Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1905-03-30
AN OPEN LETTER.

Wna. MeUereU Loker, Clerk Board
Of County Commissioners for st. Ma
rvs cOWnty-Dedr Sir In reply TO
your letter of the 23rd in regard to
building gravel roads in St. Marys
county, l would say that thorough
rolling is necessary for a properly
constructed gravel road as for a
stone road, and that the State Com
mission would not approve of any
gravel road which was built with
out compacting. / am sure that aft
er your board of commissioners
should see the results obtained by
rolling the roads they would decide
that the purchase of a steam roller
was one of the best investments the
county could make.
In regard to the estimates OF the
cost OF gravel roads, ] think | can
give you sufficiently close estimate
Tor all immediate purposes. OF
course, you understand that the
amount of grading that is necessa.
ry on particular road can be told
only after the detailed SURVEYS are
made, but we can roughly approx
mate what this will be; and can
also give you a fairly close figure as
to the cost OF the gravelling. Gu
the supposition that you do not have
to haul the gravel for more than a
mile, the cost Of one mile of gravel
road, which has the gravel thorough
ly rolled to the thickness of eight
inches in the center OF the road for
a width OF twelve feet, which is
tlanked on either side by four inch
gravel shoulders four feet wide.
making the total usuable width of
the road twenty feet, would be about
$1,000 The grading, making neces-
sary culverts and putting in drains
can be roughly estimated at 81. 200
TO u 300. lnaSmuch as it is proba
BILE that many sections of your roads
will be more than a mile from good
gravel deposit, / believe that it
would be best to estimate the gravel
at about 81 200. This makes the to-
tai cost approximately 81, 500 a mile.
There are doubtless many of your
roads that are favorably situated
as to location of the gravel and steep
ness of the hills, so that they could
be constructed for a much less fig
ure, but | think il better for YOUR
purposes for you to use the higher
estate. This will make the county's
share of the cost of mile of road a
little over 81 200. There NAV, of
course, be exceptional cases where
il is most Deedful to construct road
that will present special difficulties
and proportionateiy increase the
cost OF construction, but this esti-
mate of the county's share at 81 200
or 81, 300, | believe, covers the av-
erage construction. If your board
OF commissioners contemplate pur-
chasing roller l should advise a
3wheel steam roller, weighing seven
or eight tons.
l will advise you when we will be
prepared to make the surveys of the
roads petitioned by your board. after
which a very close estimate of the
cost can be made. In the meantime.
it would be great help to US If you
would have a memoranda made of
all the best gravel deposits in the
vicinity of the roads which you ex-
pect to build this season.
In connection with the question
OF roller | might mention that there
are other counties in the State be-
sides those where stone abounds
that have purchased rollers. There
is already steam roller in Worces-
ter county on the Eastern Shore, and
Caroline county is also about to pur-
chase one. In neither of these coun-
ties are there any hard materials for
roads, nothing which approaches as
durable material as your best grav-
Ell. A steam roller is also very USE
ful on your common dirt roads, to
compress them and make them hard
and much better able to shed the
rain, and therefore keep in better
condition much longer than present.
1t is not out of the question to
build macadam roads in st. Mary's
county. Material can be brought by
water so that a good macadam road
could be built, exclusive of the grad
ing, for about 81, 500 mile. This
ma es the county's share about 81
zoo mile for a durable stone road.
Such roads would beespecially useful
in and about Leonardtown, and If the
county owned a steam roller, which is
necessary to build such roads ptop.
erly, it would be available for both
town and county work, the town pay
ing the county a nominal rental for
the machine while they were using
it.
Ii there is any further information
about State road construction which
is not clear to your board, / will be
very glad to answer any question
which may arise.
Very truly yours,
A. n. JOHNSON, Highway Engineer.