USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Attleboro > Reports of town officers of the town of Attleborough 1940 > Part 17
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The cement curbing around the traffic islands at Monument Square was replaced by granite curbing. Deterioration of the cement curb had taken place to the extent where it was deemed advisable to use granite curbing in anticipa- tion of the new road surfacing which was later placed.
A program of gutter and edgestone paving was carried on and some of the larger jobs completed are as follows: on North Main Street the gutters adjacent to all the catch basins, from Deanville Road to the North Attleboro town line, were paved for a distance of ten feet on either side of the basin and out to the pavement a distance of about two feet; 15 catch basins were paved in this manner; on Hawthorne Street from Thacher Street 150' northerly, gutters on both sides were paved; at the corner of Holden and Hope Streets, gutters on Holden Street easterly from Hope Street on both sides were paved for a distance of 100'; on Hope Street southerly from Holden Street one side was paved for a distance of 130', on the other side for a distance of 100'; on Olive Street hill from the railroad bridge 460' westerly on both sides of the pavement.
All the sewer filter beds at the sewerage disposal area were cleaned of all sludge and reconditioned during the year.
The water filtering bed at the pumping station in South Attleboro was stripped by the grader of all material for a depth of approximately three inches. Three bad spots were excavated by the power shovel and refilled with clean gravel. Maintenance of this type insures efficient filtration of water to the two large collecting wells located in this area. While the work was carried on, the water coming into the filtering area was pumped over the dam into Orr's Pond. By this procedure the water level in Orr's Pond is left intact. The motive power for the pump is a unit designed and fabricated in our garage.
At the request of the State Fire Marshal, who condemned the old dynamite storage shed, a small brick building was constructed at the Wall Street yard. The old building was condemned because of its unsafe wooden construction and its proximity to the Water Barn. The new building is constructed with brick walls, re-enforced concrete floor and roof. The door casing and door are built of 1/4 inch steel. The new building is 7 ft. square, 6 ft. high and is placed at a safe distance from adjacent buildings.
New Equipment Purchased during the Year:
1-3/4 yard Koehring power shovel with separate trench hoe assembly.
1-Allis-Chalmers tractor with an 8' Baker Bulldozer Blade, weight 7 ton, 50 horse power.
1-25 horse power Cletrac tractor with sidewalk plow attachment.
1-10' V-plow for use in snow plowing which may be attached in place of the Bulldozer Blade on the Allis-Chalmers tractor mentioned above.
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ANNUAL REPORT
1-Used Mack truck with 4 ton body and 3 ton hoist mounted on body.
2-Rebuilt 1 1/2 yard Chevrolet trucks with dump bodies.
1-Road Hone, 7' wide.
The constant transporting of heavy pieces of equipment became a problem to the department and the only solution was to acquire a heavy duty trailer designed for this work. With only a small amount of money available it was impossible to purchase this equipment and our only alternative was to design and build one ourselves. The design was made by the department and the building of the trailer was done at our city garage by our own men. Heavy solid rubber tired wheels and structural steel were purchased for the construction and in the latter part of November a trailer 15' long, 7 1-2' wide, with a clearance of 15" from the ground, was completed having a carrying capacity of 20,000 pounds. The amazingly low cost to the city for this piece of equipment was $135.00.
