The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1869-10-27

dance of broken stone ON the side Of IL
preventing tho water from escaping
which have been laying there until the
grass has grown up through them.
This is more especially the case east
of Triadelphia and Roney's Point.
There is many other places where the
road is worn out to the bare boulders or
which it was originally built, while
there is abundance OF broken stone on
the side of the road that has been laying
there two years. This is especially the
case at Roney's Point, Lear the bridge
at Denuison's, and several other places
further east. On the eastern slope Of
Wheeling hill large part of the boul
ders are bare, and the surface of the road
is as fiat as an ordinary country road
Broken stone are laying at the side Of
the road, but they have been broken re.
Gently.
Through Fulton dirt has been
piled upon the side road on
the upper side, until It is much
higher than the centre of the road.
And the bitches there seem to have been
made, not by digging them out below
the surface OF the road, but by piling up
the dirt above the surface of the road,
so as to prevent the water from reach
ing it. In doing this many of the cul-
yerts are necessarily filled up.
From Fulton to the Steenrod place
the side roads have been suffered to fill
up until they are as high, and in some
places higher, than the centre of the
road.
By this accumulation of dirt on the
side roads at this part of the road six or
seven of the culverts have been filled
up, and the three or four that remain
open are 80 far below the surface of the
ground, in the bitches and side roads,
that is very difficult to keep them open,
and unless the side roads and bitches
are sunk to the proper depth, all the
culverts between Fulton and Judge
Thompson's must be abandoned.
This explains Mr.. Peck's idea that the
road bed on this part of the road should
be raised. 1t is wash from. the hill into
the side roads and bitches that has
made the road too low. II the road bed
was raised ten feet, and the wash from
the hill was suffered to accumulate on
the ditch and side road on the upper
side for ten years, it would need raising
again just as bad as it does now.
There is no way of keeping the road
there in proper condition, except to
take out the dirt that has accumulated
in the side road and ditch, so that the
culvert may all be opened and carry off
the water. All these culverts were
open, and the side road and ditch in
proper condition when Mr.. Ferrel took
charge of the road.
The bridges at the Monument and
Fay's cannot stand many years unless
the stone that have been destroyed by
the ice and drift are replaced and sub
stantially fastened. No riprapping can
save them unless this is done.
And the difficulty is that Mr.. Ferrel
knows nothing about stone-work, and
does not know how to do it, and would
not know whether it was done right or
not.
The southern or western abutment of
the bridge near Dennison's is liz ruins,
and the bridge is now propped up by
the fragment of q rotten plank, taken
from the covering of the bridge, which
has been taken out aud new plank
put in.
Some ten or twelve feet of the abut-
ment of another bridge beyond that, is
entirely gone from top to bottom, leav-
ing the sill of the bridge on one side,
without any support.
These two bridges are in very dan
gerous condition, and wagon heavily
loaded may crush them before week
passes.
Long strings of broken stone are
found on the road beyond Triadelphia,
and more especially beyond Reney's
Point, that have been laying there two
years, some of them with the grass
growing up through them, and some of
them mashed and crushed into the
ground BY toams passing over them I'M
til they are nearly as solid as the bed of
the road.
should think it would Gosh about as
much to dig them up as it would to haul
stone and break them.
On the eastern eudl OF the road as d
general rule, perhaps, certainly in many
places, the bitches are filled up even
with the surface of the road, and the
grass is growing over them as though
they had not been disturbed for years.
| have no time for further or more
detailed statement of the evidences Of
negligence or incapacity in the man
agement of the road. know it is said
that the income of the road is not suf-
fcient to make the necessary repairs,
and this is relied upon as an excuse for
not making such repairs as are admit
ted to be absolutely necessary for the
Of the road. Let us see
how this is.
1t is proved and not denied that bro
ken stone have been laying by the side
of the road for two years, at places
where they are absolutely necessary for
the preservation of the road that have
not been put upon it. The cost of
spreading is ten cents per perch of
twenty-seven feet, lineal measure.
There is 1851 of these twenty-seven
feet perches in mile. The cost of put
ting on mile is therefore $3.50, or
S3l2G0 for the entire sixteen miles of
road.
take the cost of spreading from Mr..
Marshall's bid, and from Mr.. FerrelPs
vouchers, which show that he paid ten
cents per perch for spreading. Can it
be possible that it was for want of this
trihing sum that he suffered the road to
be worn out for the want Of these stone,
and suffered the stone to be wasted and
lost. But why did he spend money for
furnishing stone that he had not the
means to put upon the road 7
But let US examine the finances of the
road little. Mr.. LuDsford took the
road in November, 1862, with an in
debtedness of S2,47642 upon it, and
with 1914 90 cash on hand, leaving
balance of indebtedness of s., JOLT.
He kept it until July, 1865, three years
aud eight months. He built bridges of
which the masonry cost S3535,54. He
kept the road in fair condition, the
bitches and culverts all open. When he
surrendered it to Mr. Terrell, he had:
Cash in Bank ,33l 81
In the hands of gate keeper...-.....-.. $50 %
Due for rent for toll house--.,.-----.--. Is %
Timber on hand for bridge at Roney's
Point acknowledgements. II9 60
100 perch stone for side wall at Point
100 perch stone east Of Mills for side
50 perch broken stenein sections and
2 at sl.75per perch. ......... 81 so
lOJ perch broken stone in sections :, s.
10, IL and II at $50 per perch....... $50 90
500 perch broken stone in sections IL
and Il a ~ * Derch OJ0 %