro over the road occupied by the electric road rather than the old turnpike.
I suggest this, IST., because I believe that the road occupied by the electric road is the best line of location for a state road
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ANNUAL REPORT.
because it is nearly as direct as the turnpike and not nearly as hilly.
2D. Because a state road built over the line I have suggested will be of greater benefit to Attleboro and do more to promote the development of the village of South Attleboro than as though the other line were adopted.
Respectfully Submitted, WILLIAM J. LUTHER, Superintendent of Streets.
-
THACHER BROOK DRAIN.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT.
Appropriation, $2,500 00
Overdraw,
12 71
$2,512 71
EXPENDITURES.
1893.
Jan. 15. F. P. Manwell, surveying, $19 70
Aug. 17. F. P. Manwell, surveying, 29 00
Oct. 5. J. W. Gifford & Co., labor and materials, 310 56
12. J. W. Gifford & Co., labor and materials, 215 28
19. J. W. Gifford & Co., labor and materials, 250 02
25. J. W. Gifford & Co., labor and materials, 283 20
Nov. 2. J. W. Gifford & Co., labor and materials, 204 96
9. J. W. Gifford & Co., labor and materials, 266 09
16. Pierce & Carpenter, lumber, etc., 88 16
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ANNUAL REPORT.
Nov. 16. Everett O. Dexter, masons' labor, 96 37
F. P. Manwell, surveying, 144 00
J. W. Gifford & Co., labor and materials, 260 12
23. Grant Bros., carpenters' labor, 17 17
J. W. Gifford & Co., labor and materials, 165 38
Dec. I. J. W. Gifford & Co., labor and materials, 134 55
7. Attleboro Real Estate Associa- tion, stone bounds, 7 15
28. F. P. Manwell, surveying, 21 00
$2,512 71
THACHER BROOK DRAIN.
1
Early in the season of 1893 a plan was prepared showing the proposed location of the drain and the names of owners of land through which it was proposed to dig the drain.
Hearings were arranged by the selectmen and a great deal of time consumed in obtaining from the land owners consent to have the drain laid out as proposed. It was not until Sept. 26 that the work of excavating the ditch was actually begun.
Bids having been invited from both J. W. Gifford & Co. and Nahum Perry & Co., without satisfactory result it was decided to commence work by employing towns people by the day to do the work.
Arrangements were made with J. W. Gifford & Co., whereby they furnished the services of Mr. John Stone as foreman, and Mr. Gifford also very kindly attended to the hiring of help and the paying of them without himself receiving any pay or profit for the time he devoted to the work.
During the entire time that the work was in progress from twenty to thirty men (nearly, if not all of them, taxpayers of the town) were employed on the work and under the efficient direc- tion of Mr. Stone rapid progress was made.
The plan first considered by the committee contemplated the taking of a strip of land forty (40) feet wide from Forest Street to Park Street and one hundred and twenty (120) feet wide from Park Street to South Main Street and would furnish below Park Street the location for an open drain having the bed of the brook paved, and grass covered banks having a slope of one foot vertica fall to each four feet measured horizontally, while on each side o
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ANNUAL REPORT.
these grassed banks were to be a roadway and sidewalks. This plan was favored because it has already been employed with marked success by the city of Newton in improving the Cheese Cake Brook in that place and is highly recommended for the im- provement of similar locations by the Metropolitan Park Com- missioners on page 100 of their report of 1893.
Should the town secure this width of one hundred and twenty (120) feet from Park Street to South Main Street, it would furnish a line of roadway reaching from near the centre of the village on Park Street well out towards Oak Hill and might in future years be made a desirable feature of a park system, of which it is proba- ble that Oak Hill and its vicinity may be prominent features.
Opportunities like these, when no expense to the town is in- volved at the present time, should be taken advantage of before the improvement of the land by private parties renders it im- possible.
In considering the plans and methods to be adopted in this work great assistance has been obtained from the report to the city of Newton, Mass., by A. F. Noyes, City Engineer, on a plan for surface drainage of that city, also by personal interviews with Mr. Noyes, Mr. F. P. Stearns, C. E., Engineer for for State Board of Health and Mr. W. E.McClintock, C. E., who has de- signed and built several drainage works.
In the plan recommended to the city of Newton and by them adopted and already partially constructed, eleven different sections covering a total length of several miles are provided for. This report is so complete both in its plans and recommendations and contains so many suggestions applicable to our case that a copy of the report has been placed in the public library that those inter- ested may study the matter as fully as possible.
