The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-07
PROGRESS MADE
 IN DOCKS WORK
Street Car Line To Be Built Along John
 Craft Highway
(SpeciaI Leased Wire)

MOBILE, Ala, Dec. 6.-Brief an nouncement of the state docks commls sion today that forces will soon star the work of rehabilitating the docks belt line to cover much of the terrltor! lying between One-Mile Creek anc Chickasaw and construction of a new track for use of street cars which now operate over a mile of the belt line heralded another important event in the development of d $10000,000 port al Mobile. Workmen will start the task not later than Jan. 1, it was stated.
 Trolley cars, which now use some oi the track which was taken over re gently by the state commission, will be operated on a new line which will parallel the concrete John Craft high way for some distance. The belt line for distance of about five miles, will serve the new port exclusively, and will give the Gulf, Mobile and Northern railroad access to the port during con struction.
 Complete plans have been worked out to give each railroad entering the city equal rights in their fight for business both during port construction and in the handling of freight for export and import when the work is completed, il was announced yesterday.
 Progress Shown
 Mobilians who have watched the ass- ing of the first year of the life of the present docks commission, of which Gen. William l.. Sibert is chief engineer and chairman, took stock of the sjgnif- icant events which have transpired dur ing the year. Some of the major items in the years work were enumerated in chronological order as follows: One-Purchased at prices fixed by a special board of appraisers named by the governor, nearly all the land sit uated between One and Three-Mile Creeks and along the river desired for port development started condemna- tion proceedings against owners who declined to sell for appraised values.
 Two-Transformed the entire area of swamp land into a scene of activity and cleared trees and debris, which had been accumulated for a period of POO years, from the land.
 Three-Completed an important part of the difficult task of providing a new right of way for the Louisville and Nashville railroad through the swamps, under an agreement with the corpora tion to reinqrifsh it's rights along the river front.
 Four-Placed a dredge in One Mile creek for the cutting of canal to connect the stream with Three Mile creek so as to provide a navigable stream for small craft.
 To Purchase Dredge
 Five-Authorized the purchase of a modern 20-inch suction dredge for op- erations dusing port construction and operation. Several weeks after General Sibert took over active management of the docks commission affairs word came that bond attorneys had approved the issue of $5,000,000, which the legisla- ture said might be spent at once for port development. Since the first bond money was delivered large foces have been at work doing preliminary work incident to actual port construction.
 Within the next year It is expected, be operating over the new right of way and port construction will be well under way.
 Construction of the railroad fill is placed in the list of interesting eng ineering features. Much of the area, which will be the future road bed, was waist deep with muck and water, but millions of feet of clear sand from the bottom of the river have been thrown over substantial part of the right of way. Engineers believe the road bed will be one of the best when work is completed.