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Assuming that the average number of vehicles per day and the average tonnage per day are the same throughout the year as during the periods of counting, we deduce the following results:

TRAFFIC FOR YEAR 1909. -- TABLE No. 2

Location of bridges	Period of count	Street cars	Heavy wagons	Light wagons	Carriages	Automobiles	Pedestrians	*Gross tonnage	**Total value
6th St.	1909	534,652	333,829	474,171	57,013	147,095	9,608,406	13,240,010	*1,879,140,750
9th St.	1909	738,650	90,812	150,490	6,205	9,709	1,877,268	14,732,130	2,201,473,500
16th St.	1909	. . .	115,851	202,429	. . .	. . .	1,991,988	967,544	102,201,375
30th St.	1909	. . .	58,875	60,919	3,979	2,664	577,320	398,430	44,233,500
43d St.	1909	. . .	42,522	42,559	5,147	11,351	681,710	311,090	32,478,500

TRAFFIC FOR YEAR 1909. -- TABLE No. 2A***

Location of bridges	Period of count	Passenger vehicles	Delivery vehicles	Single trucks	Double trucks	Pedestrians	*Gross tonnage	**Total value
Seventh Street	29,273	351,400	19,929	75,555	2,127,585	1,159,084	149,862,600

* In estimating the gross tonnage, the following average weights were used: a street car with average load - 19 tons; a heavy wagon (including team), averaging loaded and empty vehicles - 4 tons; a light wagon (including team), averaging loaded and empty vehicles - 1.75 tons; an automobile or carriage (including team) - .9 tons; pedestrians and passengers are figured at about 150 pounds apiece.

** Estimating heavy and light wagons, including team and load at $125 per ton; carriages and automobiles, including teams, at $300 per ton; cars at $160 per ton and live stock at $200 per ton, we get an average tonnage value of $150 over the Sixth Street, Seventh Street and Ninth Street bridges, and $125 over the Sixteenth Street, Thirtieth Street and Forty-third Street bridges.

*** See Note under Table 1A.

Railroad Bridges. -- The bridge carrying the heaviest traffic is that of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad, a part of the Pennsylvania System, which forms one of the links in the main line of this railroad system between the East and West. Across this bridge are carried each year about 2,750,000 passengers, 32,000 tons of mail, and 53,000,000 tons of freight and general railroad traffic, besides about 2,135,000 pedestrians,* making it one of the greatest throats of commerce in the country. This is a double deck bridge of 4 tracks, 2 tracks on each deck, with a wide footway on the lower deck. It is to be noted that the

*The figures for pedestrians, passengers and general tonnage are taken from the affidavit of John C. Perrott. The tonnage of mail was obtained from the report of the U. S. Post-office Department.

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Last modified on 22-Dec 1999
Design format: copyright 1997-1999 Bruce S. Cridlebaugh
Original document: Frederick Law Olmsted, 1910