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August, 1926 5 AND METHOD OF OPERATION Pi 4 = = Ml Vil ie : re) CKhS COMMIS SION ABAMA "eb. 20,1925 —_—_— / little above high tide levels and the area sometimes was covered by storm tides. Cut off from the river by a railroad and held by numerous own- ers, there was no special reason nor community of interests to stimulate its improvement. Under these condi- tions, it was possible for the state docks commission to obtain for the state all of the land needed ‘for the present and future development of the port at a cost within the means of the commission. Soundings showed that the site was underlain at varying levels with sand washed in from the sea or down with the rivers and that there was noth- ing in its composition to interfere with dredging operations or to make diffi- cult the obtaining of firm foundations for heavy construction. Excavation over the entire area is accomplished with suction dredges. The sand and earth removed in excavating _ slips, canal and turning basin is used for filling in where elevation is required. This matter would have to be dis- posed of, in any event, and the cost of elevating the land is more than counterbalanced by the low cost of excavation. In order to utilize the entire river front of the property, as well as to provide navigation through its entire length, One-Mile creek was moved, bodily and its waters diverted into Three-Mile creek by way of a canal. The old bed of the creek has been filed and put to other uses. Terminal Railway in Operation There was an old railroad track, built partly for war time purposes, ex- tending from a point five miles north of Mobile, crossing Three-Mile creek with a drawbridge, and _ extending through the docks site. This was pur- chased by the commission, improved and placed in service. It is used to facilitate the hauling of material brought by the several railroads with which it is connected, and is known as MARINE REVIEW 1/8940" | NEE Terminal railway, Alabama _ state docks, a common carrier, connecting all rail lines that now or may here- after enter Mobile with the state’s joint interchange tracks and_ the docks; having its own switch engines and other equipment. The problem of the docks commis- sion not only involved the creation of terminals for the storage and inter- change of freight, but also that of protection for vessels and cargo in time of storm. The pier and slip sys- tem of dock construction was early decided upon and a careful study was made to ascertain the highest levels ever reached by hurricane tides at WILLIAM L. SIBERT Major General United States Army Retired that point, and all tracks and floors . are to be constructed at least two feet above the highest of the high- water marks. Mobile receives a _ portion of its freight from the interior by way of the Mississippi-Warrior Barge line of the Inland Waterways Corp. and other river carriers. This fact was taken me | a feck 2 | Moma rT wr = iets Y rnp into consideration, and the slips made wide enough to permit vessels to load from or into boats or barges while laying at the wharf, and to permit the free passage of such boats or barges. A. C. Davis, designing engineer, Alabama state docks commission, has furnished this general description of the manner in which the commission plans to meet its shipside problems: General Description of Plans The Alabama docks under construc- tion will consist of a series of slips with filled piers between. The depth of the slips will be 35 feet from low water, the width 350 feet and the length 1600 feet. This length allows three large cargo steamers to berth on each side of the slip. The slips are given an angle to get as much length as possible, to make it easy to bring tracks into the piers and to facilitate the entrance and exit of ships. The current in the river will cause all ships to come out of the slips stern downstream, irrespective of an- gle of slip. The standard pier will be about 560 feet wide. On each side there will be an apron 42 feet wide, back of which a shed 180 feet wide will be placed. A _ typical cross section is shown at top of pages 86 and 87. There will be three tracks on the apron and two depressed tracks back of the rear platform. The rear plat- form will be about 14 feet wide, the intent being to provide a platform to work the cars without the neces- sity of spotting them in front of a door as would be required if the plat- form were omitted. A canopy will be provided over this platform to allow uninterrupted loading or unloading of ears. Along the middle of the pier a vehicle roadway will run with ramps at various points to provide access to the sheds without the necessity of maintaining an open passageway the length of the sheds. Of the three tracks on the apron, the front track will allow the hand- ‘\