With a large fleet of trucks and other motorized equipment maintained and serviced at our own garage by our own mechanics, it was inevitable that the department would have to acquire a rugged so-called "wrecker car." Fortu- natey the answer to this need came from Mr. Joseph Finberg who contributed to the department a large Cadillac sedan which was in excellent mechanical condition. Again the Mechanics at our city garage proceeded to construct for the department a piece of equipment which it could not afford to purchase. The sedan gradually changed its form from a pleasure vehicle to a model wrecking car complete with a mounted powered hoist and hydraulic brake. The hoisting capacity is approximately 2,000 lbs. For less than a cost of $75.00 the depart- ment had acquired a most necessary piece of equipment worth many times that amount. The department extends its appreciation to Mr. Finberg.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Equipment:
1. Twelve-ton Gasoline Road Roller: We have at the present time two road rollers, one twelve-ton gasoline roller purchased in 1929 and the second a steam roller 25 years old which has been in continual service. The steam roller boiler has been condemned by the State Inspector of the Department of Public Safety for use at the pressure which it is ordinarily operated under. The boiler can be operated at very low pressure but the roller could not be operated in construction work at this allowable pressure. The net result is that the depart- ment has only one road roller for use in its work in the coming year. It is hardly possible for the department to operate its program on this basis. Following is the letter received from the Department of Public Safety:
March 21, 1940
"Subject: Inspection of boiler on road roller, Street Dept.
1. On March 21 I made internal inspection of boiler on road roller of Street Department in Attleboro. A bad leak developed under hydrostatic pressure during this inspection.
2. This boiler is twenty-five years old and has been repaired from time to time. If the above mentioned leak is made tight and the plate around the crack is properly reenforced, the boiler may be operated at a pressure not to exceed 125 lbs. per square inch during the next year.
3. Owing to the extreme age and general poor condition of this boiler, a drastic reduction in pressure, probably lower than that at which the roller could be successfully operated, will be made at the next annual inspection.
4. Do not consider this boiler worth the expense of extensive repairs."
H. A. Sullivan (Signed) Boiler Inspector.
I recommend that the old steam roller be traded in for a new twelve-ton Gasoline powered Road Roller.
2. Three Sidewalk Snow-Plow Units: Again I am recommending the purchase of mechanized sidewalk snow-plow units to replace the horse-drawn plows. The advantage of the mechanized units over the horse-drawn plows are
214
ANNUAL REPORT
definite and worth repeating. First from the standpoint of economy: Let us assume that a tractor type of sidewalk plowing unit used only as such would have a life of twelve years, which is conservative, at a cost of $1500.00 each, the initial investment would be $4500, assuming a maintenance cost of $240.00 per machine for a period of twelve years, the total investment for the three machines would be $5,220.00. This amount divided by twelve years would give an annual cost of $435.00. At the present time the cost to the city for the maintenance of the horses required for snow plowing purposes is approximately $850.00 per year. The three plow units would replace ten horses used for plowing purposes. The cost of labor for eight hours of plowing for ten drivers of horse-drawn plows is approximately $40.00 as compared with $12.00 for three operators of the mechan- ized units for the same period of time. A study of these figures shows the definite savings which can be obtained with the use of mechanized units.
Secondly, experience has shown that with a horse-drawn plow the width of clear walk available after plowing is seldom more than 18 or 20 inches; with the mechanized plow of the tractor type actual tests, in a 10" or 12" snow fall, show clear sidewalk widths of 30" to 36" consistently.
Third, after a heavy snow fall of approximately twelve inches, experience over a period of years has demonstrated the fact that with horse-drawn plows we cannot plan on more than four hours of actual plowing time out of an eight- hour day. Usually after two hours of plowing the horses must be rested for about three hours. It can easily be seen that a tremendous amount of time is lost just when it is of the greatest importance that advantage be taken of every hour during and immediately after the storm.
With a mechanized unit, plowing can begin at any time during the storm and continue without any interruption until the walks have been sufficiently plowed. The desirability of this feature is readily understood. It is much easier to maintain well plowed walks by continuous plowing than to allow the snow to drift and attain a depth which will defy almost any effort to plow.
Fourth, a snow fall of a depth of 15" or more eliminates sidewalk plowing with horses. It is impracticable to even attempt plowing with horses under these conditions. It is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain horses for use in plowing and it is also becoming difficult to obtain men who are qualified to drive horse-drawn plows under the difficult conditions which always exist in this type of work. We have instances every year when the scheduled drivers could not re- port for work and it was impossible to find qualified substitutes. As a result the plow did not move out.
None of the above limitations would effect the operation or the availability of mechanized units for snow plowing purposes at any time.
