A section of the Dover Street Bridge on the Boston side, which had been destroyed by fire last August, has been entirely reconstructed, the work being done by the day labor force of the Boston Transit Department.

Appropriations have been provided for the construction of a new bascule bridge between Boston and Chelsea in place of the existing temporary pile bridge which was constructed about nine years ago.

The bridge over the Boston & Albany Railroad at Cambridge street, Allston, will be rebuilt during 1922.

FERRY SERVICE.

Two new steel ferryboats, the "Lieutenant Flaherty" and the "Ralph J. Palumbo," have been built and are now in commission. They have been equipped with special pumps and nozzles for assisting the Fire Department in the event of waterfront fires.

The ferryboat "Noddle Island" had its machinery completely overhauled and repaired and a new superstructure built providing for four lines of roadway traffic.

As a result of the large appropriation you have authorized for the rehabilitation of the Ferry Service, we now have seven boats with a teaming capacity of more than one hundred per cent of that provided heretofore. Two old ferryboats, the "D. D. Kelly' Kelly" and "General Hancock," which were unfit for further service, have been sold.

Designs have been completed, and we are now ready to advertise for proposals for the reconstruction of two ferry entrances providing for two lines of traffic entering and leaving the boats, in place of the existing roadway which permits only a single line of traffic with the consequent delays caused thereby.

Engineering parties from this department have been loaned to the Institutions, Fire, Hospital and Public Buildings Department, and an appreciable saving in the cost of engineering work has been accomplished.

A new wall was constructed along the line of the Roxbury canal where the old bulkhead and walls had collapsed in the rear of the Paving, Sanitary, Sewer and Water yards and the City Hospital, and the canal dredged to allow larger barges to deliver coal to the hospital at a saving of approximately $1 per ton per year on coal for the Hospital Department.

PAVING SERVICE.

In the Highway Division we have continued your policy of reconstructing the main traffic arteries to the suburban sections of the city, as well as the heavy traffic business streets in the city proper. Among the more important highways are:

Chelsea street, Charlestown, widening.

Chelsea street, from Maverick square to Day square, East Boston.

Dorchester street, from Broadway to Eighth street, South Boston.

Dorchester avenue, from Fields corner to Peabody square, Dorchester.

Morton street, from Harvard to Canterbury street, Dorchester.

Washington street, from Roslindale square to West Roxbury parkway, West Roxbury.

Walnut avenue and Sigourney street, from Columbus avenue to Glen road, Roxbury.

Columbus avenue, from Roxbury Crossing to Seaver street, Roxbury.

Centre street, from Columbus avenue to Green street, Jamaica Plain.

Green street, from Centre to Call streets, Jamaica Plain.

Centre street, from Allandale street to Spring street, West Roxbury.

Beech street, from Centre street to Poplar street, West Roxbury.

Portland street, from Hanover to Causeway streets, city proper.

Merrimac street, from Haymarket square to Portland street, city proper.

Friend street, from Union to Causeway streets, city proper.

Richmond street, from Hanover street to Atlantic avenue, city proper.

Market street, Brighton, from Washington street to Western avenue.

Cambridge street, from Charles river to the Boston & Albany Railroad bridge, Brighton.

Hyde Park avenue from Clarendon Hills to Cleary square, Hyde Park. River street, from the railroad bridge to Fairmount avenue, Hyde Park. Charles street, from Beacon to Cambridge streets, city proper — street widened to 80 feet and permanently paved.

Chestnut Hill avenue, from Beacon street to Commonwealth avenue widened to 80 feet. In this connection the area between Beacon street and the Brookline line was completed with a reserved area providing a 65-foot roadway around Cleveland circle.

Poplar street, from Roslindale to Hyde Park line. The widening of North Beacon street, from Market street to the Watertown line, Brighton.

Construction of Stuart street, from Huntington avenue to Washington street, city proper.

Construction of a new roadway through Franklin Park, from Morton street to the Arborway.

SEWER SERVICE.

Approximately 22,000 linear feet of sewers and surface drains have been constructed, the most important of which are:

Roslindale branch of Stony brook.

