The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-20
Engineer Keller Finds Bad
Roads Between Here
and Admission
FINDS SENTIMENT
FOR CONVICT WORK
Larger Counties of North Alabama
Have Secured Especially Good
Results-To Visit Carroll
ton Today
by l.. $. BETTY


After travelling through IL counties
making preliminary survey for
system of trunk highways through this
section of the state, Engineer w. s.
Kellar and his party of scouts re-
turned to Birmingham yesterday morn
ing from Admission, preparatory to
short trip to Tuscaloosa and Carroll-
ton.
The highway scouting car left Bir-
mingham for the trip through the
northern part of the state last Satur
day morning, and when the touring
car pulled into Birmingham yesterday
the speedometer showed that 41S-5
miles had been covered. The state
highway engineer reached Birmingham
yesterday morning at ! / o'clock, haN-
ing covered the distance between An
niston and this city, little over so
miles, in four hours and thirty min
utes. Since leaving Birmingham last
Saturday morning the state touring
car had travelled through the counties
Jefferson, Blount. Cullman, Nor
gan, Colbert Lauderdale, Limestone.
Madison, Marshall, Etowah. Calhoun
and st. Clair.
With the exception of Blount and
Marshall counties the highway engi-
neer and his party of scouts expe-
rienced little difficulty in travelling
over the roads though there were
stretches of road in nearly all of the
other counties that were poor and
badly in need of repair.
Madison's Fine Roads
The best roads which the state high
way party found after leaving Jeffer-
son county were In Madison county
though stretches of highway We're
travelled over In other counties that
Were equally good as the Madison
county roads, the chief difference be-
ing Tint Madison county has more
good roads than any county in the
Tennessee valley.
Other counties in which good roads
were encountered We're found in Col
bert. 1.auderdale, Morgan, Limestone
l1towah, Calhoun and st. Clair. though
these roads were principally pike high
ways leading to and from the princi-
pal towns of these counties.
The longest stretch of good road
Travelled over by the state highway
touring car was run over between this
city and Admission yesterday MORN
ing From Birmingham to the Coosa
river ferry in St Clair county. the
distance is 56.5 miles. yet the road is in
such good condition that an automo-
bile can easily make % or 80 miles
and hour for the entire stretch.
Poor Stretch in Calhoun
The whole distance between BIZ
mingham and Anniston could be COW
cred in a few hours If about 10 miles
of good road in Calhoun county were
constructed. While the road on the
Calhoun side of the Coosa river Is not
bad considerable improvement might
be made. and the trip between this city
and Admission could be shortened by an
hour.
The Birmingham Admission highway
is the same for about 40 miles as the
Birmingham Gadsden road, which Is
good the entire way. Citizens of An
niston who escorted Engineer Keller
and his party out of that city yester-
day morning declared that plans were
on foot to complete the pike road to
the Coosa river. asserting that the
new highway would be built within
a short time.
With the exception of few towns,
the highway scouting party found good
road sentiment at every point they vis-
tied while on their trip out of Bir-
mingham. In some of the, places the
sentiment was most pronounced and
citizens were not only enthusiastic
the subject of a state highway through
their midst, but went also strongly in
favor of the construction of better
roads out of their county's funds.
COnvicts on Roads
In the larger counties of north Ala
bama there Is a strong sentiment for
road building by means of convict la
Dor. The plan to take the state con-
victs out of the mines and put them
to work on the roads was discouraged
by only a few persons with whom En-
gineer Keller talked while on the trip
through the Tennessee valley. and this
opposition was not of pronounced ma
ture.
In the larger counties. however, the
sentiment is very strong, in favor OF
putting convicts on the roads. Sew
eral of the counties I'm north Alabama
have tried the plan with their county
convicts. and they declare they have
been successful Etowah county is par
ticularly enthusia site on the subject of
working convicts the roads, and
Judge l.. L. Herzberg of the probate
court told Engineer Keller when the
highway scouting car passed through
Gadsden that the plan had proven both
fea sible and practicable, and said the