determine upon a design which would reduce as far as possible the use of structural steel. He submitted to the Commission a plan by which Section No. 3 should be largely constructed of reinforced concrete, the steel necessary for reinforcement being more easily obtainable than structural steel. Some structural steel, he stated, however, was necessary for the work and this the Commission found it possible to obtain in part from the Crenshaw Engineering & Construction Company, Inc., which had a contract with the New York Municipal Railway Corporation of Brooklyn for the reconstruction of its East New York yards. In the course of this reconstruction work it was necessary to remove some 900 tons of steel, which the Commission undertook to purchase at the highly favorable price of $27 a ton.

The agreement with the Crenshaw Company providing for the purchase by and the delivery to the Commission of this steel was approved by the Commission on October 26, 1917, and on November 2 by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment of The City of New York.

The purchase of some additional new steel will be necessary. At the close of the year the Commission's engineers were engaged in preparing the final plans upon the basis of a reinforced con

crete structure.

Routes Nos. 4 & 36, Sections Nos. 2 and 3; Station Finish at 34th Street and Times Square Stations.— The two stations mentioned are important points upon the Broadway subway in Manhattan and it was considered advisable by the Commission to let early contracts for their completion in order to permit of the extension of the operation of this subway from 14th street north to 42d street by or about the end of the year. Hence the contract was prepared and bids were received on July 18, 1917, providing for the completion of the two stations. Six contractors made proffers, the lowest bidder being A. W. King, the amount of whose bid was $178,722.22. On recommendation of the Chief Engineer, the contract was on the following day awarded to Mr. King and delivered on August 29, 1917.

Route No. 49, Sections Nos. 1 and 2; Station Finish.- Sections Nos. 1 and 2 of the Culver Rapid Transit railroad in Brooklyn were sufficiently advanced for the Commission to adopt

a contract for station finish on July 25, 1917, and call for the receipt of bids for August 15. When bids were opened it was found that the Mortenson Woodworking Company, Inc., of Brooklyn was the lowest bidder, at $666,188.50, three other bids being received, ranging in amount up to $1,096,267. The Commission awarded the contract on August 20 to the Mortenson Company and forwarded a report to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment to that effect. In recommending that the award be made, the Chief Engineer advised the Commission that he had been unable to certify definitely to the ability of the company to carry out its contract, but that the company had deposited a $10,000 certified check as security and he advised the award. Subsequently, the company notified the Commission that, owing to errors in its bid, it would be unable to carry out the contract and asked to be relieved of its obligation and that the certified check deposited with the bid be returned to it. The Board of Estimate declined to approve the contract. The Commission thereupon voted to rescind the award to the Mortenson Company with a proviso, however, that $1,000 should be deducted from the $10,000 certified check deposited by the company with the Commission, such sum to cover the cost of advertising and other losses and damage suffered by the City through the default of the Mortenson Company. This proviso was accepted on behalf of the company by Andrew Mortenson, its president, and the Commission on September 5, 1917, took formal action, rescinding the award and at the same time adopting a resolution calling for new bids to be received September 26, 1917.

On that date bids were obtained from the P. J. Carlin Construction Company, the lowest bidder, and six other bidders. The figure of the Carlin Company's proffer was $731,124. On recommendation of the Chief Engineer of the Commission an award was made to this company on September 28, 1917. The contract was subsequently approved by the Board of Estimate and delivered to the contractor on November 19, 1917.

Brooklyn and Manhattan Loop and Fourth Avenue Subway; Completion of Construction and Station Finish. This contract included a number of small items of work in both the Centre Street Loop subway and the Fourth Avenue subway, some of

which work had arisen subsequent to the practical completion of these lines, owing to unforeseen changes in operating conditions. A contract for this work was let to D. C. Serber, the lowest of three bidders, for $69,084.68 and was delivered on December 26, 1917.

Only one contract was awarded by the Commission during 1917 for track installation on the lines for operation by the Brooklyn company. This contract covered alterations in the two northbound tracks on the structure of the Manhattan bridge for an aggregate of about two thousand feet of track in order to provide sufficient clearance for train operation. On recommendation of the Chief Engineer the Commission directed the Secretary to request five contractors, specialists in this form of work, to submit lump sum bids. Such requests were made, five proffers being received, the lowest, of $925, from the firm of Kaufman and Garcey, to whom an award was made, the contract being delivered on May 9. The work was performed early in the summer.

