The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1902-02-08
PROGRESS OF GOOD ROADS.
The Movement in Baltimore County
Some Progress Being Made.
pY wA1rER W. CROSBY, ROADS ENaINEER.

BY WALTER W. CROSBY, ROADS ENGINEER.
Baltimore county is the largest and most i'm.
portant subdivision of the State of Maryland,
both from the standpoint of the population and
financial resources.
The good roads" movement started in the
State of Maryland in the year 1896 by the crea-
ton by the Legislature of the Maryland Geolog-
ical Survey, with sub-department relating to
highways in $685. whose business it is to inves-
tigate the condition of the roads in the State
and to aid in their improvement. The address
of DIR. Reid will give you an idea of the work
of this commission and 1 will not repeat the de-
| tails suffice it for me to say that the survey
has done magnificent work and is proving de-
servedly popular as leader out of the mire.
The movement for better highways in the
State as a whole was followed up in the Legisla-
ture of 1900 by a revision and alteration of the
existing road laws of the leading county in the
State. This law was enacted to take effect jan
uary l, 1901 and so is now about year old.
In Maryland, it must be understood, the State
is divided into counties and these counties are
subdivided into election districts. These dis
tricts are further divided into two or more cleo
ton precints. The township system of the
northern states does not prevail. All incorpo-
rated towns are entirely separate from the coun-
ty organization, as is the case of Baltimore city.
Under the old road laws the County Commits
sioners, among their various duties were then
assisted in their work of constructionand main
tenance of roads by road supervisors, appointed
annually by them, one from each election dis
trict, and upon these supervisors and the Coun-
ty Commissioners fell all the details of such
work. The new law made two radical changes.
First-To secure an equal distribution of the
district road funds in district, it provided for
M in
of a board of road commissioners in each dis
trict, these boards to consist of two or three
members, according as the district was COM
posed of two or more election precincts.
Second-It provided for the appointment of "a
man having the degree OF civil Engineer and ex-
position of Baltimore County Roads Engineer.
This engineer was to advise the road commits
sioners in all work on the roads costing 500;
to keep accurate account of all moneys spent
for labor and material, and to audit all bills sub
mitted by the road commissioners for road work
The payment of such bills by the County Com
missioners was intended to be contingent on his
approval of them and in this way was his con-
troll over the work secured.
During the first five months of 1901 the eco
nOmical administration of the County Commits
sioners and the lack of available funds prevented
the usual spring work being done. The change
of methods and responsibility also delayed the
commencement of the work and it was late in
the year before things were running smoothly.
Notwithstanding these facts, Baltimore county
has taken a long stride in the right direction and
the results already visible give ground for vivid
hopes for the future of our roads.
The laws of Baltimore county provide that
tax of from 10 to 25 cents on the 500 may be
levied for road purposes alone. Of this amount
five cents is turned in toward the general
fund. and the balance must be spent in the dis
road lew is the maximum of 81 cents per si0O
giving general fund of about $4,000 and dis
trict funds amounting to about $4,000: The
general fund Is a similar idea to the State Aid
Plan" applied to the county organization.
During the past three years the amounts
spent on the roads of Baltimore county, includ-
ino hrid xuan nc follows 1900 G1T0 k00. )
$l56, 800 1901, $149,250. 1t will be noted that the
expenditures for 1901 are the smallest for several
years, and yet the general remark is that more
results visible on the roads for the past year
than ever before.
The topography of Baltimore county is varied,
and its diversity presents many different prob
lens for solution to the highway engineer. To
the south and east of Baltimore city lie the fiat
lands of the costal plain, while in the northern
part OF the county, near the Pennsylvania line,
the country is rough and rolling.
In the former part stone for roads is hardly to
be found and oyster shells are used almost
wholly in road construction. They seem to be
the best and cheapest material available in these
sections. Very little care or intelligence has
been used generally in placing them on the roads
but in spite of this the results have been very
satisfactory. The old method of Smelling road
has been to simply spread the shells from the
carts on the ground to be sheled, about eight
feet wide and to foot in thickness, and allow
the travel to gradually pack down the shells,and
with the assistance of water from storms, the
shells were more or less quickly ground up and
united into smooth, impervious road surface,
on it until worn thin enough to allow the wheels
to cut through into the soil beneath. No pre-
cautions concerning the drainage were observed
before Smelling, nor were any efforts made to-
ward establishing the proper grades. Under the
engineer, however, attention is gradually being
directed to these necessities and the benefits
will be appreciable.
