St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1895-06-14

GOOD ROADS.

There has been quite lively agita
ton in favor OF improving the STATE
highways. and as everyone from The
humble pedestrian to the lordly bl
cyclst, is deeply interested III The
subject, we take this opportunity
of telling a little about what Massa
chusetts has accomplished, hoping
that the force OF example will effect
our own people. In June, 1892, a
temporary commission was APP
pointed to examine the condition o.
the roads, and to draft a billprovldlng
for the Improvement OF the high,
WAYS. The law suggested, was, with
some changes, passed in June 1898
but before any petitions for con-
struction of state highways were
submitted to the general court, an
act was passed increasing he powers
OF the commission, and permitting
the mayor or alderman OF any city
or the selectmcn OF any town, as
well as the coanty commissioners,
to petition the highway commission
for taking roads as state highways.
In place OF submitting TO the leglsla.
ture a seprate bill Tor the conSlruc-
ton OF each road, it was voted that
the appropriation be used by the
highway commission, without fur
thur legislation, in building state
highways.
The 100000 appropriated by
the state has been pretty evenly dl.
vlded among fourteen counties. The
plan IS to build, section by section,
such roads as will connect the great
ccutefs OF trade, and join with
through roads IN other states,
So that both local and interstate
communication will be benefited.
Under date OF January 1895, the
Massachusetts highway commission
rendered "a report winch covers the
work OF The past year. and this pub.
lcation should be consulted by those
wo are considering legislation.
The law will permit contracts for
the construction to be let to munich
pailieS or to private corporations,
but the former method is preferred f,
as 1t IS more etftctual III teaching the
people the art OF road building, and
protects the state against cheaper
ing the work by the importation OF
foreign laborers.
A resident engineer is appointed by
the commission, and it is his duty to
be in attendance, and keep a correct
account OF all items to be paid Tor by
the state.
Wherever the traffic was of >uffi
Gent proportions TO warrant 1t tnc
roads have been broadcnvd. the
advantage to owners derived
from the construction OF the way is,
as a rule, so much greater than the
injury to them by widening the road
that. in large majority of cases,
the town officials have been able to
procure releases without any cost.
Thirty eight sections have been
contracted tor, and only eight are to
have "A width OF eighteen feet OF
hardened surface, all others being
fifteen feet wide As the primary oh,
ject is to get length OF way, the
commissioners are considering the
ACCESSIBILITY OF building single track
roads in the thinly-settled districts.
These would not be over nine feet
wide, with here and there portions
OF double width as convenient pas.
sing points torcarriages. A mile and
halt OF such roads can be built for
less than the cost OF a mile of fifteen
feet width, and the advantage OF
getting produce to market is not
le>sened, provided such construction
is confined to localities where the av.
erage traffic is from six to eight veh,
Giles an hour.
Progress has been made in the
laboratory work on theroad building
stones OF the state. EXPERIMENTS OF
this kind are carried on at Harvard
University in the Lawrence Sclcn.
t,hc School whose dean, Prof. n. :.
Smaller, is a member of the highway
commission. The chlet aim OF these
inquiries has been to determine the
htness torroad making As this phase
oithe work pr crosses maps are made
showing the location OF all deposits
suitable for road building.
a number OF towns have already
appropriated money to build thor
streets IN the same careful manner
as those constructed by the state,
and Others have purchased
machinery with the intention
OF extending the work on roads 9th
er than state highways.
Careful consideration has been
gwen to the plan of planting shade
trees along the highways and expert,
have been consulted concerning the
best varieties tor the purpose. As
the estimated expense OF procuring
and planting these these trees is not
less than one-half million dollars, the
commission rightly made this ques
ton secondary to bodybuilding, bu
they are collecting such data as vii
enable them to work with profit OF
the adornment Of the roads after tn,
construction is well in hand. Tn