While the plan obtained above received the approval of all, yet some of the abutters were inclined to insist that if they gave the width of one hundred and twenty (120) feet they should want it agreed that within a specified time the street would be built by the town.
In order that the construction of the drain should not be delayed, only the width to be finally occupied by the drain from Park to North Main Streets was taken (fixty-six (56) feet wide from South
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ANNUAL REPORT.
Main to Dunham and fifty (50) feet from Dunham to Park Streets) leaving the addition of the roadway part of the plan to some fu- ture time.
In making the excavation for the drain advantage was taken of the fact that it was not necessary to reduce the slope at once to the flat inclination suggested above. Therefore the inclination was made one and a half to one (the slope used on railroad em- bankments) thus leaving a considerable amount of dirt that can at some future time easily be excavated and used, when suitable, in building the road referred to above.
All the tools required on the work were paid for from the ap- propriation and are now stored in the South Main Street engine house in a suitable tool box. These tools therefore are an asset of the town although in the financial report no credit is made of them.
At Maple Street a substantial wooden bridge with suitable abut- ments and wing walls was built. On account of quicksand at this point the work of building the abutments was rendered slow and expensive but fortunately at a depth of two feet below the flow line of the brook a vein of hard coarse gravel was found so that a good foundation for the abutments was secured.
The necessity of this bridge was of course caused by the high- way at this point, and was not necessary as a part of the drain.
Allowing for the cost of this bridge and the cost of the tools referred to above, and only about two thousand dollars ($2,000) of this appropriation was spent on the drain proper.
About thirty-five hundred (3500) lineal feet of trench were excavated, making the cost about fifty-seven (57) cents per lineal foot.
At several places below Maple Street quicksand was encoun- tered, but by excavating a little below grade and filling the bot- tom of the trench up to grade with large paving stone laid in coarse gravel, the quicksand was held in place. Just above Maple Street low bank walls were built to keep the quicksand in place. The last few hundred feet of the trench that was worked upon had about a foot of quicksand in the bottom of the trench, and as the weather had become so cold that men could not work in the water to any advantage, this part of the ditch was not ex-
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ANNUAL REPORT.
cavated quite to the grade contemplated on the plan. This work can be completed in warm weather, whenever a further extension of the drain is undertaken. The weather during the last fall was so extremely dry that the excavation was made with little. inconvenience from water through that section of the brook where the greatest trouble would be found in a wet year.
The excavation has now been carried above the point where the old ditch empties its greatest volume into the drain, and, until Park Street is reached, the excavation can be continued without any inconvenience from the old ditch which flows at a consider- able distance east of the location of the new drain.
In considering this drain and its advantages it is to be kept in mind that it is not a sewer, neither is it to perform any of the work that a sewer through this district should be expected to per- form. This difference is important and should be clearly under- stood. For instance, regardless of any houses that are in this district, there has always been (since we have known anything about it) a certain rain fall on this district that has caused floods and by reason of the nature of the soil has caused the land to be wet and unfit for building purposes.
It is this condition of the land and the effect of the floods that this drain is intended to relieve, thus rendering the land available for building and increasing the value of this taxable property of the town besides acting as a sanitary measure for the benfit of the whole town.
It is not necessary or advisable to attempt to construct a sewer large enough to accommodate this rain fall. It would simply be a waste of money and moreover the sewer would have to be so large, that during the warm summer months, it would be one large elongated cesspool extending the entire length of the district.
The duty of the sewer should be to remove from this district the house drainage only and this is approximately equal to the water supply consumed in the district. Therefore, if a sewer were to be built next year the building of this drain is an economi- cal measure because it reduces the cost of the sewer by several times the cost of the drain.
Another important feature in this connection is the fact it is probable that eventually all sewage from this village must be
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ANNUAL REPORT.
delivered through the sewers to some place below Dodgeville and there purified, and it is important that the volume of sewage be kept as small as possible so that the cost of this process may be reduced to the lowest possible amount.
Another point to be kept in mind is the fact that this main drain, of itself, is not to be expected to drain all the land on each side for several hundred feet, but only to furnish the main drain into which owners of land on each side can lead lateral drains which will, at a small cost to each one, effectually drain this area. Just as a sewer in North Main Street cannot be expected to remove the sewage from the houses until the proper connections are made at the expense of the abuttors.
As a sanitary measure, the benefits to the town by lowering the level of the ground water and providing for the purification of the soil by the action of the air admitted to it, cannot be stated in dollars and cents.
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