The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-02-13
CITY AND COUNTY COOPERATING IN
 BUILDING ROADS
System of Surfaced Streets From Heart of City to Y County Lines Under
 Construction

Jefferson county and Birmingham Will come close to standing alone among the big municipal districts of the south in the matter of good intercommunicating roads, possibly before this year is out. Julian Kendrick, city enginer of Bir-, rningham, and Ii. R. Ratson, engineer or Jefferson county, are working as dou- ble team in linking up main thorough fares of city and county as fast as the county board of revenue and city ooard II of commissioners put through the neees- sary measures and turn over the prac- tical work to the two road builders. Com- K missioner Henry Page Burruss or DIT mingham and President Jerry Gwin ol the Jefferson county board of revenue are backing their respective engineers with the fullest cooperation. l From the heart of the city to the eA- N treme confines of the county are being built a system of surfaced streets, made of concrete foundations with bituminous | surfacing.
 The two engineers are repeatedly hoid- ing conferences and often, accompahleo by members of the county or city ooafds | and sometimes both, are at the scene or | work giving it personal supervision. Some of the roads to the many pig centers of the county are complete, some \ have sections completed, while others have but recently been ordered paved \ ROAD CONSTRUCTION
 Tho south Bessemer road is being con | structed, going through West End from R lsjrningham to Bessemer. The South I Ensley road is built and the North Ems | lev road, before long, will be- From | Insley to Fairfield the road IS tinlshed ' part of the way, and the road on pe- \ yond to Taylors Ferry and Bessemer mas ! been contracted for. Another contract I calls for the same sort of street-roao ! from Wylam to Edgewater. and rom | Wvlam to the road between Fairileld and Ensley
 The contract has been placed for the road between Ensley and Pratt City, and l gang is working on the Jasper roau I running northwesterly from Pratt e1ty. f From Pratt City to North BlrminshaHl 4 still another of the street-roads will De
 built. The road from Birmingham 70 fl North Birmingham is complete, and big gang is working on the Lewisours f road above North Birmingham. East II from Birmingham work is in progress i! on the street-road that will pass through Avondale, Woodlawn and East Lake on | out to Roebuck.
 II The contract was let some tune ago Il for the final big improvement of the con
 tinuation of South Twentieth street
 known as the Montgomery road, when
 masses through Rosedale and goes over Red and Shades mountains.
 The next road to be improved will be
 the one from Birmingham running south-
 easterly through Gate City and spring
 vile.
 CONNECTING ROADS m After the main lines have been com
 nIated number of connecting roads
 will be built At present the system
 n,i9ht be compared to a group of spidel
 webs. with the spoke-like lines comprete
 or heinz completed. and the series ol
 circling roads to be built, but many oi
 them in shape already.
 There is but one thing. besides raihs
 weather. that holds up the work iion | time to time-the old lack of raw ma terial. As an example. an order VIII W pe placed with the company controlling .he
 sand pits near Montgomery. from wnici inc best obtainable sand for concrete F e secured, and then the order Will pc gu cu t7 "a per cent because of the lack oi Sa' h to move the shipment "a Instead of companies in the Nlcsn!s Il being able to supply cement. both ct'
 and county have had, Of late, to sen. klto Ohio and Indiana to get it. for iact ] of available local supplies.
 The engineers say the work could' p conpleted by the end of the year. but fo o the incessant holding up of shipmehts ts o- the lack of ability to fill orders To- f raw material