the contractor's yard at Bridgeport,
and were towed across the Sound on a scow. They were set up and braced
temporarily by the derrick boat, and then the floor and deck were
constructed in place.

On December 26th, 1909, a storm of unusual violence--unequaled in fact
for many years--swept over the Sound from the northeast; the waves beat
over the pier and broke loose some floor planks which had been only
tacked in position, but otherwise did no damage, and did not shift the
caissons in the least. The same storm partly destroyed a pier of
substantial construction less than a mile from the one in question.

Unfortunately, the work was let so late in the summer, and the
restrictions as to seasoning the concrete were enforced so rigidly, that
the work of setting the caissons could not be commenced until November
11th, thus the entire construction was forced into the very bad weather
of the late fall and early winter. As this involved very rough water and
much snow and wind, the work was greatly delayed, and was not completed
until the middle of January. The cost of the entire dock was about
$14,000.

The writer believes that the cost was much less than for masonry piers
by any other method of construction, under the existing circumstances of
wind, tide, and exposure.

It would seem that for many highway bridges of short span, causeways,
and similar structures, the use of similar caissons would prove
economical and permanent, and that they might be used very largely to
the exclusion of cribwork, which, after a decade or so, becomes a source
of constant maintenance charges, besides never presenting an attractive
appearance. Finally, in bridges requiring the most rigid foundations,
these caissons might readily be used as substitutes for open wooden
caissons, sunk on a prepared foundation of whatever nature, and still be
capable of incorporation into the finished structure.

DISCUSSION

WILLIAM ARTHUR PAYNE, M. AM. SOC. C. E. (by letter).--On the arrival of
the first barge load of brick, to be used in building a residence on the
estate to which this pier belongs, a severe northwest wind blew for two
days, after the boat was moored alongside, directly against the head of
the pier and the side of the boat. The effect on the pier was to crush
the fender piles and cause a settlement of one of the caissons at the
pier head on the west end. The caisson was knocked slightly out of
alignment, and a settlement toward the