Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1905-03-31
GOOD ROADS.
housing Meeting of Addison County Road
Commissioners.

Rousing Meeting of Addison County Road
Commissioners.
Notwithstanding the terrible condition
of many of the roads the attendance, at
the first county meeting of the town
road commissioners called by the new
State Highway Commissioner Charles w.
Gates of Franklin, was very large,
practically every town in the county
being represented by its road commits
sioner or some of its selectmen Many
others interested in good roads were also
present. The meeting WIS held in the
lower town hall. The morning session
at 10 o'clock and the afternoon session
at 80 and not minute was wasted at
either session, every minute being used
either in talks or road making, road
building and road repairs, by the State
Commissioner, Prof. Votey of Burling-
ton and others, or in answering
questions.
The new commissioner gives evidence
of being an efficient and progressive
officer and he is certainly very enthusi-
astic and his enthusiasm ought to stimu-
late and encourage every town COM
missioner.
Here are a few timely and helpful
suggestions condensed fIom his talk to
the town commissioners:
Do your work early in the season.
Late work is usually unsatisfactory be-
cause it cannot be properly finished.
Select only the very best material to
be had. sit will be economy to reject
poor quality of gravel that is near by
and go mile for that which is good"
Use wide tire wagons and carts in
road building they help build the road.
Give the subject of drainage more at
tention than you ever have done. Water
is the great destroyer of our roads, the
enemy we have to fight.
Keep the portions of improved road
that have been built in good repair from
the town road tax.
Employ section men to keep mud
holes filled, loose stones removed, sluices
and culverts open, to turn water from
the travelled road in time of storms and
freshets, and to make other small repairs
all under your direction.
Don't depend too much on the work of
the road machine. Money spent in
scraping worn out soil from the sides of
the road or bitches into the travelled
track IL ,.loney thrown away.
Keep bitches well opened and surface
smoothed with the machine and mud
holes filled with good material and save
each year if possible part of the regular
town road tax to expend with the State
tax. Forty towns last year each ex-
pended 500 or more of their own money
in this way.
Preserve the beauty and natural at
fractions along the roadside and help
make our State attractive not only to
ourselves and to summer visitors, but
the wealthy and refined who may seek
to establish permanent homes i'll Yer
mont
Mr.. Gates is firm believer in good
gravel for country roads and gave strik
ing illustrations of its utility and does
not hesitate to recommend good gravel
as being preferable even to stone for
permanent roads, provided always that
the gravel is good. He explained the law
relating to State aid for permanent roads
and what he should require before orders
for such work could be allowed.
lie has sent to every road commits
soner and selectmen copies of the law
passed by the last legislature, providing,
for State aid to towns doing permanent
work on the roads He makes many
valuable suggestions for carrying out
the work. All claims for State aid must
be made in accordance with certain
regulations, and the law requires that
certain portions of main thoroughfares
must be selected for Improvements. Mr.
Gates does well to recommend that
work on highways be done in one con-
tinuous section rather than scattered in
small pieces in different parts of the
town. If this suggestion is followed,
and the work done as it should be, it will
not be many years before all of the main
highways in the towns are put in per-
manently good condition.
The interest manifested in the meeting
by the road builders and makers present
is very encouraging to the cause of good
roads in this county.
The road commissioners are an un-
usually intelligent and good looking
body of men and it will not be their
fault if there is not visible improve
ment made in the highways of Addison
county this year.