The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-13
Document to Be Sent to Louisville, Washington
 and New York
CONSTRUCTION WILL
 BEGIN VERY SOON
Action Yesterday Is Continuation of Negotiations Extending Over Long Period of Years-Prin-
 cipal Provisions Shown

In stroke of his pen yesterday after noon President George Ward of the city commission attached his signature to probably the most momentous document that has been signed at the city hall in years. He signed the viaduct con tract.
 Far back in the aldermanic days of the Birmingham city government the negotia- tions which terminated yesterday with President Wards signature began. A dozen and more city administrations have taken up the same fight but it was left to President Ward to officially place his signature on the first viaduct contract.
 The document was immediately started for Louisville. where the signatures of President Smith of the Louisville and Nashville road will be attached. From there it will go to Washington for the signatures of the officials of the Southern railway and from there to New York for signatures of the Sloss-Sheffield com pany.
 In the meantime. however Vice Presi- dent w. l.. Mapother. of the Louisville and Nashville is expected to award the | contracts for the actual construction of the viaduct The bids have been in the | hands of Mr. Mapother since July 25 and all that he has been waiting on has been the final drafting of the contract with the city which President Ward signed yesterday. Attorneys and officials | of all the corporations involved in the viaduct construction have approved the contract so that the attaching of the signatures of the various officials is now
 merely a formality.
 1 Immediately after the bids are award- ed the successful contractor is expected to begin work. It Is stated it will require between six and 12 months to build the big bridge, which will cost approximately
 s200.0O0, and be nearly three-quarters of ]
 mile long, carrying First avenue over | the network of railroad tracks at First avenue and Twenty seventh street. The 1 best estimates are that it will take about | eight or nine months to construct the
 bridge under favorable circumstances.
 The First avenue vaduct will be the l first unit of a grade crossing system | which has been worked out for the entire
 city and which will be followed and com pleted as speedily as possible. This is | the system which was worked out by former City Engineer Walter G. Kirkpat- rick, embracing complete system of grade crossing eliminati ton for every part of the city. The plan of the city com mission is to secure the construction of | the viaducts or subways, whichever the case may be, one at a time, so that after
 a number of years the system will finally be complete.
 | At various times in the past 16 or 20
 years the railroads and the city have approached an agreement for the con-
 struction of a First avenue viaduct but never before has a contract been drafted | and agreed to by all parties concerned. | Credit for the present successful cumina- . l tion of the negotiations is given to Com | missioner James Weatherly by his two | colleagues. Since the commission form | of government came in, the negotiations have been in charge of MT. Weatherly 1 The railroads in turn were represented largely through w. H. Miller of Atlanta. | assistant to the vice president of the | Southern railway, who with Mr. Wealth erly, worked out most of the preliminary l negotiations. In signing the document | yesterday afternoon MT. Ward stated that he felt that in reality it was MT. Weath-
 erly's place to sign the contract
 The contract is in three parts first the agreement for the construction of the via duct entered into between the city and the Louisville and Nashville the Southern and the Sloss company: second, the agree
 ment between the city and the Birming- ham Railway, Light and Power company for temporary tracks during the con- struction of the viaduct, the laying of the street car companys tracks on the viaduct itself paving between the tracks and for IS inches on either side with whatever material the city engineer may prescribe and third, the ordinance passed by the commissioners embodying in fl the contract with the other corporations The contract is very voluminous. Its main points have been published at diff ferent times in the past in The Age Herald. In brief. however, they are again given as follows:
 The viaduct shall be from point 95 feet west of Twenty-sixth street along First avenue to point 345 feet west of the west line of Thirty-second street.
 All parties to the contract agree to ap- point the Louisville and Nashville Rail- road company to construct the viaduct The work for the construction shall be let immediately after the signing of the
 contract and not later than three months 1 thereafter
 The city agrees to pay 9 per cent ot
 the cost of construction. the railroads
 and Sloss company the remainder.
 Ihe city agrees to pay it's share oi
 the cost to the Louisville and Nashville
 Tn hve annual installments at 5 per cent
 interest, the railroad completely financing the structure
 Ine railroads and the Sloss ~compa n,
 waive all property damage
 second avenue shall remain closed
 across the railroad tracks for a period o
 10 years.