The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-04-28
MAKING ESTIMATES
THE COST OF TRACTS OFFERED
FOR FAIR GROUNDS.
ENGINEER SUGDEN'S FIGURES.
DALE AVENUE TRACT WOULD COST
$4,000 TO $4,000.

Construction of the Track and All
Necessary Grading-Trnck Ought
to he at West End of the Property
and Buildings on High Ground Mt
East End-Engineer Will Survey
Ten Brock Property Tomorrow.
viii Report on Day Following.
Meeting of Directors May BE Held
Wednesday Question May Then
BE Settled.
Estimates of the cost of putting the
sites offered to the Savannah Fair Asso-
citation in condition for holding the State
Fair, will be furnished the Site Commit
tee of the directors day after tomorrow
by Mr.. Percy Sugden, the civil engineer,
who has been employed to make survey
OF the three tracts under consideration.
Mr. Sugden said yesterday that he has
already been over the Dale avenue and
the Screven tracts, and that he expects
to make a survey of the Ten Brock tract
tomorrow. His report to the committee
will give it the information it has sought
for transmission to the directors. A meet
ing of the directors will probably be held
chairman of the committee, believes it
will be ready by that day to report.
Mr.. Sugden said he had made his sur
vey of the Dale avenue tract, but that
he had not had opportunity to make up
his estimate. Though he could not state
positively, he said that he thought 1t
would cost 5000 or 5000 to build a race
track on the Dale avenue tract and do
the necessary grading, provided a GER
tain plan that he had hit upon for cheap
ening the outlay were followed. Other
wise, the cost would be $4,000
The plan Mr.. Sugden will propose will
be to have the race track laid off on the
west end of the tract, making it touch
near Waters road, instead of near Bee
road, on the east end, as was contem-
plated by the Site Committee. in the
event of the acceptance of the tract BY
such a plan, there would be less grading
necessary than would be required were
the track built further east.
There is less elevation to the western
portion of the tract than there is to the
eastern. The slant is toward the west,
and it therefore follows that, the farther
removed the track may be from the west
ern boundary of the tract, the deeper will
be the cut required on the east side or
the higher the bank on the west side in
the construction. With this increase in
depth of the cut or in the hight of the
bank would be a corresponding increase
in the cost of construction, Mr. Sugden
said.
In the construction of track
where the land is not absolutely
level, the engineer said. a cut cannot be
made without grading the land inside the
A VII he
of the track must be afforded. If cut
offers obstruction to the view, then the
ground on the inside must be leveled.
Consequently. said Mr.. Sugden, the far
Their the track on the Dale avenue land
might be laid off to the east the deeper
would be the cut and the greater the
quantity of earth that would have to be
removed from inside the track.
An idea of the committee has been that
the fair buildings should be located as
near the city as possible, if the Dale
avenue property were chosen, but Mr..
Sugden believes there would be an add
vantage in having them on the east side
where the land is high and of sandy
character IL they were built on the west
side, which is nearer the city, there would
be the need for constructing the race
track toward the east. The ground on
tho west too, is mixture of sand and
clay, and would become muddy and soft
in wet weather. 1t would not be we'll
suited for the erection of stable buildings
and, when wet would be a decided in
convenience to visitors to the fair.
Then, too, if the track were built to-
ward the east, there would be some diff
Guilty caused by the canal that runs
through the western portion of the land.
This canal would have to be filled in for
considerable part of it's length were
the track built on the east but built
more to the west, it would only need to
be filled where the track would cross it.
The cost of putting the Screven tract
in condition, Mr.. Sugden said, would be
considerable, for the reason that the land,
though level, is virgin, and II would be
expensive to clear it of the trees. Not
only would the trees have to be cut down,
but the stumps would have to be remov-
ed and the holes made thereby filed up.
Those who favor the Ten Brock site
viii await with interest the result of Mr.
Sugden's investigation there. Stockhold-
ers and the public generally will be inter-
ested in the action of the directors at their
next meeting. One of the directors said
yesterday that he believes the question of
site will then be sttled.
Mr.. Jackson declared that he Is pre-
JUDGED i'm favor of no site, but that he
is only anxious to obtain the one Of
fering the greatest advantages and that
might be chosen by the directors to the
greatest profit to the stockholders of the
Fair Association and the people of
Savannah. He is impressed. he said, by
popular demand that he has discovered
exists for the Dale avenue tract. He
favors the idea of a meeting of the
stockholders to settle the question of a
site, but believes one would only be want
ed in the event that any other selection
than Of the Dale avenue tract should be
made. II that tract were chosen by the
directors. he said he felt fully assured
that there would be no protest from the
stockholders.
1t is believed generally chat the cost of
putting the Ten Brock property IN CON
dition for fair grounds will be materially
less than that shown by the estimate of
expense at the Dale avenue trait that will
be provided by Mr. Sugden and many
take that to mean that the directors will
find 1t 40 the interest OF the Fair AssocFa-
ton 10 select the Ten Brock tract From
present indications. however, it would
seem that. unless some wide disparity be-
tween the cost OF the work required upon
che two tracts should be shown by Mr..
Sugden. the choice of the directors will
be for Dale avenue.