Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-09-10
ROAD BUILDING
IN THIS COUNTY.
County Commissioners Provide a
Plan for Their Successors to
Follow After,
TO REGULATE CONSTRUCTION,
Heretofore Little Attention Has Been
Paid to Detall-Many Samples
10 Look Upon.

The profile Of cross sections for coufl-
~ roads. formally adopted by the board
Of county commissioners today, IS a
step Of unusual import I'm good road
construction I'm Utah, since It practic-
ally establishes as law the system
therein outlined and which has been
tested so satisfactorily by the present
board OF commissioners. as well as by
the travelling public, IN this county
Hereafter all road building in Salt Lake
county must be conducted on the lines
OF this system, that being the legal
effect Of the formal approval
The present board Of commissioners
has reason to feel elated over the sue
cess Of its plans, which are not only OF
vast benefit to this county, but VIII
Prove invaluable as a basis Of opera
ton for every county In the state, for
every kind OF country road is provided
for. OF course, the whole system is
based on the extended investigations,
experiments and Instructions Of the
national government, which OF recent
years has gone so thoroughly into the
question Of good roads, and has dIssem-
mated the information among all in
tcrested Investigators. With the con-
Centrated experience OF this ana for
Gig governments In road buildings, a
good foundation was laid, and a care
ful modification TO local conditions has
completed q most excellent piece OF
work.
The present actor OF the Salt Lake
county officials Is no new experiment.
Actual work has been going on, and
tests Of road have been made here for
the past two years. To-day the samples
of road are at hand for all to look at
Last winter there we're plenty
Of comparisons, on the part OF
The Wagon-trayeling public, between
many OF the uncanny, muddy, anger
provoking streets Of this city. and the
condition OF State street from the city
limits a long distance south, In the
wettest weather state street was IKE
a paved boulevard south Of the city
limits, but north OF that Hire condi-
IONS were ullefenl.
OF roads there are plenty Of samples
IN this county. Two OF these may be
mentioned. one Is on State street,
about two miles south Of Murray, AZ
that point heretofore there base been
a very bad piece Of road. This sea-
son It was turnpiked, or graded ac-
Cording TO the new system, and a slight
covering OF Stag placed on IT, The
work was not very expensive, but 1t
was systematic. Now Il IL one OF the
finest pieces OF road In the county.
Another sample OF somewhat different
construction Is on Fourteenth South
street. west from State, Heretofore
in winter you could 90 hub deep; now
II Is almost like rafting along on an
iron plate, The commissioners se-
letced about the worst piece Of the
road they could find for the test Of this
kind OF construction, and Il Is now the
very best In the county. Its expense
WAS comparatively light, considering
that It's underdrainage, oyerdralnage
and covering are al provided for, The
center OF that piece OF road today Is
like a solid stone pavement, eighteen
inches thick, az dry and more durable
than asphalt. yet the cost is only a
fraction Of that Of asphalt. There Is
a piece Of the unfinished road on that
street. which shows the construction,
and Is well worth visiting. II reveals
the coarse Stag foundation, and the
broken Stag covering, all laid to the
system Of grades. Robt, Harmon, road
supervisor Of the district, thinks IL bet
ter than city pavement, even II It did
cost less than one. fourth as much, and
IS ready ~ prove his claim during the
first heavy rain storm. II Is truly a
splendid piece Of road, as anyone may
see.
The cross sections approved today
give a two.rOd lane, with 20 feet road
way and two four-foot sidewalks; a
four-rod street. with 90 feet roadway
and two eight foot sidewalks; and five,
six, seven and eignt-rod streets, with
sidewalks ranging up TO 10 feet and
ro9dways ranging up the 100 feet, Each
cross section plat shows the fence line,
the tree space, the line for telegraph,
telephone and electric light poles. the
ditch space OF three and a half feet out
side OF each curb line, the hitching post
and mail box post line four feet from
the curb, the water mains line five feet
from the curb, the I'VE line eight feet
from the curb, with locations Tor street
railway tracks, etc, all In a perfect,
well regulated system. Everything is
worked out with engineering skill and
precision,
Even with the government good roads
standards TO work upon, there has been
necessary a vast amount Of study and
mental labor I'm securing a system to
suit local conditions 80 perfectly and
satisfactorily Commissioner Anderson
has worked out every detail, and the
other commissioners have gone over It
thoroughly. Surveyor Sweuson did his
full share OF the necessarily careful
and skilful work, and practical tests
covering months Of time have proved
highly satisfactory In every instance.
As a result OF modern methods intelli-
gently applied, the county people feel
that they are getting their moneys
worth In the Transformation from hap
hazard road-patching TO systematic
road -buildiug.
Hereafter builders Of public roads in
salt Lake county win know where they
are at when working, and Will put up
sidewalks for pedestrians as well as
for tpamg