The Birmingham age-herald. [volume], June 18, 1913, SECTION C, Image 43

About The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950

Image provided by: University of Alabama Libraries, Tuscaloosa, AL

                
THE BIRMINGHAM AGE HERALD
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VOLUME XXXXIH BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, l‘J13 SECTION C NUMBER 43
BITHULITIC PAVING HAS
BECOME VERY POPULAR
Bitulithic is made of the stone, eemen:
and slag that is a known product of tlie
section in almost unlimited quantities.
Asphalt, which is also the pavement ot
the resident streets and boulevards, is
made of practically the same stuff, with
a higher quantity of Sand in its com
position.
The city is going entirely to bitulithic
mid asphalt, and there are contracts
now outstanding that give the southern
bitulithic company contracts for more
than half of the miles of pavements that
are to be put down in the city this
year.
At the present time, by the way, there
are three yards of bitulithic laid in the
city to one of asphalt, but the asphalt
and blttilithid^are so rapidly superceding
the old macadam construction that it
Is doubtful if within a year there will
exist a mile of the latter pavement in
any of the city limits.
There is another reason why the peo
ple of Birmingham are so rapidly going
to the standard pavements of their
streets. That’s because of the city ordi
nances which give the property owners
abutting 10 years In which to pay for
their share of the road. That fact con
nected with the slight cost of the bitu
lithic and asphalt has undoubtedly
weighed heavily with the city engineer in
carrying out his city wide plan of stand
ard paved streets.
It 1h, of course, necessary to pave some
of the streets on which the 'heaviest
traffic runs with the Belgian block or
the vitrified brick. But the proportion
of that sort of pavement to the other is
almost negligible, for there are no high
hills up which draugiit horses with heavy
loads must climb in Birmingham’s indus
trial section.
It is incidental to this story, hut no
less the interesting fact that the South
ern Bitulithic company lias become one
of the biggest industrial factors of
the south since it was established here.
Its business conducted from this city
and extending all over the south has
grown to such an extent that Birming
ham is now actually the head and front
of tile entire industry of the south.
It is admitted that the asphalt and
* bitulithic companies of this city are the
| leading branches of tlie entire trade be
low tile Mason and Dixon line and it is
the statistics of the companies’ offices
in tliis city that their growth lias been
such as to insure the increase of paving
in Birmingham and other cities to war
rant the statement that tlie growth of
the next year and the succeeding
growth will be even greuter in propor
tion than at present.
Probably the city itself has admitted
the force of the argument for the stan
dard, guaranteed pavements for its own
hooks demonstrate that the city by pav
ing property with these accepted stan
dards of paving are thereby increasing
the price of the adjacent property un
til its taxes more than make up the
cost of the entire paving within 10
years.
The paving in Birmingham is rapidly
becoming the best pavement of whicli
any city in the country can boast. As
the well known gentleman of the
Type of Bithulitic Paving In Birmingham
breakfast food has said, “There's a
reason/’ And the reason lies in the
fact that the component parts of the
best pavement in the world lie. vir
tually at the feet of the town. It is
for that reason that Birmingham's city
governors are able to pave her streets
with asphalt and hituhthie at a cost be
tween 25 and 40 per cent lower than
j any other city in the country.
At the present time the city is al
lready paved with 16 miles of bjlUlithir,
I while there is more than ihree milts oi
1 asphalt.
Hitherto the city ran largely to th •
| old style MoAdarn road and oven mos:
I of its residence streets were pav ed with
jthat because of the proximity of the
'material and the consequent cheap cost
for a road which is still known i
thioughout the country as the best
road that can be built for country high
ways. But within the past two or thre
years it has been shown to the city j
fathers that they arc now in a posi
tion to pave their best streets with
bitulithic and asphalt, at a cost th;ir is
comparable with the cost of the old
McAdam pavement and means a pave
ment that will last three times a long.
There is more bitulithic pavement
used in Birmingham than in any other
city of its size anywhere. That’s be
cause it can be put down l»y this city
ut a cost so low that it almost halves
the cost of the similar pavement in
other towns. It is because also that
there is every component part of bitu
lithic in the quarries within easiest
freight access of Birmingham.
English Investors
It is commonly said that the English
man is the most cautious Investor in the
world. The fact that his investments
in Birmingham and Alabama generally
have gone far into the millions is a
pretty sure Indication that foreign capi
tal finds this section a pretty sure bet.
PAVING FGP MANY
CITIES PLANNED
Birmingham ContratcorsDo
Much Work Through
out the South—This
City the Center
Rirmltigliam is the southern center and
headquarters of the street paving: Indus
ti in the south. The offices of the
various paving companies and various
.general contractors do a business of
several million dollars in a year.
'Phe plant of the Southern Asphalt com*
l»any here Is not only the largest south
of the Ohio river, but it is the head
quarters of the asphalt pavement con
tracts that are made throughout the
south and west. The concern in this city
sends forth asphalt to cover many thou
and miles of streets each year, and Its
business has Increased so far that It
installed a plant, and shipment facilities
which rival the asphalt works of any
city of the north and are rapidly succeed
ing them in the supremacy of trade.
Then also there is tho bitulithic com
pany, which supplies its entire southern
trade from Birmingham, and Its annual
H on tinned on I'ngc Six, Section l<h
Southern Bitulithic Company
Birmingham is one of the best paved cities in the South. More than one
half of Birmingham Street pavements is Bitulithic. Birmingham has been using
Bitulithic since 1904 and has not paid $1.00 for repairs on these pavements.
Birmingham has about thirty miles of Bitulithic and continues to lay it. If you
want the best pavement specify Bitulithic, don’t specify some of the numerous
imitations, thinking you will get the real Bitulithic. Bitulithic contracts made
during 1913 up to April 30th, in the United States and Canada total 4,325,945
square yards, or about 300 miles of roadway, which shows an increase of 60%
over 1912, this is evidence that the pavement is giving satisfaction wherever laid.
This is a photograph of the
street railway’s crew removing
Bitulithic pavement on Second
Avenue, Birmingham, Ala., for
the purpose of extending the
double car track. Note sec
tions of the wearing surface of
this pavement 5 to 8 feet. in
length being removed without
breaking. This is the only
pavement that will stand this
severe test. This is due to the
inherent stability. Inherent
stability cannot be obtained
unless voids in the mineral ag
gregate are reduced to a per
centage which can be filled
with the Bituminous Cement
without making the resultant
mixture too soft. Bitulithic
pavements are put down to
“stay put”—not to be easily
torn up. Note heavy crow
bars, jacks, etc., used to remove
this pavement.
Southern Bitulithic Company
602 First National Bank Building
NASHVILLE -=====- TENNESSEE
BIRMINGHAM OFFICE 1807 AMERICAN TRUST BUILDING