Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1908-02-26
GOOD ROADS REPORT
Committee from Roanoke Visits
North Carolina

AfOA
, The Roanoke County Civic In.
l proyement League is greatly In
terested in the subject of road ir
provement, and has inaugurated
7 an aggressive campaign, which
promises to result in great benefit
to the people of that section. A
committee from the league recent.
ly visited Charlotte, N. c., and
made thorough inspection of the
splendid macadam rosds Ct Meek
lenburg county. The report Of
this committee is a valuable paper
and will undoubtedly bear fruit
not only in that vicinity. but in
other sections Of Virginia in
arousing deeper interest In this
very important subject.
In making their report of the
visit to North Carolina, the COM
mittee among OTTER things, said,
we spent the whole day of Janu-
airy 28th on the ground, drove
over some twenty-five or thirty
miles of these roads, inspected the
camps, etc, and complete report
is submitted herewith.
On arrival at Charlotte, we were
met by Mr.. N. j. Wicks and Mr..
VIM. H. Long, Chairman County
Committee, of Mecklenburg couE-
ty, and Immediately after were
driven out into the country over
as fine system of macadam roads
as probably exists anywhere in the
South to-day.
The roadbed averages 40 fee
neor the outskirts of the city, thus
allowing them to putt IL feet OF
macsdam or metal in the centre
with room enough for dirt drive
ways on each side. Beyond the
two mile line, the macadamized
road is shifted TO the left hard
side of the road going out from
the city, and the roadbe from
ditch to ditch is narrowed to 30
feet.
This gives ample room for mac
adamiZed road on one side and |
dirt roads on the other. The ma
cadam road being on the right
hand side facing toward the city,
naturally gets all the heavy trait
city bound, while in favorable
weather light wagons homeward
bound can use the dirt road to good
advantage.
All told, Mecklenburg county
has completed to date something
over two hundred miles Of well.
built macadamized roads, emf rac
ing some fifteen lines divergirg
from the center, and ranging in
lengths from six to TWENTY-FIVE
miles, with cross lines and lateraIs
in addition.
This campaign of road improve
ment has added at least coup t
of million dollars in taxable valu.
alton to the county, and, nOtwith-
standing this, it has rot been a
burden on the taxpayers. Neck
lenburg county has never bonded
itself for road improvement.
All this work has been accom-.
plished az a result of u levy of one {
fourth of / per cent, on all taxu- I
BILE property, city and county, a
Drd this assures a total year I
Iy road fund of approximately y
300, 900, which is raised mainly 5
BY the road levy. In addition:
however, the county gets 38 cents
IN each poll, and pro.rate from :
he general State fund amounting !
% approximf :ely $23, 600. The !.
AK rate, including county and
State, is only 1915 per hundred. :
lad the unanimous verdict on the !.
part of every one met was that Il 6 !.
county and city had both many :.
lines value received for all moneys
ed in the road improvement
!.
Tie most vital factor in the L
uccess of the road movement in q
deckleDburg county appears to lie
n the perfect system and business L
lethods that characterize the u
Whole undertaking. They are L
approximately fifteen d !,
niles of roed per year, and the q
lsximum grade has been reduced
rom @ per cent. when work was r
rst started to the present maxi "
,um of 8 per cent, which is only l al
er cent. higher than the maxi Il
Ium grade adopted by most rail. al
pads. &C
We were further Informed that 81
revious to the construction Of al
lese roads it was almost impossi. VI
le for planter to haul more than do
70 bales of cotton to market at
ny time during the winter season, NJ
:" that frequently the roads were 81
- )nditiOn that a team Cl
ould stall with an empty wagon, to
I'd large part OF the time one ra
lie would constitute as much as q TO
am conld haul. To-day they ad- ri
sc that the load is practically Al
mited by the capacity of the ca
agon. and that a good team can lie,
aul eight or ten bales into the st
xwyfeh