The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-07
ID SPEND $233,OOO ON PHONE SYSTEM The Bell System States Big
 Improvements OUTLINE OF THE PLANS Miles of Overhead Wires and Hun dreds of Poles Will Be Removed
 From the Streets of
 Birmingham
OUTLINE OF THE PLANS

1 In aceordancel with the agreement with
 the city commission on the telephone rate | case compromise, the Southern Bell Tel | ephone and Telegraph company has begun | active preparations to make extensive inn
 provements and additions to its plant in
 Birmingham. It is announced that more
 than $2S9,00o will be expended by the com
 pany in Birmingham during the present year, and when this work is completed it is declared by telephone experts that the Bell system here will be among the best equipped telephone plants in the south.
 There are now more than 10000 Bell telephones in use in the Birmingham dis trict, and officials of the company. antici- pate that the growth during the present year will be very rapid. In addition to the demands upon the local system, Bir- mingham has become a long distance tel ephone center and long dstanee lines radiating from this city can be used for commercial purposes to every important point within a radius of 1000 miles. The long distance plant is declared to be in first class condition and the entire amount of the large sum of money to be spent this year will be expended upon the local plant.
 The Bell plant in Birmingham is prac- tically new, and construction work has been in progress during the past sev- eral years. The work to be done this year will, therefore, be largely in the nature of extensions and improvements, and the enlargement of the plant to take care of the needs of the growing city.
 District Manager D. F. Turnbun says that the work will be pushed forward as rapidly as possible, and he does not con- template that there will be any serious interruptions to service during the time the work is under way. When asked for the details of the work, Mir Turnbull said:
 "On the Northsde approximately 5000 feet of foo pair underground cable will be run from the central office to Foun- tain Heights, to which will be connected 43,60O feet of aerial cable. Whenever pos sible the new cable will be placed in al- leys, which will enable us to remove ap- proximately 200 poles, 5000 feet of cable and 100 miles of wire from the streets.
 ''On the Southside a new 300 pair cable will be run to the Mountain Terrace sec ton and extended throughout that district by means of aerial cables. Approximate ly 32,600 feet of cable will be used on tbis worI-extending present cable over Crestline.
 '"On Fourteenth street a subway will be laid between Avenue I and Avenue N and new 400 pair underground cable run from the main office to the latter point. Additional feet of aerial cable will be placed, using the alleys and the en- tire. Southslde plant, from Glen Iris to the Country club, will be put in first class condition. About 12,5OO feet of un- deground and 2OOO feet of aerial cable will be used on this work, and it is an- ticipated that upon it's completion we will be enabled 10 remove 147 poles, 10,Sb feet of cable and 23 miles of wire from the public streets.
 In addition to this the entire Wood lawn and East Lake district will be over hauled and placed in the best possible condition. The same will be done at West End, while the existing plant will be ex- tended to Boyles, Inglewood and through out Corey''