The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-09-06
CHANGING THE LOCATION OF
PUBLIC ROADS.

them began their eXiStance as cow-p1 tbs
and horses trails; some We're located by
persons who had various and sundry
objects in view: some We're located by
committees. or jurieS; some We're located
by accident: a few We're located by EN-
gineers. The majority of them We're
located many years ago, having now been
in use nearly or quite a century. and
during all that time the travellers -
and fro in the hill country have gone
up hill and down without stopping II
seriously ask the question whether OF
not this was necessary, and While the
average traveller realized the %inconveu-
fence, he never stopped TO count the
cost Of climbing these hills.
| nave in mind Il case in one Of our
midland counties where between two
towns twelve miles apart there We're two
hills, one on each side Of the creek. On,
Of these had to be climbed by the wagons
going toward the east and the other by
the wagons which were westward bound.
These were the only two serious hills on
the road. and but for them. Il ton would
have been an ordinary wintertime load
for a pair of mules. On account OF
these bills however. the Wintertime load
was generally limited both ways to 4
thousand pounds. | made inquiry as to
the number of wagons that passed over
this road and the average load which
they hauled, and on making Il careful
calculation found that these two hills
had cost the people who used the road
more than $4,000 in five years. To have
changed the location Of the road 50 as u
have avoided both the hills would GER
tainly have cost less than 5000. IllS Is
simply one illustration out of hundreds!
and thousands which might be mentioned
in middle and western North Carolina,
and the deep sand and sWampy reglor&
in Eastern Carolina would furnish thoI-
sands Of additional illustrations of the
enormous expense in time and labor and
actual money that our people have to
bear in using the poor roads such as we
find in all parts of North Carnlina To-
day, and careful estimates show that
this burden on the people of North Caro-
lima amounts to nearly $1O,OOO,OOO =
year.
OF course the way to remedy this con
dition of things is to build better roads.
One of the first steps TO be taken III tins
direction is to have all the prominent
public roads examined with 4 view to
changing their location wherever by do
ing this we can avoid the steep hills. or
course in some places it does not seem
to be practicable to change the location
and it is found that the road can be
greatly improved by cutting 4 few feet
off the top of the hill and filling in the
hollowS. as is done in the case of II il
roads. This is an expensive operation,
and as Il rule it will be found cheaper,
and in the long run more satisfactory
to change the location.
But there are difficulties in the way
Of doing this as there are in the way of
doing many other good things. In the
first place there is the difficulty in secur-
ing the right of Way. AS soon as it
is decided to locate Il new road i'll q Civ
en- place the value of the land just there
increases enormously in the estimation
of its owner, and forgetting the great
benefits to him and to his %neighborS
which the better road will bring, he sees
only the almighty dollar which he may
be able to make his n~eighbOrs pay for 4
narrow strip of land which is to be dedi-
Gated to the public road. But it must
be said to the credit Of the North Car
olina land owner, in the great majority
of cases, if approa ched in the right way
on this subject he has shown himself
willing to give the right of way for this
nob purpose. In other cases the people
who AVE built their houses along the
public road dislike to have its location
changed for the reason that this will
leave them as it were. in the back-woodS,
but on the principle of the greatest good
to the greatest number. objections of this
sort hould not be allowed to prevent the
change of location, because while this
may slightly Inconvenience a few persons.
the improved location and the good road
will benefit Il hundred to every one that
it Inconvenience, and all such minor de
tails should be overcome in one way or
another in order to accomplish the great
benefit which is sure 10 result.
Another important problem which al
ways has to be put in this connection
is how shall the new location be decided
upon? There is but one sensible WAY
to do this. If 4 railroad were to be
built through any community no suck
question as that would be asked: an en-
gineer would be employed and would be
given one or two or more assistants, as
he needed. and he would be simply re-
QueSted to take his Instruments and To-
cate the railroad. And yet when we
come to the location of Il public road.
which requires more skill, more training
and more experience than does the loca
ton of Il railroad. because there arc
more minor details to be taken into con
sideration, the most COMMON plan is 70
call out Il jury Of five or more citizens
to be made up of Il doctor or Il me-
chanic or a merchant. and several farm
crs. all of whom may be most excellent
and successful men in their professions.
considerate in their family relations, and
devout in the discharge of their rel
gious duties, but not Il one of whom has
had the slightest training of any Kind
which would render him competent to
locate 4 public road or Il railroad. | have
in mind one case in which the attempt
to open Il road located by such a jury
cost the county $49o. and the project was
finally abandoned for the reason that
before the work was finished, another
location was chosen by an engineer. AMI
the new road opened up under his direc-
tons, costing the county less than S26.
The false economy practiSed by the couu-
ty fathers in this case simply wasted
$4O5 of the peoples hard earned money.
and ! have known a number of othe~
cases in North Carolina almost as strik-
ing rs this one, yet in spite of facts like