The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-03
About 200 Miles Is Asked.
Roads Practically All In
Need of Repairs
MANY DIRT ROADS ARE
ALMOST IMPASSABLE
Funds For Working, On Highways
About Exhausted-Board Is Fac
ing Most Serious Problem Since
Office Was Instituted

The board of revenue of Jefferson
county is being besieged with petitions
and delegations asking that new roads
be built in various parts of the county
Rarely does a day pass while the board
is in sessioa that delegation is not
before il urging the construction of a
new stretch of road anything from half
mile to five miles in length. There
are already 1900 miles of roads in JEFF
ferson county and most of them in bad
shape. About $50 miles are macadamized
and while fairly good in general way
| they are at present needing some re-
pairs to prevent further deterioration.
The other 1850 miles are plain dirt roads,
many of them III bad shape, some of
them almost ippassable.
| Notwithstanding this fact the board of
revenue has on file petitions for about 20O
miles of new roads some of which the
board has promised to construct as soon
as possible. The board of revenue has
two funds from which the building of
new roads or the repairing of the old
ones can be financed.
Funds Are Low
Both are provided by law and no other
fund can be applied to the road work.
The So fund is exclusively for the work
on dirt roads. the 10 per cent tax for the
macadam roads. At the present time
both the funds are about exhausted and
all the roads badly needing repairs. The
So tax will be due on the first of April,
but will take several months to collect
|
greatest problem since that office was
instituted. They are making arrange
ments to place the convicts on the county
roads, The equipment and appliances
| for working the convicts have all to be
purchased and the system OF employing
| the convicts to the best advantage
worked out. The funds for road pur-
poses are low, 1t is imperative that the
present dirt roads be repaired. it is nee
essary for the maeadamzed roads to be
preserved. The board has signed a con-
tract with an Atlanta firm TO cover cer-
tain parts of the macadamized roads
with an asphalt binder at a cost OF
! about $4,000, but before this can be used
the bad places in the roads will have
to be repaired. The unsettled state OF
| the weather has made il almost impos-
sible to work the roads, but the board
expects to make them passabe as soon
as weather conditions permit:
Every Mile Necessary
Nearly every mile of the 1900 in the
county are necessary for the opening OF
mines and the cutting of timber. and
the establishment of brickyards and other
industries made the roads imperative and
| the heavy hauling consequently brought
about by the operation of these plants
have Literally cut the dirt roads to pieces.
The macadamized roads have also suf-
fered from this heavy hauling but not to
the extent of the dirt roads.
The macadam roads of the county have
been it's boast and are yet, and join
three bordering counties. One may en-
ter the county at the line of st. Clair
or Blount and go through to the Tus-
caloosa line. By the building of an addi-
tion of about five miles of macadanl
road Walker county might be reached.
But the board are more concerned at this
time with taking care of the roads they
have already got and to working out ths
proper and most efficient system of build
ing and repairing the county roads
H., oat,xftot 10 t.of