Middletown transcript., 1899-11-04
COST OF GOOD ROADS.
DEPENDS UPON LOCALITY AND METH
90 or CONSTRUCTION.

to Lessen the Expense OF Read
Buildin9-well Baiit Stone Roads
the Cheapest.
The Improvement Of country roads Is
chiefly an economical question, relating
principally to the waste Of effort In
hauling Over bad roads. the saving In
money. time and energy in hauling
over good ones. the initial cost Of i'm
proving roads and the difference In the
cost Of maintaining good and bad ones.
Il Is not necessary to enlarge on this
subject In order to convince the average
reader that good roads reduce the re-
sistance to traffic and consequently the
cost Of transportation of products and
goods to and from farms and markets
Is reduced TO minimum. says NJ O.
Eldredge Of the Office Of road inquiry.
The initial cost Of a road depends
upon the cost OF materials, Labor, ma
chinery, the width and depth to which
the material ia to be spread on and the
method of construction. All these things
vary 80 much In the different states
that it Is impossible to name the exact
amount for which mile of a certain
kind of road can be built
The introduction In recent years Of
improved road building machinery has
enabled the authorities in some Of the
states to huild improved stone and
gravel roads quite cheaply. First class
single track stone roads, feet wide.
have been built near. Canandaigua, N.
Y. for 5000 to 81. 600 per mile. Many
excellent gravel roads have been built
In New Jersey for 81. 900 to 81, 800 per
mile The material Of which they were
constructed was placed on In two lay
ers, each being raked and thoroughly
rolled, and the whole mass consolidated
to o thickness Of s inches. In the same
state macadam roads have been built
for 80. 900 to So. 600 per mile, varying
in width from to 30 feet and in thick
ness Of material from. to 10 inches
Telford roads IA feet wide and 10 to ~
inches thick have been built In New
Jersey for $4,000 to $6. 900 per mile.
Macadam roads have been built at
Bridgeport and Fairfield. Conn, 18 to
30 feet wide for 90. to $5. 600 per
mile. A telford road 16 feet wide and
12 inches thick was built at Fanwood,
N. J., for So, 500 per mile. Macadam
roads have been built in Rhode Island,
10 to 30 feet wide. for 81. 900 to %. 900
per lnile.
20 Dc rIT
the way from $4,000 to $25. 900 per
mile. A mile Of broken stone road 10
feet wide costs in the state Of Massa-
chusetts about 90, 700 per mile, while a
mile of the same width and kind of road
costs in the state Of New Jersey only
$4,700. This Is due partly to the fact
that the topography of Massachusetts, is
somewhat rougher than that Of New
Jersey, necessitating the reduction of
many steep grades and the building of
expensive retaining walls and bridges
and partly to the difference in methods
Of construction and the difference In
prices of materials, labor. etc
Doubtless the state OF New Jersey is |
building more roads and better roads
for less money per mile than any other |
state in the Union. The roads are now
costing from 30 to 20 cents per square |
yard Where the telford construction |
is used they sometimes cost as much as |
70 cents per square yard The average |
cost OF all classes Of the roads of that |
state during the last season was about |
80 cents per square yard The stone
was, as rule, spread on to o depth Of |
Q inches. which. after rolling, gave q
depth OF about inches At this rate
single track road s feet wide costs about
90. 846 per mile. while u double track
road IA feet wide costs about %. 1O6
per mile. and one IS feet wide costs
about So. $50 per mile Where the ma
terial IS spread on 80 as to consolidate
to 4 inch layer the foot road win
cost about 81. l7S per mile. the IA foot
road about $2. 053 per mile. while the
one 10 feet wide will cost about $9.-
840 per mile.
The total cost of maintaining roads
in good order ranges. on account Of
varying conditions between as wide
limits almost Us the initial cost of con-
struction. Suffice 1t to say that all
money spent on repairing earth roads
becomes each year total loss without
materially improving their condition
They are, rs rule, the most expensive
roads that can be used. while, on the
other hand. stone roads. il properly
constructed of good material and Kept
In perfect condition. are the most salts
factory, the cheapest and most econom-
ical roads that can be constructed
The road that viii best suit the needs
Of the farmer in the first place must
not be too costly and in the second
place must be of the very best kind. for
farmers shonld be able to do their heavy
hauling over them when their fields are
TOO wet to work and their teams would
otherwise be idle.
The best road for the farmer. all
things being considered. is q solid. well
built stone road. SO narrow as to be only
, single track. but having a firm earth
road ON one or both sides Where the
trafic Is not very extensive the purposes
of good roads are better served by mar
row tracks than by wide ones. while
many OF the Objectionable features OF
wide tracks are removed. the initial
,ost OF construction is cut down one
half or more and the charges for repair
reduced in proportion.
Csond Rnmd No4@a