The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-03-08
Peoples Forum
Engineer Makes Suggestion

Engineer Makes Suggestion
 To the Editor of The Age-Herald: Study of the problem of grade separation" which was made as city engineer of Birmingham about ten years ago and which have developed the then accepted plan for tn cen tral downtown district, keeps my interest keen for any movement to- ward carrying out that plan. The Age-Herald has recently told of such movement now taking form.
 Let me urge in the strongest terms that this movement be con- centrated upon constructing next the main portion of the plan for the central district and not upon building now another viaduct east of Twenty-first street.
 It is fact not generally known that the rails at the Louisville and Nashville passenger station are near ly thirty feet lower in elevation than the rails at the Terminal station, and that, on account of this differ ence in elevation, the tracks now have a considerable down-grade from the Terminal station to Twen- tieth street. My plan was to relay the tracks nearly level from the Terminal station, or some point near it, to Twentieth street. which would raise the tracks enough to pass them over Twentieth street, asso Eigh- teenth, Fourteenth an dall other streets westward. These streets would remain practically undisturb- ed, at their present grades, while q bridge would carry each track over eacr street and between the streets the tracks would be laid on earth embnakments above all conflict with street traffic. This is track eleva- tion, as carried out in Chicago and other cities. At the same time, all streets from Twenty-first to Twen- ty-sixth would be readily carried on viaducts above and across the tracks thus elevated.
 This track elevation is the main part of tthe project for the central downtown district; and it is plain that, if this be built first, its track grades would control the night of the viaducts. On the other hand, it is also plain that, if the viaducts be built first, they must fix the height to which the tracks must aft erward be elevated; and that, if these yiaducts be built too low, through any conflicting interests of other railroads or of others, the tracks cannot be sufficiently ele- yated to pass over Twentieth street, without depressing the street in the ground greatly to the detriment of the street.
 This mistake was made in building the Twenty-first street viaduct. The main project, track elevation, should have been carried through first, especially as the old steel bridge at Twenty-first street was good for many years and the new concrete viaduct was then an un- necessary expenditure. For some heason, whatever it was. this Twen- ty-first street viaduct was built so low that the tracks, after passing un- der it, cannot pass over Twentieth street, unless Twentieth street be Alowered six or seven feet, which nareatly damage this main axis
 contended that the via
 now built and still be
 nat the tracks will have
 m for their proper ele-
 ater date; this is true,
 equally true when the
 street viaduct was
 that viaduct was not
 proper height, similar
 arise and are likely
 bne or more other via
 It first; to be safe, the
 [d be elevated first. then
 ts will take care of their
 readily and without det-
 them. Hence track ele-
 urged first and now.
 count of the cost of track
 certain interests would
 glad to render it impracti-
 lat least to greatly limit
 \of the elevation. There
 so easy, no way so sure,
 Id one or more viaducts
 It the tracks after passing
 Ise viaducts cannot rise
 htieth street. The one a.
 st street has been built
 t not so low as to render
 tion impossible; but one
 Ee would make it so. Re-