The age-herald., 1900-08-15
EXCELLENT WORK OF
 ROAD DEPARTMENT
Report Filed by Col. J. F. B. Jack
 son, Commissioner.
SOME INTERESTING FACTS
County Highways Have Been Extend ed and Improved and Bridges Built Road Fund in Splendid Con-
 dition-Report in Full

The road department of Jefferson County
 is the subject of an interesting reportdiled with the Board of Revenue by Commission
 CT J. F. B. Jackson for the period cover ing his administration.
 The report covers the workings of the
 department in detail and was made on the eve of the retirement of the board, which held it's last meeting yesterday and ad- journed. Following is the report in full: To the Honorable Board of Revenue of Jeff ferson County and Hon. J. P. Stiles, Judge of Probate:
 Below please find summary of the work which has been accomplished during your
 administration by the road department:
 We found on entering the work that the county had no tools on hand for road bulld-
 ing.
 The department owed an Indebtedness to
 overseers and contractors of $3530o Thls
 amount has been paid. The law authorizing
 my appointment says l shall appoint not
 more than eight sub-overseers, their pay
 to be $2 per day for every days actual
 work. We have never had but six. The aV-
 craze of their months wages has been
 about $37 per month. We have had no road
 overseers, working the hands under fore
 men, I have devoted much of my entire
 time to discharging the duties Of two over
 seers, as well as my general duties. we
 have worked all the roads, have built some
 new roads, and made several changes, re-
 ducing the grades. We have built twenty
 five miles of macadamized roads of gravel
 and slag We have built one new iron bridge
 costing $5,5G0 across the Cahaba river
 The county now has forty iron bridges,
 two hundred miles of road and 1,2bI
 miles of road in the county. We found
 when the work commenced 1,2S6 principal
 ly small wooden bridges, about rotten. We
 have removed S37 of the openings, replac- ing them with terra cotta pipe, put In about 200 stone cuverts, made some loruS
 where we found good bottoms and thrown out several bridges, making reduction or the 1,sS6 openings to 40.
 l will remove during the year about 2o0 more, replacing them with terra cotta and stone which will be permanent and of no expense hereafter. We will reduce the wooden openings this year to l9o. During the next two years every wooden bridge can be taken out and replaced with iron bridges if desirable.
 We have on hand thirty mules, fifteen wagons and harness and one one-horse wagon and harness. We had two mules and wagons which were too small for our work that were sold, the money being turned back into the county treasury. The original cost of the mules and wagons was $244 They were sold for $250, after nearly one years service.
 We now have on hand a splendid out
 
 and harness, four road machines, forty scrapers, sixteen large road plows a good supply of picks, shovels, crowbars, mailets and axes sufficient for the work in hand to be pushed. The outfit cost about $S,5OO. We have 1000 stone mile posts which cost 50 cents each for getting them out. We have about 800 marked and in position,
 which cost 50 additional for each post. Ali will be placed in position in October, which will stop all expense in that direction here after.
 We have run the road machines over somthing like 600 miles of the work, and they are still working, leaving the road in
 fine condition. These machines execute the work at about one-fourth the cost of labor. We will be able to macadmize more roads
 after the November collections commence. The road department owes nothing. This is a statement of money on hand: Ten per cent. fund, St, 629, less in terest payable this year, $45O0, leaving available amount..... ....S ,6B6 g Bridge fund available. .. .. ...... 1929 9 Two-dollar fund.-. ... eco. ..... 10, 250 40 Total amount available. .. .. ..s15, ,155 94 My connection with the board has been very satisfactory. My accounts have been serutinized closely, but justly. You retire with my best wishes. MT. F. W. Mccarthy clerk, has been courteous and very accom- modating, for which he has my thanks. J. F. B. JACKSON, Commissioner of Roads