The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-02-15
Preliminary Conference On Road Construction to
 Be Held at Montgomery
Board of Revenue Chairman and County Highway En- gineer Will Confer With State Highway
 Officials-PIan Early Action

Efforts to secure the consent of tho state highway commission to build approximately $2.4Oo.OOO worth Of state and federal aid highways in Jef- ferson county will be set in motion today when D. c. Ball, chairman of the board of revenue and Claude Rogers, county highway engineer, confer with W. S. Kellar. state high way engineer in Montgomery.
 Mir Ball and MT. Rogers will leave this morning for the state capital to confer with the state engineer in re- gard to the eight projects which the county will ask the state to finance with federal aid as a part of the county seat to county seat system of roads to be built over Alabama with funds to be derived from the sale of $25, 100000 worth of road bonds re- gently authorized by the voters.
 The Jefferson county officials will urge that the state undertake the construction of the eight projects re- gently agreed upon by the board Of
 revenue for state construction in- eludng the Montgomery highway road containing eight miles, with the aid of federal funds.
 While the machinery for having these eight projects selected by the state for construction in Jefferson county will be set in motion at the preliminary conference with Mir Kel- lar today it is not expected that def mite action will be had until prob ably the first of April
 Mee. rext Month
 If fe zfafe6 bV cOunfU officials that .he next meeting of the state high way commission will be held in Mo bile March 20. This is thes earliest date at which definite action on the road matter could be taken. How ever, 1t is probable that this action vii not be taken until later meeting as the board of revenue will urge the commission to arrange meeting ID Birmingham to thresh out the road matters concerning Jefferson county with the board of revenue. D. C. Ball, chairman of the local board, stated yesterday that he is hopeful that such meeting can be arranged and that the board will urge such meet ling on the state commission.
 The projects which the state will be asked to bear the cost of con- structing include: The Montgomery highway road, eight miles; Warrior road, north and south, IS miles; Jas per road. 15 miles; Bessemer and Tuscaloosa road. 15 miles; Pinson road, 12 miles: Gadsden road, IA miles; Leeds -Bankhead highway, 12 miles. Estimated cost of this prof ect will amount to approximately
 $2,400,0 GOO it is stated, of which half
 will be paid by the state and naIr by the federal government.
 Plan County Work
 Action by the board of revenue or the construction of approximately 9j miles of Jefferson county highways to be financed with funds obtained from the sale of s2.000,o00 worth Of county road improvement bonos rc- gently authorized by the voters of the county at a special0 election tc carry siv per cent interest will probably be taken next week, it was stated yesterday by board members No action has been taken by the board as yet 1t was stated. on the sale of the bonds pending receipt of legal opinion on their validity from prominent bond attorneys in New York who are now Investigating the matter. According to board mem bers practically all of the bond buy CTS of the country require an opinion from these attorneys on the validity of bonds before purchasing them. Complete data on tho Jefferson county bonds were mailed them as soon as the official returns from the recent election were certified, it is 1 stated and they have since been in- ~estigating the validity of the bonds. An opinion from them is expected
 next week sometime after which the board will advertise it's bonds for sale if the opinion is favorable to l their validity of which the board en- tertsins no doubt.
 According to the tentative program
 outlined by the board for construc-
 tion of county roads with county | funds alone. constructionNco cost on tho 1 rads selected to be built will approx l innate s1.600.000 in addition to sew | eraI projects amounting to approxi- mately S400.000 construction cost of
 which will probably be borne equally | by the city and county.
 On one thing the board of revenue is unanimously determined and that l is that no bids for road construction
 will be asked for until the bonds are actually sold and the money with
 which to finance the projects is in | hand.
 l Members of the board declared em . l phatically yesterday that the exper- fence of a former board of revenue in | receiving bids for road construction lWsI1E1L