The age-herald., 1897-11-23
COOSA BRIDGE CONDEMNED
The Railroad Commission Acted
 Yesterday.
IN AN UNSAFE CONDITION
A New Bridge Must Be COnstructed-0ld One Incapable of Repairs-The Report
 Will Soon Be Ready

The railroad commission has con- demned the bridge of the Birmingham and Atlantic company across the Coosa rlyer The following is the full report; To the Birmingham and Atlantic Rail-
 road Company, its Officers, Agents and
 Employees:
 Opinion of the railroad commission of Alabama in the matter of the alleged unsafe condition of the bridge of the Birmingham and Atlantic Railroad com pany rendered. the 22d day of Novem- Der, 1897.
 Complaints having been informally made to us alleging that the bridge of the Birmingham and Atlantic Railrsad company across the Coosa river. was in such an unsafe condition for passenger traffic as to endanger the lives of the travelling public passing over it. on the 18th day of October, 1897, accompanied by George s. Wilkins, professor of the chair of engineering in the University of Ala bama, and consulting engineer of the Alabama railroad commission, we made an inspection of said bridge which was again inspected by Professor Wilkins in oirder to verify his estimates, and submit the following carefully prepared report of Professor Wilkins as part of this opinion, in which he sets forth clearly and concisely the actual condition of said bridge and deduces the conclusion that it cannot be repaired in any way to make it safe.
 REPORT OF PROF. WILKINS. Tuscaloosa, Ala, Nov. IS, 1897. Railroad Commission of the State of Ala bama:
 Gentlemen: After a careful calcutta ton of the stresses in and a personal in spection of the bridge over the Coosa river on the Birmingham and Atlantic railroad I would suggest that the bridge be condemned for passenger traffic for the following reasons:
 All members of the truss $ are strained beyond that allowed by good practice. especially the upper chords and main web members. The actual and allowable loads, with the p5Ircsntage of overstIa ain, are shown on the accompanying strain sheet; also the data assumed for loading and calculations.
 The foor system I find is sufficiently strong for lthe present traffic. All of the connections are proportionally weak and most of them canont be strengthened.
 Quite a serious objection to using this bridge for a stamdard-g -guage track is the small clear width between trussas. Eleven feet Q110'). The average freight car is from eight to nine and one4haif feet wide. Owing to this narrowness, in case of deraifment, or an overhanging load the trusseS are in danger from a side knock.
 The shoe plates are not resting on the bed pates and rollers, as originally de- signed, the free ends have moved from thrse (3) to six 0) inches towards the center of the piers The free end of the No. span (No. 1 being the fallen span) has moved so that now 1t rests on five instead of s:ven CD rollers, as originally. Truss No. has moved to such an eXtent that six 6) inch bed platte was added, with this addition, four (D of the seven CD rollers are now tearing. One on the new bad platte and three on the old. The cause of this is a stretching of the lower chord or more probably a slight unequal sinking of the foundations of the cylindrical piers. The piers Nos. 1, and five from west bank are out of plumb to am aprr :ciable extent. This movement may be due to both of the above causes, and if due at all to the stretching of the chords, is a very seri- ous fau1t
 The bridge has besn strengthened and placed in as good condition as is possible under the circumstances, and I do not think it can be improved in any way to remedy the above described faults. Yours respectfully,
 GEO. $. WILKINS.
 Adopting said report as our rule of ac- Ition and the measure of our recomman- dation5, offboial duty as defined by sec tions 1129-1133 of the civil code of Ala bama, rend Ars it imperative that we condemn said bridge as unsafe and dangerous for passenger service and in- capable of such improvement by repairs as will remedy the affects set out in the repont of Prof. Wilkins, and make it safe. We. therefore, recommend as 'ireasonable and expedi=nt in order to promote the security, safety, convenience and accommodation of the public," that the Birmingham and Atlantic Railroad company abandon said bridge and build a new one in all things adequate to the passenger and freight traffic of said road, the same to be commenced at once and completed within a reasonable time.
 The Birmingham and Atlantic rai1roa d has its initial or stauting point at the