The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-28
THE OGEECHEE ROAD.
What Has Been the Cost of ImprOv-
ing That Hfghway3


Savannah, Ga, Aug. 27.-Editor Morn
ing News: sir-Being an earnest advo-
cate Of good roads, have read with in
terest the many newspaper reports of
the work of the county commissioners in
improving and paving the Ogeechee road
since its commencement some twelve
months ago.
A great deal has been said through the
press by the commissioners and others
about this work-most all of which has
been OF a fiattering nature-thus keeping
alive the interest of the public and devel-
oping the gratifying fact that a large ma
jority of the people of the county is in
favor of good roads
There arises in the mind of every think
ing man, however, the natural query,
What has this work cost? Apparently
from the reports given us through the
newspapers there is quite a wide diver
gence in the several statements made by
those who are thought best qualified to
know
The first, and I believe, the only au-
thoritative official statement on this sub
ject is the report of Commissioner Chap
lin to the board of county commissioners.
quoted in your issue of Dec. %. 1895. In
this report Mr.. Chaplin gives the cost of
surfacing the first 1850 feet of the road
beyond the city limits to have been
So 1890 and the grading and other WORK
in this distance, $1,111.5S, or total of
$5060.7S, thus making this part Of the road
cost about $1.25 per lineal foot, or at the
rate of $500 per mile. On this part Of
the road it is stated that crushed stone
and two classes of ebert had been expert
mented with, and that the crushed stone
being considered much superior to tho
ebert, it was ordered to continue the paw
inc rrrffn not I'm
stone. Now, judging from this official re-
port If the first 1850 feet, and most acces-
sible part of the road, cost at the rate or
$500 per mile, then the whole five and
one-quarter miles of road which were
paved would cost $34, $50, or rather, as the
average carriage Of the paving material
for the remaining part of the road was
four to five times as far as for the first
1850 feet, it may be reasonable to sup
pose the total cost to have been 5000, or
possibly as much as $4,000
In the presentments of the superior
court grand jury for the March term
made on the 23d of May, we read with
reference to this work: THE question
of cost and relative efficiency is yet to
be decided as we think the
cost of the Ogeechee roadbed-S5,SO 800 or So
900 per mile-can be somewhat reduced
with equally as good results" In this 1t
may be supposed the grand jury had ref
erence only to the paving, and not the
grading and other work done by the con-
victs, which would bring the amount
of total cost about up to what is given
above.
In your issue of June q last. your re-
porter quotes Commissioner Carson Of
the roads committee as saying: The
cost of building the OGsechee road was
about $500 a mile, or perhaps a little
more" and in the issue of the 18th Of
the same month. under the heading, The
Ogeechee Road Finished" ii is said: This
work has cost the county about 5000
a mile and there are just about five and
a quarter miles of it. Commissioner W.
F. Chaplin, chairman of the committee
of roads and bridges, is justly proud OF
the work that has been DONE" etc, etc.
Evidently the reporter obtained from Mr..
Chaplin the information he gave. as in
the same article he quotes the com
missioner in giving some other very in
teresting information relative to roads
and bridges generallN
But what surprises the inquirer most
in reading the above is the great differ
ence in statement of cost of the road per
mile as given by the two commissioners
on the same cOmmittee-one making 1t
about twice that of the other. Again, in
the report of Commissioner Chaplin, re-
ferred to in the first part of this article,
the paving alone of the most accessible
part of the road is shown to cost nearly
81 per lineal foot, or about $500 per mile,
and adding the grading and other nee
essary work, it is shown to cost at the
rate of S. 600 per mile.
Now, taking these several conflicting
statements into consideration, is not the
query at the head of this article peril
nent? What has been the cost OF paving
the Ogeechee road? Inquirer