The Times from San Mateo, California • Page 24

Saturday, October 13. 1962 THE TIMES WEEKEND Page 3A Hillsborough, Eichlcr Highlands and other outlying areas, which contract with the city to tii' into city linos. The need for early expansion is clearly indicated, reports City Engineer Smith. What else does the department supervise? The weed abatement program, operation of the Seal Slough, better known as the Marina Lagoon, drainage basin. The flood control project now serves a dual public purpose, providing an increasingly popular area for water sports in San Mateo.

And what else is keeping the department busy these days? The Nineteenth avenue freeway construction project, which although under complete supervision of the slate division of highways has required the city engineering department to provide tie ins and dead ends for such streets as Yew and Borel avenues. It has also accelerated the completion of the final strip of the Alameda de las Pulgas to a four lane major north south thoroughfare in the city of San Mateo. In his spare time, City Engineer Smith has had a hand in helping draft the downtown off street parking proposal, soon to he submitted officially to tho city council. The department provided the necessary traffic counts and traffic studies and in addition Engineer Smith has been participating in the studies underway on the proposed $35 million county wide road bond issue. When Rapid Transit was a topic of major concern in the city and county, the engineering department had to dig into a myriad of local problems related to its FORTY SECOND AVENUE it looked bfor th recent resurfacing.

and highways, borings under El Gamine Real and the Bayshore freeway. "It's our job to be sure we pick the light route and minimize the inconvenience to the public," notes Bei t. And one of the biggest cily services lie must maintain is the cily dump. "Bert's down in the dumps," is said with a chuckle and a grin, at the city hall, but only those who've been down to the dump with Rert Smith know just what that means. It has been one of the city's biggest headaches in years past but the result will be reclamation through fill and cover method of land which already is valued at about $20,000 an acre.

Forty acres are already reclaimed. It. will in time provide the cily with beautiful park land along the bay. It can in time provide the city with another lucrative golf links. "liver think of what il would be like lo be without a city dump?" Conic to think of if, the possibility probably has seldom occurred to anyone.

"It's just as important as an adequate water supply," comments Bert "And it's going to be as continuous a need. It's a tremendous demand to eliminate the refuse not garbage jnsf Ihe annoying refuse, the old bed springs, mattresses, the garden clippings, the old bird cage," he adds. "It's almost a treasure hunt sometimes, too," grins Smith. "You never know what you're going to find down there. One lime, one of the churches gave up on its old pipe organ ihc hoys at.

the dump wrapped it up ami rushed it to Fresno where lliey sold it for Two years ago the city had to spend $25,000 on a chain link fence to increase the dump capacity. Attesting to the major usage of Ihc facility, some 10,000 private mitos use its services a month or JOOO a day. But not loo long ago Smith had a special headache in the form of a demand by Ihc state water pollution control board thai Ihe city do something about keeping the debris at the dump from polluting Ihe hay walei s. That was a tough one, but Smith finally hit upon the idea of having a dredge dig a trench in the outside, removing some SO, 000 yards of mud and transferring it to create an earthen barrier between the filled dump land and the bay water. It my "imj to provide the first major connection into Foster City, PILE DRIVERS firm a base for the piers of the $600,000 Brewer Island hridge, spanning and extending Hillsdale boulevard across Marina lagoon projection.

Smith joined in a report on 2H proposed grade separations, working with a private engineering firm. One of the city's loughest problems the ITilldale grade separation was originally plotted to its most realistic possible solution at the time by Knginecr Smith who decided that providing an underpass at Hillsdale by moving the railroad tracks some 45 to 55 feet westward would at least help solve Ihe problem. From his desk it passed onto others with Bert's admonition, "Take a good look at it, let us know if it can be improved. Give us your ideas on it." No one could come up with a better solution, which would relain undisturbed the high ly valuable commercial center at Hillsdale. (Currently the project has bogged down, but that phase or it had long been out of the bauds of the city engineering department).

And unexpected demands upon the department crop up periodically as San Mateo and neighboring areas continue to. expand and develop. For example, Die department currently is supervising the cons! ruction of a bridge spanning Marina Lagoon or Seal Slough at the extension of Hillsdale boulevard onto Brewer island. II has had to guide the laying of a major water main from Crystal Springs load to Brewer island, along cily streets.