The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-28
Was Requested by 80 Per
Cent of People Affected
by Change
BOARD CONSIDERED
NATTER CAREFULLY
Distance Between Birmingham and
Camp Branch Is Greatly Reduced
by the New Road Be-
ing Built

To the Editor of The Age Herald
Referring to recent communications
signed by Mr.. J. S. Montgomery, touching
the location of the new Shades mountain
road, to which you have kindly given
space, 1t would seem not amiss that the
public be given some specific information
upon which intelligent judgment can be
made as TO the relative merits of the two
locations. rather than to be taking up
time in impugning the motives in good
faith of the board of revenue.
In the first place. about 30 per cent Of
the people affected signed the petition,
requesting that the road be located where
it is now being constructed. By those
affected, l mean all those using the state
highway between Birmingham and Mont
gomery, and not two families or one in
dI9idual.
The reasons for this were obvious to
any one who has q spark of patriotic in
tellgence, and the principle that road
should be located where 1t will serve the
greatest number. taking into consideration
the cost of construction.
In this mornings paper Mr.. Montgon-
cry states that only two families reside on
the new road from the top of Shades
mountain to Camp Branch. On this part
of the present road there are three fam
lilies, and one of them signed the petition
to have the road located where it is now
being built.
On the present road from the top of
Red mountain to Camp Branch there
are GOO feet of er cent grade, 140G
feet of per cent grade, 500 feet OF
8 per cent grade, 1900 feet of Il per
cent erade,s 2300 feet of per cent
grade. 1859 feet of 10 per osnt grade,
400 feet of 109s per cent grade. 1900
feet of i per cent grade while Oh.
the new road there is but little eX-
eeeding per cent, and any one who
has ever been from Shades valley to
the top of Shades mountain On what
he calls this crooked road" will quick
ly recognize in ii masterpiece of road
building: and when combined with the
road now being constructed and made
use of viii constitute one of the cas-
lest mountain grades in the entire
south where such an altitude has to be
negotiated.
Further than that, the distance be-
tween Camp Branch and Birmingham
by the new road is greatly reduced.
Referring to the difficulty that Mr..
Montgomery mentions on Twentieth
street in the city of Birmingham or
the north side of Red mountain, this
matter is receiving the earnest atten-
liOA Ol lilt iplilHiHEu tjlS ApIlliiltS-
sioners and they are ready to do thci"
best in reconstructing this road 20 meet
the requirements of the main high
way which will enter the city at this
points
Finally, 1t can be stated ;hat the
entire board of revenue gave every con-
sideraton possible to the relative ad :
vantages and disadvantages of the
present and the new road and the most
expert engineering data that could be
obtained showed that to build a road
that could be reduced to a proper grade
along the line of the present road
would cost in the neighborhood Of $780,
900. And when this money was cXpend-
ed it would have been very expensive
road to maintain, costing more than
three times as much for maintenance,
in addition to the original cost being
three times what it will cost 10 build
the road now being constructed. Yours
truly r. ID. MASSEY.
Birmingham, August 81, 1913.