Fifth, horses are of course subject to various ailments which might at a crucial time, without warning, deprive the department of the services of one or more of the horses which would mean that one or more sections of the city would not have its sidewalks plowed for some time after a storm. With mechanized units any mechanical troubles could be dealt with immediately and there is no reason why at a moment's notice every mechanized unit could not move out in ex- cellent condition. Should any mechanical fault occur, while the unit was in actual operation, it is safe to say that within a period of two hours the unit could be back in operation, if necessary.
There are, of course, other advantages which could be enumerated; however, I have outlined a few of the advantages and dealt with them in detail. I be- lieve they show conclusively the advisability, from any standpoint, of using mechanized units for sidewalk snow plowing purposes.
3. Mechanical Loader: In a preceding paragraph I have already dealt with the use of a mechanical loader in snow removal operations. I wish to stress the fact, however, of the usefulness of this machine during the months of the year when construction work is in progress. It would be used at our screening plant where it would load the bank run material on to trucks to be transported to the screening plant. It would also be used at the screening plant to load the screened sand and small graded stone on to trucks for disposition to the various
215
ANNUAL REPORT
projects under construction; also it would be used at the North Avenue stone crushing plant to load crushed stone on to trucks for disposition to road con- struction jobs and to the granolithic sidewalk construction jobs throughout the city. It could also be used for light excavation work on roadway reconstruction work. At the present time all loading of screened sand and crushed stone must be done by hand which is an expensive procedure.
4. Thirty-ton Trailer: I recommend the purchase of this trailer for use in transporting our two power shovels. Each time either of the two shovels is to be moved it becomes necessary for us to hire a trailer for this purpose. This is not a satisfactory procedure as the trailer is not always available at the time it is wanted. Again I suggest the possibility of purchasing a used trailer for a nomi- nal sum.
5. Tandem Roller: This roller weights from five to seven tons and is a valuable piece of equipment for use in patching of roadways, construction of sidewalks and in new construction where a light and flexible unit is invaluable in performing work where the twelve or fourteen ton roller cannot be used.
6. Mechanical Sweeper: Again I recommend the purchase of a mechanical sweeper for use in street sweeping operations. Street sweeping and cleaning has always been done by hand methods. I believe it is evident to everyone that this is a slow and tedious job, also very expensive, not because of the total spent for this work, but because the area which can be covered is comparatively small and it cannot be done at frequent intervals. With the public demanding more of this service there are only two courses of action possible to remedy this situa- tion ; first, a substantial increase of double or more the present allotment of funds under the present method of hand sweeping; or second, the purchase of a mechani- cal sweeper. It is my firm opinion that the first recommendation would not be economical and would not produce satisfactory results. The second alternative is the only economical and satisfactory method of dealing with the problem at hand. At the present time over $2,000.00 is spent each year for this work. The purchase of a mechanical sweeper would cost approximately $5,000.00 and would be good for many years of service. A mechanical sweeper of the type which I would recommend sweeps a path five and one-half feet wide and travels at the rate of ten miles per hour while sweeping. It has a capacity of approxi- mately 35 cubic feet of refuse picked up from the street and it can also be used for spraying water on the streets as it sweeps or separately for dust laying pur- poses only. With these facts in mind it can easily be seen that at a small cost each day a tremendous amount of work can be done and the street sweeping problem will present little difficulty. Comparing work for work, cost for cost, distributed over a period of several years, there is only one alternative to follow in the interests of economy and performance and that is the purchase of a mechani- cal sweeper.
7. Ampere Welding Unit: With the large fleet of trucks and equipment ser- viced and repaired at our Garage, also the increasing amount of fabricating work which is being done, it is advisable that a welding unit be obtained, for use in this department. It is now necessary to hire welding apparatus and the annual bill is a sizeable amount. Such a unit can also be used for thawing water pipes. During severe cold spells we are confronted with the problem of restoring water service to houses when the service line from the main line to the house is frozen and occasionally the main line itself. A used engine will be purchased to furnish the motive power and a 1 K. W. auxiliary power unit for lighting and grinding purposes will be a part of the installation. It could be used also in case of a disaster such as the cyclone in lighting any one of our public buildings. I recom- mend the purchase of the necessary parts, the work of assembly to be done by our repair department.
