Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1902-09-27
MODERN ROAD BUILT
ON EASTERN SHORE.
The Maryland Geological Surve
flakes Its First Estimate
of the Cost.

OI TIC OOSt.
The Maryland Geological Survey h
made its first accurate estimate of {
cost of modern road construction ON t.
Eastern Shore. The first piece of perm
nent highway on the shore is the she
stretch of Stag on the road between Ce
terville and Chestertown. in Queen An
county. This was constructed out Oft
appropriation of $500 for the materis
the farmers along the improvement
furnishing the labor.
The Stag was taken from the stee.
works at Sparrows Point. ON the Pa
tapsco. Weathering hare ems it. When
mixed with fine earth it acts as a cement.
The longer it is exposed the harder i;
gets. An unexpected difficulty in
creased the cost of this Stag 40 cents
ton. Picks were necessary to loosen
from the bed in which it lay and mt
were hard to get. This item, equaliI
the cost of the materials. need not
considered in future. The steel CO
pany will offer facilities for loading.
The length of the new impr0vemt
is 100 feet, its width 10. Ten inche,
of Stag were laid upon the crown of the
road and inches on its sides. -Four
hundred and fifty tons of coarse Stag
grade. The material was consolidated
by horse roller weighing three and o
half tons, which was loaned by tt
Good Roads Machinery Company of
Pennsylvania, and transported free by
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
All plans and estimates for the improve
ment were made by the surveys high
way engineer. A. n Johnson, and his
assistant, Mr.. Harris. They also super
vised the construction. The farmers in
the neighbOrhood of the road contribu-
ted much for which the county woul6
have had otherwise to pay.
Here is the highway engineers est
mate for the new work on the Eastern
Shore. He has charged up every item
at its market price. 1t may be taken
by residents of that part of Maryland
fair indication of what the best road
will cost them:
Items Cost pert
Stag ON board barge ..................
Freight one hundred miles. es.................
Unloading barge ge................ .....-
Hauling. ...............-.....
Rolling aud water ...............-.-.-...&-
Total cost of Stag in place on road. -......S
COST PER MILE, FIFTEEN FEET WIDE
Stag, 2iO0 tons at 81 ~ ....SSi3
Shaping rOadbed, 81 square yards. at &c.
Total oost per mile, IL fee. wide ........s .ss7
Total cost per mile, II feet wide. 2SO
A road twelve feet wide. Mr.. Johns
says, will be everywhere sufficient,
cept near the large towns.
W. Irving Walker was the chief p
moter of the new improvements.
chairman of the committee which
had charge of it, he-has submitted
port to the commissioners of GU
Anne county. In this he advises
they spend the $40. 900 allowed next
by the tax levy to improve with
three miles of the roads out of Cei
ville If this allowance rs siarlie
the engineers to the worst parts
three roads, he says, it will cove
miles. and give the county that
of first-class highways.
If the road moneys had been
for the last ten years, he decl
county would have twenty five
miles..of the best highways in "
try. making more than 100 miles -
er roads easily passable for two h,
hauling twice the loads they NOW
Mr. Walker proposes on this gr
an enabling act. under whicif IN
county may raise such an amount
money as it would ordinarily spend
ten years. With this it could mai
general improvements at once, and st
have enough of a balance TO keeD
new roads in excellent COZ
years