Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-02-13
THE ROAD MOVEMENT,
How It Has Begun in America and What
1t VIII Accomplish.

ROADS, but, while the highway has eX-
banded its mileage in accordance with
the requirements of the locality, no ma
terial progress has been made in the care
or skill bestowed upon its construction.
Formerly the highway amounted to
little more than right of way, separated
sometimes by fences from adjacent pri-
vate property, but in many instances I'M
drained, ungraded and unimproved, so
that it was frequently impossible. Nor
has its condition materially improved by
time, ard today the embargo of mud
roads is so universal that not only the
farmers, but many of the railroads which
are dependent on common roads for
their traffic. as well as manufacturers
needing prompt and constant supplies of
raw materials and fuel, citizens of large
communities requiring cheap produce,
pleasure seekers and Cyclists" have
become alive to the great Importance of
improvement in this long neglected line
of traffic. From Maine to Mexico, and
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, there is
a demand for better roads, which is
manifesting itself through the press, in
the universities, in legislative bodies in
popular meetings of citizens, in technical
societies, and in scientific periodicals.
Everywhere the opinion prevails that
our roads are a disgrace to our civihza-
ton and serious impediment to our de-
velOpment, for facility of communication
is one of the most potent elements in
promoting the general welfare, whether
of country or city.
In sympathy with this movement spe-
cial endowments have been created for
courses of instruction in road engineer
ing in some of our technical schools, and
prizes have been offered for contribu-
tions bearing on this subject. One of
the latest of these was the competition
invited by the committee on better
roads, composed of citizens of Philadel-
phia, which offered and paid a compare
lively large sum for essays on road max
ing and maintenance.
The principal difficulty in the way of
the improvement of the public roads is
that of providing the ways and means,
for SO long as the entire burden rests
upon the agricultural community it will
be difficult to make change in the ex-
listing maladministration of affairs. The
working out" system under supervisors
is not productive of good or economical
results, and should be abolished, while
the taxes for road purposes should be
more eQnitably distributed. In many
places the location of the roads could be
changed to great advantage, resulting in
shortening the distance, improving the
grades and drainage and taking less land
from the farmer. Before any of the
roads are permanently improved, there
fore, their location should be carefully
revised by competent engineers or road
builders This being done. their resist
ance could be greatly reduced by provid-
ing hard and smooth wearing surface
for traction, technically known as met
aling."
This may be accomplished by different
systems where stone of suitable quality
is available known as the Tresaguet or
French, the Telford, or the Macadam,
the relative merits of which have long
been warmly contested.
Without stopping to describe the pc
culiarities of these systems, it will suffice
in a general way to state here the recon-
mendations of the board of adjudicators
appointed by the provost of the Universe
ty of Pennsylvania to determine and
award the prizes upon the numerous
papers submitted in the competition al
ready alluded to. They We're to the
effect that in the improvement of our
roads the Macadam system, consisting
of small angular fragments, in sizes not
exceeding from two to two and half
inches in their longest dimension, ac-
cording to quality, should be used wher-
ever stone roads are both practicable and
justifable.
That the minimum width of the met
aled surface for single track should be
demirod eight and one-quarter feet Of
such depth as the amount of the traffic
and character of the subsoil may require,
to be determined by the engineer in
charge.
That the bed to receive the stone must
be 50 prepared that it cannot be saturat-
ed with water, and to accomplish this
great attention should be paid to the
character and drainage of the subsoil.
That there should be legislative enact
ment regulating the width of the tires
of wheels. and that the minimum width
for all carts, drays, wagons or other
heavy draft vehicles should be four
inches, to be increased when the capac-
ity of the vehicle exceeds half net ton
per wheel, at the rate of one inch for
each 400 pounds in excess.
1t is believed that attention to these
particulars would result in greatly i'm
proved roads without increased taxes,
and with much less cost for maintenance.
There are many details upon which the
durability of a road may depend, but it
is not the purpose of the writer to dis
cuss them here. One point, however,
needs to be specially noted, and that is
the selection of foundation material.
There are some road builders who not
only regard clay as a suitable substance
for the roadbed, but actually recommend
| its use in binding the surface together
! This practice is to be condemned, since
clay is one of the most unstable of the
earths, and is most readily affected by
thermal or hygrometric changes, which
is Just what should be avoided. That
material is best which is most constant