Improvements:
1. Highland Avenue from Washington Street to the City Line: I have dealt with this construction previously in this report as a Chapter 90 project and merely wish to add that if the State and County authorities approve this project that the City make the necessary appropriation for the construction. I
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ANNUAL REPORT
also recommend that the water main be extended from Robinson Avenue ap- proximately 2,000 feet along Highland Avenue before construction of the road- way is completed, provided guarantees are signed by the abuttors.
2. Pleasant Street from Starkey Avenue to the newly reconstructed pave- ment: I have dealt with this construction previously in this report as a Chapter 90 project and again merely wish to recommend that the City appropriate funds for this project should the State and County approve funds for the construction. In connection with this project I recommend the City resurface Pleasant Street from a point just north of the railroad bridge to Starkey Avenue, using the type of pre-mixed asphalt material which was used in resurfacing the streets in the center of the city this past summer.
3. Collins Street from Newport Avenue to Mendon Road: I recommend this street be accepted between the points mentioned and its development some time in the future as a connecting link between Newport Avenue and Washington Street. At the present time there is no connecting road between Newport Avenue and Washington Street from Orr Street to the State line, which is a distance of more than a mile. I believe it advisable to develop a street which would tie together two sections of South Attleboro which are now separated.
4. Assessors' Plats: I recommend that funds be made available for as- sembling data with which additional assessors' plats may be made. There are 83 such plats completed which have been turned over to the Assessors' Depart- ment, but there is still considerable territory in the city to be covered by plats. I believe the possibility of using aerial surveys for this work is worth investiga- tion. The importance and value of these plats in assessing and for other purposes is sufficient to warrant consideration.
5. Guard Fences: I recommend the replacement of all our wooden guard rail with concrete posts and steel cables such as is used exclusively by the State along all their highways. Without exaggeration I believe this to be true, that wooden fences cannot be constructed which will furnish equal protection and also cost less than the concrete and steel cable type of guard fence. At the present time our guard fences are of the wooden post and rail type, all of which need repair and replacement. We have a total of approximately 25,000 feet of wooden guard fence which I recommend be replaced under a W. P. A. project which would cost the city approximately $9,000.00. The maintenance costs for wooden guard fences hardly warrant the extensive reconstruction of guard fences similar to the existing type.
6. Reconstruction of Read Street River Bridge: This project should be done without fail this year. The bridge is constructed entirely of timber supported on stone abutment walls. Large timber stringers span the river from abutment to abutment, on these stringers the floor planking of the bridge is attached. In the latter part of the year one of the stringers gave away and an investigation of the bridge revealed definite weaknesses in the remaining stringers. We immediately shored up and strengthened these stringers from underneath as a temporary measure. There is no alternative but a complete reconstruction of the bridge.
Various charts pertaining to the Highway Department follow:
H-SIDEWALKS AND CURBING GRANOLITHIC SIDEWALKS AND GRANITE CURB By City Forces
Location
Str. Curb Lin. Ft.
2-Ft. Cor.
Circle Curb
Gran. Walks Sq. Yds. 5.00
County Street
13.44
Dean Street
29.84
Foley Street.
10.79
Locust Street
25.13
Maple Street
29.86
Park Street
45.80
25.00
Peck Avenue
7.50
South Main Street.
2
54.76
Totals
2
162.36
84.76
Lin. Ft.
-
217
ANNUAL REPORT
STREET RECONSTRUCTIONS By W. P. A. Forces
Location
Str. Curb.
2-Ft. Cor.
Circle Curb
Gran. Walks Sq. Yds.