Shells have many advantages as road metal.
Up to certain amount of travel they will make.
when placed upon properly shaped and drained
roadbed, smooth, hard, impervious road sur
face. especially agreeable at night and at mini
Shells cost in Baltimore county from two to
five cents per bushel delivered on the road, ac-
cording to the distance hauled. Under the old
methods it took about twenty thousand bushels
of shells to metal a road ten feet wide. Were
the proper methods followed and the roadbed
first properly shaped and drained and then the
shells rolled with light roller, estimate
saving of half this amount of material.
In the other portions of the county, we have
large variety of stone for road metal, from the
hardest and toughest "niggerhead, - as the local
trap rocks are commonly known, to the disinte-
grated schists.
Gneiss is quite common, so are flint (quartz),
marble and limestone. One variety of limestone
makes an excellent metal for light travel I'm
fortunately good gravel is far from abundant.
There are only two or three limited areas in the
county fit for use as road metal, and the use of
gravel is practically eliminated from county
work.
The soil of Baltimore county is clayey loan
of nature that is absolutely worthless in its
natural state for use as road. No matter how
we'll shaped and drained the roadbed may be it
will become impossible to travel during the win
ter months, unless protected by coat of gravel,
shells or stone. In this regard Baltimore county
is unfortunate as compared with many other
localities.
Fortunately, however, ON the other hand, frosts
do not penetrate very deeply in our climate, and
a material that would require extensive sub
draining, before being fit for a foundation in
more northern ATTITUDES, will prove very salts
factory with us if provided with good roof
and moderate bitches at the sides of the road.
believe | am addressing those who under
stand that it is the foundation that carries the
main part of the loads and that the metalling of
a road is merely for the protection of this foun
dalton. These facts it is particularly the prov
ince of the expert to teach and prove. Hereto
fore, when road has been about to be STONED"
in Baltimore county the method of procedure
has been to ignore the grades, except in severe
instances, and the shape of the roadbed, and to
put on the stone, beginning with large ones the
size of mans head and gradually working up
to the smallest sizes, which were mapped overt
by hand. The whole work is then covered with
layer of earth from the sides of the road and
left to take care of itself. Those in charge of
the work never stopped to consider the fact that
proper shaping of the roadbed with the ma
terial at hand would save some of the expense
for the more costly stone, even if they knew
that the stone was being wasted in using it for
the foundation in many cases.
The results of this method are what form the
hardest problems for the engineer today. The
unevenness of the settlement, the quality of the
material used, the utter lack of care in its use,
and the total ignoring of the problems of drain
age present now serious obstacles to those en-
deavoring with limited means to bring about
rapid improvements. And such are the expec-
tations of the people of an engineer that he is
believed to be able to wave the same funds, used
for years in the maintenance of these roads, as
a wand over them, and. by the pronunciation of
mystic word or two, transform them instantly
into beautiful boulevards, 1.-THE kind we read
about" You will all agree with elm the neces-
sity of preserving this confidence in the profess
sion, but you will also admit of its difficulty at
times.
Not all of the roads of our county are stoned,
and it is on these dirt roads that we have been
able this year to do most of our modern work.
| The results have been eminently satisfactory to
those interested, though during the progress of
the work some of the criticisms were severe.
Some new surfacing of the old roads has also
been done to the satisfaction of all concerned.
From the lack of time to give personal atten-
ton required to it, and from the lack of interest
on the part of some in authority to benefit from
the advice and experience of the engineer, some
work has been done this year with unsatisfacto-
ry results and under unapproved methods.
Considerable oldtime "stoning' has been and
will still be done, but too sudden a change has
been felt to be unwise and the engineer has
merely insisted that the grades and drainage
ahOuld considered before anV stone was mt