Muddy river conduit in Brookline avenue, Roxbury. Rebuilding of the old wooden sewer in Chatham street, city proper.

Extending the Lubec street overflow in East Boston. Necessary sewers for the widening of Chelsea street, Charlestown.

Construction of sanitary sewer in Parker avenue and North Harvard street, Brighton.

Extension of the Farragut road overflow, South Boston.

Construction of a sewer for the relief of the City Point section of South Boston, where floodings had occurred for years.

Pumping engine No. 5 at the Calf Pasture pumping station has been completely overhauled at an expense of approximately $100,000.

STREET CLEANING SERVICE.

A new Elgin motor-driven pick-up machine has been purchased; and by the use of car sprinklers and motordriven flushers a more sanitary method of cleaning streets has been made possible, particularly in the downtown section and on the main arteries.

SANITARY SERVICE.

The City Council awarded to Coleman Brothers, Inc., the lowest bidder, after public advertisement, a contract

for the disposal of ashes, garbage,and refuse for a period of ten years commencing July 1, 1922, at a total cost of $3,795,000.

WATER DIVISION.

Approximately 50,000 linear feet of water pipe were relaid throughout the city. The mains taken out were small and nearly filled up. Their replacement with larger mains has made a notable improvement in the supply of water for household and fire purposes.

About 2,500 feet of 24-inch pipe, laid in 1885, in Perkins street, West Roxbury, were relaid with 36-inch pipe. This work is the first step in a plan to afford an adequate second high service supply from the Metropolitan mains.

The 36-inch high service main in Harrison avenue has been completed over the railroad bridge near Broadway, greatly improving the high service supply to the high value district of the city proper.

Six and one-half miles of old mains were cleaned in East Boston and Brighton, the carrying capacity of which had been greatly reduced by filling up. Their restoration to the original size of the pipe provides a great improvement in the supply, particularly for fire protection.

In cooperation with the United States Government, a much needed improvement has been made in the firefighting facilities at the United States Public Health Service Hospital in West Roxbury.

Pitometer waste surveys have been completed of the South Boston distribution system, a portion of the South End system, the high service system in the city proper, Roxbury and the greater portion of Dorchester, and a portion of the low service system of the city proper. Work is now in progress on a section of the low service system of Roxbury and the Back Bay. A large number of leaks have been located and stopped, with an appreciable decrease in the cost to the city for consumption.

The work of installing meters, in compliance with the statute, has been carried on. Approximately 3,000 new water meters were installed during the year.

HIGH PRESSURE FIRE SERVICE.

The two pumping stations of the High Pressure Fire Service have been completed and were placed in opera

tion last November. One in the Edison station on Atlantic avenue, opposite Pearl street, is equipped with two electrically-driven, 4-stage centrifugal pumps, each of a capacity of 3,000 gallons per minute, at 300 pounds pressure. The equipment in the Lincoln Power Station of the Boston Elevated Railway Company consists of two steam turbine-driven, 3-stage centrifugal pumps, each of a capacity of 3,000 gallons per minute, at 300 pounds pressure.

During the year over 4,000 linear feet of 12-inch, 16-inch and 20-inch high pressure pipe were laid in extending the system and twenty-one new hydrants were established.

In submitting the final report of my service as Commissioner of Public Works, I beg leave to express to your Honor my deep appreciation of the constant support and assistance which you have so generously and whole-heartedly given to me.

Your administration covered the most trying period in the history of the city, when the Federal requirements during the World War necessitated the abandonment of important activities of this department in particular. Nevertheless a radical improvement has been made under your direction in every branch of this department. Practically every official and employee ranking below the division heads has received a generous increase in salary or wages. Unnecessary positions have been abolished without entailing hardship through the discharge of superannuated employees, and invariably promotions have been made on merit with due regard for seniority and with no consideration on account of political preferment. In my opinion the morale of the department has greatly benefited by your courteous and generous treatment of the employees.

I desire also to express my appreciation of the loyal support of the great majority of the supervisory officials. and employees who withstood the temptations for greatly increased compensation in other fields. Without their loyalty, the various activities of this department would have been seriously hampered.

Respectfully submitted,

THOMAS F. SULLIVAN, Commissioner of Public Works.