Maple Street
460.30
8
10.10
277.02
Rex Avenue
276.65
2
52.22
202.97
Totals.
736.95
10
62.32
479.99
W. P. A. SIDEWALKS AND CURBING PROJECT
Location
Str. Curb Lin. Ft.
2-Ft. Cor.
Circle Curb Gran. Walks Lin. Ft. Sq. Yds.
Ashton Road .
52.44
Benefit Street.
345.08
14
76.72
Brownell Street
133.76
2
105.69
Carpenter Street
150.00
1
21.24
42.20
Dean Street
6
11.00
173.46
Dunham Street.
102.00
2
11.00
155.50
East Fourth Street
84.40
4
80.38
Elizabeth Street
39.24
1
141.90
Emory Street.
186.22
9
279.42
Forest Street .
67.65
4
605.28
Fourth Street.
11.00
104.35
Franklin Street .
130.00
Garden Street.
78.50
Gardner Street.
50.84
George Street. 180.60
4
43.96
68.00
Hazel Street. .
470.94
12
10.57
391.20
Hawthorne Street
119.50
82.32
Hebron Avenue 87.52
2
116.20
Holman Street.
2
163.89
Horton Street.
126.35
8
149.80
James Street
314.48
10
11.00
222.80
Jefferson Street
2
89.80
Jewel Avenue.
41.17
2
31.60
Lafayette Street.
131.53
Linden Street.
307.37
10
523.30
Major Street
291.18
4
37.22
Maple Street
316.42
8
436.82
Martin Street.
240.11
4
21.87
181.00
Mechanic Street.
6
509.27
Mulberry Street
72.21
North Avenue
327.50
6
36.86
Park Street
77.00
Parker Street. 1550.57
35
34.55
717.80
Payson Street. 61.00
2
52.21
Peck Street.
4
290.00
Perrin Street
85.71
Pine Street . .
· 184.72
Pleasant Street.
342.38
Prairie Avenue.
172.51
2
Robert Street. 140.65
4
106.16
Roosevelt Street
215.63
4
26.02
29.43
Claflin Street.
56.90
2
59.66
East Street. 196.20
Elmwood Avenue
169.84
4
Holden Street.
Lin. Ft.
Lin. Ft.
218
ANNUAL REPORT
School Street .
2
307.23
Second Street.
2
61.93
Solomon Street.
121.37
2
94.80
South Main Street
394.12
18
611.24
State Street . .
43.81
2
Summer Street.
57.55
Tanager Road.
105.89
4
96.33
Thacher Street. 58.22
2
Twelfth Street.
284.02
2
Walter Street
208.64
8
22.00
219.00
Webber Street.
57.60
2
39.90
Totals
7,708.07
224
224.21
8,753.55
SEWERS, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
Caretaker at Beds.
$1,359.42
Maintenance and Improvement of Beds:
Labor.
$282.54
Material.
75.00
357.54
Insurance
99.76
Taxes:
Town of Seekonk
68.25
City of Pawtucket
15.12
83.37
Maintenance and Operation of Sewer System:
Labor.
355.42
City of Attleboro-
Water Charge
100.00
Material
294.49
749.91
$2,650.00
SEWER CONNECTIONS
Total connections January 1, 1940 1939
Buildings served.
2151
Connections added during 1940. 46
46
Total.
1985
2197
SEWER EXTENSIONS
Street®
Size
Length
Manholes
Maple Street.
8"
600 feet
Maple Street.
10"
1300 feet
11
Solomon Street
8"
687 feet
3
219
ANNUAL REPORT
STREET LIGHTING Number and kind of lights in use January 1, 1940
Kind
Number
Cost
1000 C. P.
59
$ 94.00 each
Sunset to 11:30 p. m.
