Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1902-05-16
THE ROAD QUESTION.

Next SUBJECT called was
THE ROAD QUESTION.
Response by ]. R. Candle.
The subject for discussion to-day is
good roads and how to make them. To
% the subject justice it requires more
ttuency of language than most men
possess, even though they may have
more than ordinary knowledge upon
this very important subject. 1 will try
and give you my ideas in regard to it.
In the hrst place it requires a man
with Well-trained eye to properly grade
even good dirt road, so as to drain
all the water from the road and the
bitches also. There should not be
an uneven place either in the grade
OF the ditch that will hold water as it
VIII surely give trouble sooner or
later. To build a good dirt road
would first use pillow and twO-horse
wheelscraper to go over the road aud
MI the holes or uneven places; then
would use the grader like those now
IN use by the county to throw the bed
OF the road up with; then a heavy
steam roller should be used to com
pact and firm down the loose spOngy
mass of dirt that would otherwise cut
Up INTO dust and almost smother the
traveller, az has frequently been the
case here in our county. This done
properly will cost from $50 to SIS per
mile. When there are no rocks or
other hinderances to come in CONTACT
with a road graded and rolled this
way in April, May or June it will get
very firm and solid by the time winter
comes on and will not be affected by
the freezes so seriously as is usually
the case.
But a good turnpike road is the
only road that will last and pay for
the time used in it's construction. In
order to make a good turnpike road
it is especially essential to have a
good foundation or road bed to build
upon. The first essential thing to do
is to set stakes an equal distance from
the lines along the road so as to make
IL as straight as possible. The dis
lance between the stakes should be at
least Il feet, this to be graded so as
to leave the road bed in the center at
least eight inches higher than at the
side. l think that it is a serious mis-
take to grade the road up too high as
the stone will be constantly rolling
Of and the BURNS washing down. MY
Elan would be to raise the bottoms and
lower the hills, so as to get the road
as near the level point as possible
without too much expense. To do this
work with pillow and scraper properly
will cost from $3.50 to $500 per mile.
Now, after rolling and making the
grade very firm and solid, you are
ready for the stone. l would advise
that the first stone broken should be
a fraction coarse so as to stay up out
of the mud, and finer towards the top,
so as to give smooth surface. Then
give a strong BURN at least two feet
wide and cover with about two inches
OF soil, and you have a road that VIII
last and be a source of both pleasure
and profit for years to come. The
proper depth to make the road l think
is twelve inches in the center and six
inches on the side, or an average OF
nine inches. This will require 2,346 %
yards of stone to the mile, and Is
usually estimated to cost fifty cents
per yard for quarrying and breaking;
then the hauling will cost from %
to 80 cents per yard, owing tC
the distance you may have to
haul. The total cost will be
from $4,000 to $4,000 per mile. Now
if the road beds are properly graded
and nine inches of good limestone
rock well broken placed thereon and
strongly burned there is no good
reason for any great expenditure of
money for long time to keep them up
OF course they will need some at
tention in the way of raking in the
ruts and also keeping the bitches
open, but the expense will be almost
as nothing compared to keeping dirt
roads.
Mr.. McReynOlds, county road super
visor, followed on this subject. AS
supervisor of roads in this county,
he had come to hear discussions. This
county was behind in roads, though
we'll up in most everything else. He
referred to the better roads and road
system of European countries.
This is a large county with many
miles of earth roads to be kept up.
1t would take 100000 right now to
get them in good shape. He recon-
mended that every citizen and every
one of the ZOO overseers of roads would
take the lead in this matter; it would
lave good result. Many of the fences
we're too close to the road. The road
should be 80 feet wide, and many we're
not over 20 feet. If farmers will give
the room to widen the grade, it may
be done. A system recently adopted
here is same as in Warren county, and
it has worked well there.
In that county pixies are built by CO.
operation. The road supervisors
brushes the rock and farmers haul and
spread it. In this way many miles are
built. Nothing so adds to the value
of county as good roads.
Mr. J. B. Walker was Overseer of
a road for years; his road was well
worked as he could prove, but now
supervisors had said to farmers, Don't
use your teams as we can't pay for
them" They pay taxes and are ready
to work roads, but can't be expected
to work their teams without compen-
sation.
He urged that road work be well
done and permanent. He had voted
for free turnpikes with doubt as to
it's effect. Didn't think 1t had helped
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