QUINCY PATRIOT LEDGER-James E. Cashman, bridge builder, has been signally honored for spanning the raging Winooski river between Burlington, Vt., and Winooski, the only means of direct travel between Burlington and Montreal. This unheralded engineering plan is all the more wonderful when one stops to consider that work on the bridge started last March and the bridge was dedicated last week. Added to this fact there remains some difficulties that were overcome when the floods hampered and for a time stopped construction on the bridge. In one instance a huge caisson was washed away by flood. Mr. Cashman is a former resident of Quincy having been born and educated in this city. He is the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John Cashman, who were well known by the older folk in the West Quincy district. At the dedication exercises Gov. Weeks of Vermont who made the dedication address paid a high compliment to Mr. Cashman. The bridge builder although confronted with three floods pushed the work ahead with such rapidity to astound all critics who prophesied that the bridge would not be completed within a month of the time set by Mr. Cashman. Unfavorable transportation conditions added to the difficulties as certain important building materials were often delayed for weeks. But for this the bridge would have been opened several weeks earlier. This is not Mr. Cashman's only contribution to the reconstruction in Vermont, however, as he has undertaken to build 11 bridges, the last of which will be completed about the first of November. Mr. Cashman is modest about his achievements and has the highest words of praise for the Detachment of the 1st Engineers of the famous first Division, U.S.A, stationed at Fort Dupont, Delaware, who were pushed to the banks of the Winooski last fall when the floods devastated the district. But for these men there would have been no travel across the river during the winter and spring months. While the dedication of the new bridge was taking place the clang of hammers could be heard as the old pontoon bridge was slowly being removed. The best tribute to the work of the Engineers may be obtained from statistics when it is learned that over a million automobiles and a like number of pedestrians crossed the river on the pontoon bridge in spite of the fact that the river was a raging torrent with rapid rise and fall, ice jams, and severe winter weather.
1876 - 1931 (54 years)