The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1902-09-27
BETTER ROADS.
Cost of Construction On The Eastern
Shore.

OSN-~N-
Shore.
The Maryland Geological Survey has
made its first accurate estimate of the
cost of modern construction on the East
tern Shore The first piece of permanent
highway on the shore is the short stretch
of Stag on the road between Ccntrcvllc
and Chostcrtown, in Queen Annc's Co.
This was constructed out of an appro-
prialion of 5000 for the material. the
farmers along the Improvement furnish
ing the labor.
The Stag came from the StcclworkS at
SpalroWs Point. on the Patapsco.
Wcathcrin% hardcns it. When mixed
with fine earth it acts as Il cement. The
longer it is exposed the harder it gets.
An unexpected difficulty increased the
cost Of this Stag 10 cents ton. Picks
were necessary to loosen it from the bed
in which il lay, and men were hard to
get. This item rQualling the cost of the
materials need not be considered in flu
turc. The steel company will offer IA
clitcs for loading.
Th length of the now Improvement is
100 feet. its width II feet. Ten inches
of Stag were laid upon the crown of the
road and seven inches on its sides -Four
hundred and fifty tons of coarse Stag
were used and 10 tons of finer grade.
The material was consolidated by
horse roller weighing 81 tons. which
was loaned by the Good Roads Machin-
cry Company Of Pennsylvania. and
transported free by the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company. All plans and cst-
mates for the Improvement were made
by the Surveyors highway engineer,
Mr.. A. y. johnson. and his assistant,
Mr.. Harris. They also supervised the
construction.
The farmers in the ncighborhood of
the road have contributed much. for
which the county would have had other
wise to pay.
Here is the highway engineers re-
port of the new work on the Eastern
Shore. He has charged up every item
by residents of this part of Maryland
as Il fair indication of what the best
roads will cost them:
Items. Cost Per Ton,
Stag on board barge. ............ S0.f1
Freight 100 miles,. 0.54
Unloading barge. ............... Oh
ilauIIHS .''...''. ....'.'... W.
Spreading ................... 0.O7
Rolling and water. ........... 0.02
Total cost of Stag in place on road. 81 .13
Cost Per Mile Is Feet.
Stag 2400 tons ut 81 40. S3432. 90
Shaping road bed, $500 So yds.
at - cent. Observation-Disclosures. HOO
Total cost per mile II feet widcS347G.O 90
Total cost per mile - feet widcS2SOO.OO
\ road II feet wide, Mr.. Johnson
says, Will be everywhere sufficient, cx-
ccpt near the large towns.
Mr. W. Irving Walker was the chief
promoter of the new improvement. As
chairman of the committee which has
had charge of it he has submitted a re-
port to the Commissioners of Queen
Annc's county. In this he advises that
they spend the $4,000 allowed next
year by the tax levy to improve with
Stag three miles of roads out of Centre
vile. If this allowance is applied by
the engineers to the worst parts of these
three roads. he says, it will cover twelve
miles, and give the county that length
of first class highways.
If the road moneys had been so spent
FOR the last ten years, he declares, the
county would have % or 80 miles of the
best highways in the country, making
more than 100 miles of other roads
easily paSSablc for two horses hauling
twice the loads they now pull. Mr..