LINES FOR OPERATION BY THE INTERBOROUGH RAPID TRANSIT COMPANY

As

Route No. 31; Livonia Avenue Rapid Transit Railroad. related in the Annual Report of 1916 an award was made by the Commission on June 1 of that year to Dennis E. Conners, lowest of six bidders, at $1,376,122, for the construction of Route No. 31, the Livonia Avenue Elevated branch of the Eastern Parkway subway in Brooklyn. This is a two-track elevated extension from the connection with the Eastern Parkway line at Buffalo avenue over and along East 98th street and Livonia avenue to New Lots avenue, the terminus of the Interborough system in Brooklyn. Subsequently, in 1916, there were received bids for 52,000 tons of structural steel, in which was included the steel for the Livonia Avenue line. The Commission in the meantime had held under consideration the Conners bid, but subsequently took action, on June 29, 1916, rejecting both the bids for steel and the proffer of the Conners concern.

The Commission waited several months in the hope that the steel market might improve and lower prices be obtained before proceeding to invite new bids for this contract. On December

20, 1916, a contract was adopted and bids invited for the construction of this line. Three forms of contract were submitted to bidders, one calling for a supply of the requisite steel, another for the erection of the same and the construction work incidental thereto, and a third in which provision was made for all of the construction work including the furnishing of the steel. Bids were received under all three forms of contract on January 10, 1917. Of the three proposals for the furnishing of steel, that of the American Bridge Company, Inc., at $1,431,755, was lowest, while the bid of W. G. Cooper for construction excluding furnishing structural steel was lowest, at $257,164, among six bidders. The total of the proffer of the American Bridge Company and of Mr. Cooper, $1,688,919, being lower than the bid of the Oscar Daniels Company, at $1,775,508, for construction including steel, the Commission on recommendation of its Chief Engineer on January 17, 1917, awarded the contracts to the American Bridge Company and to Mr. Cooper, subsequently rejecting all bids received for construction including steel. Contracts were delivered on February 28 and the work is now in progress. The construction of Route No. 31, as stated above, represents the only general construction contract awarded by the Commission on Dual System work during the year and was one of the six such contracts remaining to be awarded.

Routes Nos. 4 & 38, Sections Nos. 1A and 1-4, Inclusive; Station Finish. On December 4, 1916, the Commission received bids for the construction of station finish for all stations on the Seventh Avenue subway between the Battery and 14th street. Eight proffers were made, the lowest being from the Seventh Avenue Construction Company, Inc., of $399,770,575. In connection with the receipt of this bid, it was stated by the representative of the lowest bidder that the papers incorporating his company had not arrived from Albany, the bid in this particular thus not complying with the rules. The Commission took the situation under consideration and on December 11 voted to reject all of the bids and at the same time noted a protest from Thomas Dwyer, the second lowest bidder, who contended that inasmuch as the bid of the Seventh Avenue Construction Company, Inc.,

was defective through the non-filing of incorporation papers as required, the award should be made to him. The Commission, however, declined to accede to Mr. Dwyer's request and authorized a readvertisement of the contract, new bids being received on December 28, the Seventh Avenue Construction Company again being lowest among three bidders, with a proffer of $389,880,275. The Commission on January 4, 1917, awarded the contract to the Seventh Avenue Company, the contract being delivered on February 15, 1917. The work is now in progress.

Routes Nos. 19 & 22, Sections Nos. 1 und 1A; Station Finish. -The Commission on January 3, 1917, received bids for the construction of station finish for the six stations embraced in the subway portion of the Southern Boulevard, Westchester Avenue and Pelham Bay Park branch of the Lexington Avenue subway. Two bids were received, the Seventh Avenue Construction Company, Inc., being lowest, at the figure of $239,616.05. On recommendation of the Chief Engineer the Commission on January 9 awarded the contract, which was delivered on February 15.

Route No. 48, Sections Nos. 1 and 2; Station Finish.- Bids for the construction of station finish for three stations on the portion of the Park Place, William and Clark Street branch of the Seventh Avenue subway in Manhattan were received by the Commission on April 18, 1917, with proffers from five bidders, among whom John B. Roberts, at $139,919.22, was lowest. On recommendation of the Chief Engineer the Commission on April 25, 1917, made an award of the contract to Mr. Roberts. The contract was delivered on June 9, and work was begun early in August.

Route No. 12, Sections Nos. 1A, 1, 2 and 3; Station Finish.The work included in this contract covers the construction of station finish for nine stations on Flatbush avenue and Eastern parkway, Brooklyn. One of the stations is on the line of the Brighton Beach connection between the present Brighton Beach line and the Fourth Avenue subway, the others being on the extension of the First Subway in Brooklyn on Flatbush avenue and Eastern parkway, with the exception that reconstruction of a portion of the present Atlantic Avenue terminus of the First