The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-22
DELAY ON WADUCT MATTER EXPLAINED City Engineer Writes to
 MT. Weatherly CONSIDERING MAPS General Plans Will Be Made From Railroad Outlines Being Sent In.
 May Not Await the Com-
 mittee Report

1 Growing impatience over the delay of ] railroad engineers to say something about whether Birmingham Is to secure via ducts on the part of Commissioner James Weatherly brought forth note of expla- nation from Walter G. Kirkpatrick, city engineer, yesterday. The city official, who is chairman of the committee inves- tigating the viaduct needs of Birming- l ham, gays that the railroads are sending in maps from which the general map is to be made and from which a study will follow for the purpose of planning the | viaducts
 MT. Weathery has been for the past few days obviously annoyed at the displayed indifference of railroad engineers and pn- | less something is done in short order the commissioners will take up the viaduct matter without the committee reporting.
 The explanatory note or Mir Kirkpatrick follows
 Hon James weatherly, Commissioner, City Hall:
 Dear Sir: The chier engineers of the railroads entering Birmingham held a conference at the city engineers office in April and 1t was agreed that each of them would furnish the city engineer 5 office with all the maps and information available and If other information should be wanted, they would supply it and that this office was to consolidate these differ ent maps, making a series of maps show ing all the railroads within the city limits, to be used in formulating general plan eo, d. in, ttnp h a m
 Immediately after this conference the city engineer wrote to each of these rail roads, requesting that their maps be for warded. Some of the railroads answered : promptly, while others aid not. The Southern railroad did not have any of these maps on hand and has been ever since engaged in making them. Their set will comprise about 70 maps. Their resident engineer states today that they have had party working exclusively on these maps and that some of them will them during this month.
 This office has been consolidating the maps received. but. from the fact that the Southern railway has such a large amount of tracks in Birmingham the com pletion of the maps has been almost held up, waiting for the maps or the Southern railway.
 The chief engineer of the Atlanta, Bir- mingham and Atlantic railroad states that, on account of the changes in the or ganization of that railroad. he has been unable to furnish the maps and no date has been given for sending them. The chief engineer of the Birmingham South ern states today that he is getting up his maps and some of them will be fur nshed next week and the others shortly.
 The size of this undertaking may be understood when it is considered that the Southern railway set of maps alone con- prise about 40 sheets. Of course, the drawing of the new set of maps, consoli- dating those of each separate railroad, so as to give a general view of all the railroads and the streets, necessarily in- wolves, on the part of this office, a large amount of drafting. This work Is steadily going on, but it will be some weeks be- fore it will approach competitor. The city engineer will be glad to go over the work done with any one interested and trusts that the citizens will be patient and will understand that the plans Tor the grade separation have not been given up, but are being steadily worked out. Respect fully submitted,
 "WALTER G. KIRKPATRICK.
 "City Engineer"