The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1943-12-14
Bv LLOYD TUPLING

nited press starr Correspondent
AUBURN. Wash U,P) The
task Of building a roof over 46
acres Of former farmland-one
of the worlds largest roofing
jobs-has been undertaken by
the Army, the Lend-Lease adj
miniStration and private con-
tractors.
The huge roof will provide
storage space for military sup
plies before they are shipped ov-
erseas. But the 100000 square
feet Of warehouse to be covered
is only part Of the work going in
TO what is known as the Auburn
holding and reconSignment
point OF the Transportation
Corps. Army Service Forces.
AS the length of the name in
cicatcs, the Auburn Harp and
AAF depot is a project of some
magnitude, and neither the Ar
my nor the contractors are let
ting any grass grow under their
feet TO speed its completion
In fact. in the three months
since the work started, the en-
ginccrs have cleared all foliage
off the large area of land former
ly made uo of dairy, berry and
vegetable farms. lcveling a two
and one half-mile long space for
constructor of the depot
FREIGHT CAR STORAGE
When completed. the depot Will
have y warehouses, each 835
feet long and 200 feet wide. more
than 40 miles Of railroad track
age 20 provide freight car Stor-
ace for approximately 400
cars. more than 40 acres Of open
and she'd storage, and scores of
buildings for administration OF
the vast supply center.
Army officers conducting the
press tour left unanswered the
question Of what would be put
into the warehouses and where
it would 90 from here They
merely said il was TO be used for
storing general military and
lend lease supplies and all Of it
would be headed i'm one direction
to hit the Axis
The warehouses arc 20 be laid
out IN blocks three abreast
across the depot area Three air
forces Warehouses VIII be stu
ated at the south end of the in
stalauon, with the nine others
grouped at the other end. Space
q $50 viii be left for addition of
SIX more warehouses.
The site was chosen because
OF exceptional rail facilities
available. Trans-contincntal
lines OF the Milwaukee railroad
and Northern Pacific skirt the
cast and west sides OF the depot
area. \ maze OF rails intercon-
meeting the two msinlines and
the dcpots warehouses is being
laid by INSTRUMENTATION Co.
of Boise, Ida, which received
part Of the contract.
TO LAY TRACKS
On the east side OF the ware
houses % parallel sets of track
VIII be laid TO handle incoming
and outgoing frci sht, and two
sets OF parallel tracks Will run
between each Of the warehouses.
Except for the steel rails, most
of the depot is being constructed
from non-critical materials, said
Maj. Adelon Hogan, Fort Lewis
area engineer, who superviSeS
the project.
The vast project is scheduled
to be completed IN the spring Of
1914. little more than nine
months after the first earth was
turned.
Earth-moying, incidentally,
has been another big part of the
initial construction, Some of
the largest earth-moving equip
ment ever used in the West
giant tournapulls, carryalls and
Euclid wagons-have been used
TO pack 100000 cubic yards Of
dirt around the project.
The 80O-foot-long warehouses
probably are among the largest
partially pre-fabricated wooden
structures ever built. The main
roof trusses-each in 50-foot sec
tions-are shipped from Port
land. Ore. and are swung into
place by giant cranes.
FEW WORKERS NEEDED
Extensive use of machinery,
prefabrication and well-planned
flow" of work has enabled
contractors to get along with
fewer workers than tho size of
the project would indicate. For
instance, only four men--a
crane operator and man at
each of three perpendicular col
umns-were needed TO put the