The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-03-18
20TH UNDERPASS MEANS LOWE RING TRACKS BY 4 FEET
Kendrick Says Provision for Car Lines on Fist Re-
 duced Clearance
tContinued From Page one.)


 gether in earnest Mi. Kendrick re signed in 1908 and again became cit engineer in 1914.
 When I was again appointed cit, engineer in 1914" said Mir. Kendric,S T found that there had been pre- pared under Mir. Kirkpatrtck's super vision detail set of plans for tn First avenue vioduct, which con | templated lowering the Louisvill and Nashville tracks approximatcl, nine feet at the First avenue cross l ing and approximately 12 feet nca 1 Twenty eighth street, the Lowering of the tracks leading into the Ter | minal station over eighteen feet nea i Twenty eighth street and over | feet at the First avenue crossing and the lowering of the Alabam; | Great Southern main tracks over i feet at Twenty-eigh street. Thes, 1 plans were objected to so strenu ously by the railroad companies. ant | justly so, that they had been reject plans prepared by the Louisville ant Nashville railroad engineers wer, adopted and the viaduct was latel | constructed in accordance herewith | These plans conform very closely tt the general scheme for grade sep aration heretofore referred to.
 There was also on file in the city l main line of the Alabama Grea Southern railway from point yves | of Thirteenth street to Thirty-seco street which shows the preseni elevation of the tracks, the location | height and clearance oyer the Ala | bama Great Southern rails of cacf viaduct to be erected and where the l tracks are to be elevated the height l of the rails in their new position i also the amount of depression below the surface of the tracks where under passes are to be constructed
 The portion Of this plan extend I ing from Twenty-fourth street tc 1 Thirty-second street cannot be uset since it was drawn to conform tt 1 the First avenue Ntaduct plans whicf were abandoned. New plans can now be G,awn which will admit of grad, which could not have been don' under the Kirkpatrick plan.
 Minor Objections.
 "Only minor objections could be raised to the remainder of the plan It provides viaducts at Twenty fourth and Twenty-third streets and for reconstruoting at higher eleva.. tions the viaducts at Twenty-second street and Iwenty-first street. the elevation of the railway tracks starting at a point near Twenty, t1iru Street aHu cAtenuihs "ese" 'i . ! over and beyond Thirteenth street Under passes are provided for a. l Twentieth, Eighteenth, Fourteenth and Thirteenth streets.
 "The height to which the tracks | could be elevated across Twentletn street depends principally upon the i height to which the Twenty-nrs 1 street viaduct would be elevated, but l also upon the amount of clearance | ,f1 | viaduct and the. rate of ascendint grade used on the railway tracks l The amount of depression necessary on the underpass will then depent upon the character (thickness) Of th' overhead structure and the amour 1 of clearance to be maintained oVei the street surface.
 | Provides For Car Tracks.
 "The city commission decided tha the plans for the new Twenty-firs street viaduct must be so designed that at any time after constructio | double track street railway coul. | be constructed on the viaduct witt 1 the surface of the rails correspond | ing to the surface of the street paV 1 ing. These conditions not only re quired that the structure be designe' 1 for carrying heavier loads than nat been intended but also that detache' ! l the center of the roadway ana unde the pavement, which could be re moved at any time to receive tn ! street railway tracks.
 Such conditions necessitated thicker floor system than would nav been otherwise necessary, ana slnc the approach ascended from Firs avenue, on a maximum permissabl grade of five per cent, the thicknes l had to be obtained by lessening tn. l clearance under the viaduct, whicl ] will tend to increase the depression of the street surface in the under 1 pass at Twentieth street..
 i "Mr. kirkpatrick, in his letter 1 states that it will be now necessar! to lower Twentieth street six or sev en feet. Whilst for reasons .tate' above. the amount of depression can not accurately be determined unti l after detailed plans have been .dopt cd. I predict that the depression meet not exceed four feet.
 | Having provided for the tracl elevation across Twentieth street any desired clearance may be ob tained at each street west of Twen tieth, Mir. Kirkpatricks plan pro vides for depressing EiEhtcentl street about three feet, Fourteenth street about six feet and Thirteentl street about four feet. s
 
 Matters To He Considered.
 But this is no time to discuss sucf details intelligently. There are man. important matters to be considered first and conclusions reached.
 "1. Each of the interested rail days own valuable freight terminals between Fourteenth and Twenty fourth streets, which are now i.cces sible by means of numerous pavet driveways. It would be srea hardship on the public and railway as well to force the movement o these terminals to the suburbs. Plan may be devised so that certain track may be maintained for serving thes terminals, which would be allowe' to cross certain streets at trade with restricted hours of use.
 '2. The Louisville and Nashville railroad may conclude to relocate it passenger station between Fourteentl and Eighteenth streets, or at som i other location.
 "3 The various galway companies | may decide to concentrate all traffi' other than terminal on two or nor, of their tracks or they may decid' to concentrate all through traffi' on two or more jointly owned tracks l These and other plans may bt 1 worked out and presented in sue, form as to be acceptable to the city