The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-07-09
Viaduct Scene of Great Activity
and Trackage Being
Laid.
WILL BE FINISHED
BEFORE NEXT YEAR
New Road Will Offer Many Ad-
vantages Especially to Resi-
dents of Far East End
Of City.

on East Marshall street. between
Fourteenth and Twenty first, forty five
expert steel workers are daily toiling
beneath burning July sun. stepping
lightly over a lattice work of slim but
, strong Orders, walking high above the
earth along the slim lines of steel bars,
jumping with an almost cat-like quick
ness here and there. pushing, SHOW
ing and guiding massive, hundred ton
supports into place-and all flirting
with death every minute of their work
ing day.
These men are building a yiaduct-a
massive stretch of steel and concrete.
half mile long. which is to span
valley and connect Richmond with sew
eral of her recently annexed suburbs.
The undertaking Is being put through.
by the Richmond and Henrico railroad
company The officials of which hope
the project viii mean a profit for them
They are certain that Ii will mean
profit for residents of Richmond in
general and those living along the pros
posed line of the new street railroad in
! particular
And If surface indications count for
aught, II would seem that the company
officers should not he disappointed in
either Of their desires. Among the
numerous advantages the new road viii
offer to It's patrons is the running of
schedule ten minutes shorter than
that Of any other route. into the same
localities Not only VIII the route be
shorter but IL win be direct, from the
purely residential TO the business sec
ton of the city. without necessitating
a transfer Then too It's tracks Win
run into a section which heretofore has
been entirely without street car facili
ties, and will transfer TO all the other
lines
I Possesses Many Advantages
In short the new company possesses
( all the advantages Of a new corncern.
added TO those of the older rival con
Germ, the cars OF which latter are at
I disposal ~ the patrons of the former
And all this means advantages for
the street car patrons. The action
facilities are to be increased by a good
! Iy proportion, without extra cost to the
every day resident
! To those persons living In the neigh
horhood OF Church Hin. or in Fulton,
the new road may mean an increase In
real estate values For one thing the
time saving of time in that section
Second, and OF ALMOST equal import
anee is the fact that an what has here
tofore been considered a rather obtec-
tionabie feature to the trip into the
localities in question will be eliminated
I by the viaduct.
The viaduct will do away with the
necessity Of passing through that seq
tion of the city chiefly populated by
negroes, Instead OF passing through.
II will pass over thigh In the air
The Objectionable quarters will not
even be seen
May Mean More settlers.
All this is expected to cause a con-
siderable increase in the number Of
settlers over Church Hnl way. for
that neighborhood is admittedly ideal
for senisubarban home.
And so with the joint purpose of
helping both themselves and the pub
lie. resident w s. Forbes, Secretary
and Treasurer John c. Hagan. Vice
/. President w. F. Jenkins and Atter-
ney Samuel Kelly, the four men TO
whose efforts the new road Is due,
are pushing the actual work of con-
struction to as rapid a conclusion as
is possible.
/ Conditions are suspicious, too. and.
according to MIR. Kelly. the last rail
will have been laid. and cars viii be
( passing back and forth over the
tracks before the end of the present
year.
| Thus far tracks have been laid In
the west end of the city. beginning
at Brook avenue. running along that
thoroughfare to Baker street, out
Baker 10 Fifth. and down Fifth 10
Broad. where the line connects with
the tracks of the Virginia Passenger
and Power Company: at Eleventh
street the new tracks begin again.
running out to Marshall street. and
along that highway to Fourteenth
street, where the viaduct begins.
So much has been done In the West
End. In the eastern section of the
| city more than two hundred laborers
are busy at the present writing lay
ing tracks from Fulton, through
Church Hin and other settlements to-
ward the viaduct. Ii is both expected
and confidently predicted that they
Will have completed their work with
in four months at the outside.
Work Nearing Completion.
And in the meantime, while the
| laborers are busy laying the steel rails
(which incidentally are of the larg-
| est, heaviest and strongest variety
manufactured, the expert steel work
ers mentioned In the beginning of
this article are at work on the via
duct rushing that to completion
with speed. and IN fashion that
| Is most satisfactory to the company
officials. They, too, expect to COM
plete their work In about four months.
| Consequently, unless present plans
will miscarry greatly, the laborers will
arrive at the Twenty-first street end
OF the viaduct just about the time
+, when the steel workers will be pack
ing up their tools. Then the laborers
| will place tracks across the viaduct
ITSELF and few weeks later when
| the overhead trolley wires have been
| installed, large new car will pass
over the route on the initial trip.
When this trip is made 1t will mark