The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-04-04
MY'S PROGRAM
ON UNDERPASS
WILL Be FORCED
Wynn Instructed To Draw
Up Ordinance To Require
Immediate Action

DECISION to proceed with the city 8
underpass program was reached at a
conference of the city commissioners
Thursday morning.
The city attorney, w. J. Wynn, was
Instructed to begin the compilation of
an ordinance, after consultation with
the city engineer, A. j. Hawkins, that
would set out a plan for underpasses,
and provide a law to have the rail
roads undertake at a given time and
finish at stipulated date, at their
own expense, an underpass system that
will give street traffic relief at TWEEN
tieth, Eighteenth and Fourteenth
streets and by means of a viaduct at
Twenty-fourth street.
Mr.. Hawkins laid before the COM
mission prints of plans presented by
railroad engineers to the city engineer !;
4 matter, it was pointed out, between
eAgfneers only, showing ways to build
o viaduct at Eighteenth street. Mr..
Hawkins described the proposition to
the commissioners and said it was not
made by heads of the railroads for the
commissions consideration, but was
made by the roads engineers for the
city engineers consideration.
Plan Disappr0ved
Following somewhat lengthy discus
sion of the suggested Eighteenth
street viaduct the commission ex-
pressed it's opinion collectively that
such a structure would indefinitely
postpone, if not entirely prevent, the
carrying out of the city's underpass
program, as designed by Mr.. Hawkins,
and was therefore a solution that in
no way drew the approval of the COM
mission
Mr.. Hawkins intimated that the pro-
posed, and rejected, idea of an Eight
zenith street viaduct contemplated de-
touring street cars from Twentieth
street over the Twenty-second street
viaduct, with the construction later of
a Twenty-fourth street viaduct, to be
followed in time by yiaduct at Four
feenth street.
Mr.. Hawkins stated that the railroad
engineers had suggested, along with
this program, the elimination of two
of the tracks on the south side of the
railroad reservation by the Southern
railroad and two tracks on the north
side of the reservation by the l.. & N,
thus reducing materially the railroad
right-of,way belt through the city lying
between Morris and Powell avenues.
He said this curtailment of the
breadth of the reservation was merely
a suggestion put forward, and not an
official announcement from the inter
ested railroads.
"As / see these substitute plans,
said Commissioner w. e. Dickson,
they constitute complete departure
from the city's program, and being so,
! find them Objectionable"
Merely Repetition
President d. L. McLendon, of the
city commission, commented: 1.-The
suggestions are merely q presentment
of the already proposed Van Hoose
plan. They do not at all appeal
to me-"
IAN Eighteenth street viaduct," Mr..
Hawkins said, would hold Twentieth
street at Railroad avenue a grade cross
ing, the very thing we wish to avoid
The idea of an Eighteenth street via
duct does not meet with my approval
In any way"
IAN Eighteenth street viaduct would
forever kill the prospect of an under
pass at Twentieth street" Mr.. Dickson
said, land damage the city for all time.
/ would rather go in and fight for our
program the best way we know how,
and, if necessary, let the succeeding
commission continue the Light
Mr.. Hawkins said the railroad men
recognized the strength of the law in
favor of Birmingham, but saw in its
carrying out a cost to the railroads, In
constructing an underpass system, that
would be tremendous.
Commissioner w. L. Harrison said
"The city's plan, as devised by MIR.
Hawkins, seems to me the only one;
any other plan would result in damage
to the city. Details may be worked
out to prevent it being burdensome to
the railroads, but 1 advocate sticking
TO the main plan"
'That Eighteenth street viaduct Sug-
gestion appears to me simply as
makeshift," City Attorney Wynn said.
Opposes Viaduct
Understand" said Mr.. Hawkins, II
am against an Eighteenth street via
duct"
Mr.. Hawkins said in the discussion
with the railway men it had been YER
bally suggested that the proposed
Eighteenth street viaduct be raised
high to provide for other engineering
projects, should they materialize.
ut would not be advisable to con-
slider verbal propositions" Mr.. Wynn
said.
",The Twenty-first street viaduct,"
Mr.. McLendon said, was built as high
as it is with the idea of an underpass
system in view"
"And," Mr. Harrison interpolated, II