1000 C. P. 33
110.00 each
All night lights
250 C. P. 5 45.00 each
All night lights
100 C. P.
45 22.00 each All night lights
100 C. P.
1 47.00 each
All night light
60 C. P.
1230
16.50 each
All night lights
60 C. P.
20
16.50 each
All night lights under railroad arches
Traffic Blinkers 2
29.04 each
24 hour flashing service
Street Lights placed during 1940-60 Candle Power
Date Placed
Street
Date Placed
Street
October 22 Palm Street
October 22. .... Hazelwood Avenue
October 22
Linden Street
December 11. .. Watson Avenue
October 22 Linden Street
December 11 .. Watson Avenue
October 22
Verndale Avenue
December 11 .. Maple Street
October 22
Hawthorne Avenue
December 11 . . Parker Street
October 22
Brown Street
December 11 .. Third Street
October 22
Parker Street
December 11 .. Horton Street
1000 Candle Power
Date Placed Street
September 23. . . North Main Street Parking Lot
September 23. . . North Main Street Parking Lot U/G
Number and kind of lights in use December 31, 1940
Kind
Number
Cost
1000 C. P.
60
$ 92.00 each
Sunset to 11:30 p. m.
1000 C. P.
33 108.00 each
All night lights
1000 C. P. U/G
1 69.00 each
Sunset to 11:30 p. m.
250 C. P.
5 40.00 each All night lights
100 C. P.
45 19.00 each
All night lights
60 C. P.
1243
16.50 each
All night lights
60 C. P.
20
16.50 each
All night lights under railroad arches
Traffic Blinkers
2
28.00 each
24 hour flashing service
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT Comparison of Itemized Expenditures for
1920
1938 $ 5,090.64
1939
1940
Resurfacing
$ 13,850.45
$ 4,538.64
$ 5,695.24
Drains Maintenance
1,556.53
1,858.32
2,583.07
1,756.16
Street Sweeping.
2,611.32
796.61
863.32
754.22
Street Patching
9,572.84
3,887.03
4,253.79
4,287.02
Street Cleaning
7,998.46
1,679.93
1,335.08
1,464.09
Sidewalk Maintenance.
5,142.73
731.04
692.76
706.99
Equipment, Maintenance
191.48
663.28
and Repair
Road Rollers
1,757.95
563.66
979.82
289.39
220
ANNUAL REPORT
Highway Auto Maintenance
726.70
917.55
743.74
Road Oil and Tar. . .
22,188.37
2,052.15
2,961.39
4,889.20
Bridges, Fences and Culverts Crushers.
608.04
1,341.66
1,714.93
1,966.71
185.42
529.89
1,025.03
1,024.44
Ten Mile River and Thacher Brook
711.26
66.58
104.65
37.54
Insurance .
2,062.41
724.13
1,657.13
1,573.90
Rent, Maynard St. Land ..
69.60
Vacations .
393.28
384.17
380.26
323.90
Signs, Clock and Numbers
344.00
279.51
111.43
204.41
Phones
39.65
74.76
55.16
Snow and Ice.
11,073.23
7,311.24
6,185.15
9,472.80
Unexpended Balance of 1919 Appropriation
19,981.13
Deferred Barn, Stone and Gravel Charges
955.95
Crosswalks.
222.11
Care of Common
335.85
Express, Freight, etc.
349.65
$102,697.28
$28,445.24
$30,868.23
$34,661.98
New Equipment .
3,665.80
6,000.00
3,475.00
16,691.27
(Listed as Machinery, Tools, etc., 1920)
Repair Division-Labor and
Material (Paid by Special
Accounts in 1920-1938) . .
9,000.93
8,025.75
*$106,363.08 $34,445.24
$43,344.16
$59,379.00
*These totals exclude Sidewalks and Curbing.
WATER DIVISION
This has been another busy year for the Water Department due to the numerous extensions being made to our main lines and the substantial increase in the number of new house connections made during the year, a reflection of a healthy growth in home building. The sizes of the main lines extended ranged from 6" to 10" in diameter, the total length of new extensions, 3.02 miles. There was an increase of 42 new services placed which was 61 per cent over 1939. The above work was done under W. P. A. projects and city work.
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