The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1901-11-15
TO GET GOOD ROADS.
NARROW ROADS AND WIDE TIRES
SOLVE THE PROBLEM.

Military Highway OF TIA" Old Ro-
mans We're Made Narrow - Wear
Better and Cheaper to Bui1s' -%:'i,is
Roads More Susceptible to H':s.
L. Lodian, writing in The Motor Age
on 'The Roads of the World" declared
that he has reached the conclusion that
broad tires and narrow roads are the
key to the good reads problem. 1T
stands TO reason" he says, "that If a
road is narrow it is self wearing even.
1t is far more economical to build,
quicker to construct and easier to main
tain when It reeds looking after. We
sec proofs Of this in our own country
districts-narrow roads that are al
most hard as adamant, while the wide
roads are often muck burrows"
Continuing, Mr.. Lodian writes: eau
tomobiles may be seen running over
roads in Italy that were constructed
more than 1000 years ago-thc self
same roads, hundreds of miles long,
over which the Roman legions trampcd
flushed with victory. over which St
Paul walked and over which the French
troops so repeatedly marched in the
early part of tic century just passed
And through all those ages Cf cCntu.
| rics the roads have scarce felt the touch
of repair. In fact, most of them have
never been repaired during 1900 years
of existence simply because they have
never needed repair
"When the Romans built their Splcn.
did military roads, they built them on
sort of self repairing prnciple--that
| Is, they built them narrCw enough tC
| compel traffic to wear them down even.
| ly; for the-what seems to us modcrns
-narrowneSS Of the OLD Roman roads
| has often been n matter of remark.
| The real object of this narrowncss
have never yet seen Stated in any OK.
position on road engineering other
than the idea being advanced of econ.
omy and rapidity of construction But
1 learned the real motive during trav.
els in Italy in 1912.
1--WE all know that wide road is
only too liable to be worn into ru,s. The
| wider 1t is the more rutS 1t will de
grade into unless sharply looked after
l have seen some natural made roads
in Siberia quarter of n mile wide. but
| such collection "f rats, IN the other
| hand, during travvl.: Ia t,r MCXican re-
| public l have seen narrow say IL feet
| -na tural made roads running through
q marshy country :..Ein..i as h"rl and
| compact AMI SmoOt!i as some OF thp as
phalted streets of New York. Paris OF
Berlin. These roa,l.; in Mexico 10 which
| | refer had on either Side OF them the
quick mud country. IL popular Ian
| guage this country iS termed quick
sands; but, like q good many other
| things popular. this is erroneous. The
earth is literally a quick mud. Il tena
cious clay. and sticks like glue to the
clothing If YOU happen to sink n foot
into it, as did the writer Among rail
road engineers this quick mud is
known as gypsum and to handle the
treacherOus ground properly has been
a problem in track construction. So in
Mexico the traffic. being forced to con
fine itself in the quick mud country to
! n ~ foot gauge. has In the course Of
years hammered out track as hard as
4 first class French highway.
"Now. the Romans built their 1000
year lasting highways purposcly mar
| row so that the roads should be self
| repairing self mending.' or self wear
ing even.' or what expression you like
| to apply to q road which automatical-
| ly, SO to speak. keeps itself In good
| order for couple Of millenniums
| Since the old Romans never extended
| their conqucsts to America. we are not
| possessed Of any remains Cf their
! roads. but the traveller In most parts
| OF Europe will see them. You will
even find them as far north as old
| Scotia--since the republic extended its
| conquest even unto Caledonia. A sec
tional view Of a Roman road shows
that the successive layers Of material
used In their construction consisted of.
first loose stones. II. feet thick; next,
| stones and lime three. fOrrths OF foot
thick; then cemented brick and tile
debris. one-half foot thick. the whole
topped by basnlt blocks one foot thick.
| The Roman road is not French road
| nor a metal road. nor one OF Macad-
am's. but. so far as the surface is con-
cerned, n substantial solid stone or
rock wearing surface. made thicker
and rendered more permanent than
even the thickest flagstone sidewalks
In Europe or America ever were.
"The loose stone undcrlayers render
ed drainage excellent. Can it be Won
dered at that these ancient Roman
highways are still today almost as per-
feet as two millenniums ago? Just
think Of hundreds Of miles are still
In good order. without having. as be-
fore stated. felt the touch of repairl
"He may follow one of these rock
stone highways till 1t suddenly runs to
seed in q cornfield or smiling vine val
ley. He may be Informed that II he
likes to trudge across Eve or six miles
Of cross country land under cultivation
he will pick up the stone highway
again. The interregnum space Of road