Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1904-10-20

FLORIDA COMMUNITY FINDS 1T PAYS
TO BUILD GOOD ROADS.


building Adopted-Big Increase In
Farm Values Expected.
Iiillsborough county. Fla. affords an
interesting example of modern meth
ods of road building. writes John Far
son in the Chicago Tribune. 1t is sit
uated on the west coast about midway
of the state and is best known through
its county seat, Tampa. Until the last
year this county had only fourteen
miiss of hard surfaced road outside of
its cities and villages, although it had
population of 10000 and contained
over 300 square miles. Outside of
these fourteen miles. nearly all of
which were Immediately adjacent to
the city of Tampa. practically the only
roads We're meandering trails through
the woods. The soil is of the kind usu-
ally met with in Florida, either deep
sand or boggy mud, and ut times these
roads are impaSsable. The few miles
of road that had been constructed
cessity and at large cost Material WAS
brought in from outside tie county.
and there was Il general impression
that Hillsborough county had no road
material within its limits.
All this was changed recently when
few of the most enterpriSing of the
citizens discovered that here and there
through the county We're occasional
deposits of rock. and an energetic
4
An issue of 100000 of county bonds
was voted and was finally carried, al
though there was much opposition on
the part of many who believed lhe
scheme was impracticable- le-opposition
which was carried to the supreme
court of Florida in two different cases
and reappeared i'll the local courts III
the form OF injunctions before the
bonds were finally issued.
From the proceeds of these bonds
$34, 600 was devoted to the purchase
of first class road machinery, includ-
ing eight miles of twenty-five pound
steel rails, with sufficient five foot ties
sixteen ton narrow gauge locomo-
tive and ten dump cars of four ton
Al
ten ton steel roller. three road graders
rock crusher of eighty tons capacity,
steam drill, large pump and hose for
washing and tearing down the overbul-
den of sand covering the rock pits,
twenty horsepower boiler and thirty
horsepower boiler and engine on
wheels. Several rock pits in different
parts of the county We're bought for
tritiing sum and the work was begun
Like other southern counties. Hills
borough county has chain gang, the
number of convicts varying at differ
ent times from fifteen To forty These
men were put to work in the rock pits
and on the road. The railroad was
used only where the rock pit is over
two miles from the road to be con
structed. If the pit is ut close range
mule teams are used to haul the crush
ed rock At greater distance the ties
are quickly laid and the rails spiked
down and a train of ten ears starts
out with il load of forty tons of rock
to be deposited on the new road.
Several different kinds of material
are found, and most of them are used
with good success. From the creeks
and rivers is Il soft lime rock, which
has been found To pack or cement SO
well as to form ii hard. smooth road
bed. In other parts Of the county is Il
hard tinty rock of an older formation
while in the eastern part several vah
able tracts have been purchased, con
tanning an abundance of phosphate
rock and pebble mixed with clay, which
are particularly valuable because they
can be so cheaply worked and are serv
iceable when properly laid. In still
other parts is found a gray clay and
mari in strata from two to eight feet
in thickness. This material frequently
contains high percentage of alumni
ium and makes il splendid finish for
roads.
While this new era of roadmaking /
for Hillsboroueh county has been in
progress only year. it has already |
clearly demonstrated its success both !
in cheapness and quality OF construc. |
ton. Twenty miles of road have been |
within the last year, fifty |
more have been surveyed and cleared |
Of roots and stumps. seventeen of these |
have been graded and eighteen miles
have been ditched.
1t has been determined that the cost /
Of clearing roadway forty feet wide |
runs from $50 to $3.50 per mile and that !
the complete cost of mile of road |
from the time the surveyor begins his |
work until the last surface application |
has been rolled is as low us $1,000 |
where the rock pit is near 10y and
ranges from that to $1,000 in the case
Of roads ci2ht or tea niles away from /
the pit. Tie frequency Of these pits |
has made il possible for the officials to |
plan for tie construction OF orer 100 |
miles of road from Tie proceeds OF |
100000 of bones after paying for their /
road machinery, and tAe best OF all is |