The more things change the more they stay the same as the old saying goes. The Kingsbridge sewer project 120 years ago sounds much like the Con Ed gas main replacement here in Riverdale and Kingsbridge and the Bronx. Con Ed contractors were over 2 years working on my block alone and they still have many surrounding streets to complete and more still to start. They started back in March 2018.
But of more interest is the price of the Kingsbridge sewer project started in 1899 for a contracted price of $804 Million dollars ! This was a enormous amount of money in 1899. To put into perspective how large the 1899 sewer project cost in present day dollars in 2021 calculating with inflation it equates to over $25 BILLION DOLLARS. A drain on any budget then or now.