The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1906-02-15
MAC0N'S MODEL ROAD.
Construction Of Five Nile Highway In
4 Missouri Town.

r.r' - q -'A'eN-N'AA ~ iJA44 .
dent of the Kansas City Star.
/ Steps have been already been taken
to add several miles to the road.
By the middle of extsummer the
town will have a five mile stretch
OF continuous roadway from north
to south. The point selected for
the model road is just south of the
/ paved boulevard which extends
nearly down to Blee's Military
academy. The government work
begins there and passes directly
in front of the academy and along
stretch Of country nearly as
smooth as the top of table.
The rock crusher, which is the
important machine of the outfit, is
located midway Of the work. At
the time the construction began
a great hill of hard limestone was
deposited near the Crusher. From
the crusher the rock is carried to
revolving screen, which sepa-
rates it into the three classes used.
The power is supplied by an or
dlnary traction engine. a 20, -
900 pound steam roller passes over
the road constantly, smoothing
down the surface until it is nearly
as hard as solid rock. The pres
sure is equivalent to about 425
pounds to the square inch.
D. G. Haire, the expert in
charge Of the construction, says
that any county whose land is
worth from $50 to $40 an acre can
afford good rock roads.
THE permanent road is the
cheapest road" said Mr.. Baire.
AT the outset it looks like ire
mendous expense when compared
with country methods of building
highways, but in the long run the
rock will pay for itself over and
over again. In some sections
where we have built such roads
the advanced price of land has
nearly paid the expense i'll one
year. A farming community to
be prosperous must be able to reach
the market in bad weather as well
as good. The well constructed
highways make it a matter Of in
difference whether it rains or not.
Another thing, and it is an 1mpor-
tant one, investors from the east
will hardly look at country where
the highways are full of mudholes.
They have been used to good rock
roads and would not feel at home
without them"
The first mile of country high
way constructed according to gov
eminent plans may cost anywhere
from $4,000 to $1,000. The ex-
pense is governed by the distance
of the quarry from the road, the
price of labor, etc. The second
mile, however, can be built cheap
er, because by that time the men
and teams are more familiar with
the work and can accomplish a
greater amount in less time. The
method employed by the govern
ment in its object lesson roads is
as follows:
In the first place smooth, hard,
sub-grade is prepared, with solid
shoulders at the side to hold the
gIading material firmly in place.
The .subgrade is Of the same con
tour that the completed road will
be. The rock is crushed and
screened into three different sizes,
the largest from two to two and a
half inches in diameter, the next
about an inch or inch and a quar-
ter, the third fine pieces, known
as screen dust. =" This latter is
used for filling and binding the
surface. The largest rock is laid
on the bottom, intermediate comes
next and the dust goes on top. 1t
is hammered into all the spaces be
tween the larger rock. Each
course is rolled several times by
the large steam roller. Water is
used freely when applying the fine
stone. A sprinkling cart precedes
the roller, which follows along,
creating a wave of cement. The
| finished road is nearly as smooth