Omaha daily bee., 1916-06-04
MILLIONS FOR THE
CHICAGO TERMINALS
Number of Roads Unite in Building
Two Great Structures for Pas
senger and Freight.
THREE YEARS To OOMPLETE

Chicago, June 3.-The sum of $oo,-
100000 will have been expended by
several of the railroads operating il
the Chicago district when the new
freight and passenger terminals now
under construction are completed
The freight terminal will be finished
in about six more months, but it will
take nearly three years to complete
the passenger terminal
The freight terminal will embrace
laying OF trackage on stretch cover
ing twelve city blocks, from the Chi
cago river south to Twelfth street.
The plans for the terminal were SO
arranged as TO give a maximum speed
and convenience of handling freight
with minimum OF ground space nee
essary for the buildings involved The
work is bing done by the Pennsyl-
vania lines, west, and will cost, for
land required, building material and
labor, approximately Sl6,000,000 and
the finished work will be one OF the
greatest accomplishments of its kind
in the history OF modern railroads.
Aim of Builders.
The main aim of the builders was
terminal that would be so arranged as
TO eliminate street congestion iii hand
ling traffic and would make speedy
and easy the handling of the enor-
nous and steadily growing freight
business of Chicago This result will
be accomplished by close grouping of
the several parts OF the terminal
structure and by placing the railroad
tracks below street level, with the
freight house just above the tracks,
at street level and with storage
warehouse above the freight house.
The idea OF placing the component
parts of the terminal above one an
other was to save ground space and
TO make the handling Of incoming and
outgoing freight easy by system OF
powerful, modern-type electric eleya-
tors.
Adjoining the freight house, and all
under cover, will be eighteen tracks,
which will accommodate 400 freight
cars. Inclosed driveways will protect
freight and freight handlers in all
sorts of weather.
Thousand Men at Work.
One thousand men have been work
ing for about ten months, some laying
the heavy piling and concrete founda-
tons, and some putting up the struc-
tural steel framework of the buildings.
About Is per cent of the structural
steel work remains to be finished.
This will be in about six months and
the total cost of labor, by that time.
will, it is estimated, amount to about
Hl,500,000.
The steel, brick, concrete, piiing and
terra Gotta that will go into the build
ings will cost about $2,500,000.
The structures will occupy a ground
space $50 by $50 feet between Polk
street on the north, and Taylor street
on the south; between the Chicago
river and what was once Stewart ave-
nue.. Acquisition of the ground thus
used cost the railroad company $12,-
Three Years to Finish.
The union passenger terminals, on
which preparatory work has begun
and which will be completed In about
three years, will cost about $50,000000 |
and will be the finest railway pas
senger station in the world, its pro-
jectors say. 1t will be built and oc-
cupied by the Chicago, Milwaukee &
St. Paul, the Pennsylvania, and the |
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy roads, |
the Pennsylvania being represented |
by two branches, the Panhandle and
the Fort Wayne.
The station will be composed viz
tually of two buildings, with common
facilities of egress and ingress. A
main building will be west of Canal
street and a concourse, between two
sets OF tracks, will be east OF Canal
street. Each of the two buildings will
be surrounded by four streets, thus
giving eight points of exit and en-
trance to passengers and making ac-
cess to trains quick and convenient.
Train sheds will extend from Madison
street, south to Harrison street.
The architectural feature of the
main building will be waiting room
100 by 800 feet and 40 feet high. The
building will occupy a ground space
OF 32o by $50 feet The train sheds
will be Of the latest covered-in type
and will eliminate columns In HE
center of the niafforr,