The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1908-12-17
NEARLY SIXTY MILES OF
STATE ROADS PLANNED.
Commission Announced Route of Pro-
posed Roads Last tuesday.

Thursday, which was attended by a
large delegation of people from different
| sections of Garrett county and also
from Allegany county, at which time
the Commission heard arguments for
and against the tentative route selected
by it at previous meeting, the pro-
posed route for the new road in Garrett
county was definitely fixed as follows:
Beginning at the Allegany county
line on the National Road and running
through Piney Grove to Grantsville and
from thence to Keyser and the / ennsyl-
yania state line west of that point.
From an undetermined point on the Ma
tional Road near Keyser the road will
go southerly through Accident, Ne
Henry and Thayerville to Oakland and
from Oakland to the Red House on the
Northwestern Turnpike, a distance
from the starting point of from fifty
eight to sixty miles over the present
location of the roads.
This route makes the road or series of
roads pass through the most populous
section but leaves a marvelously rich
portion of the county off the route. that
being the country in and about Bit
finger, and adds materially to the
length of the road from Grantsville to
Oakland
AS the roads now run, up hill and
down. the location must necessarily be
changed in many particulars which will
add several miles to the length of the
route and pile up the cost of building
many thousands of dollars. The amount
apportioned to Garrett county by the
Commission, 1928, 900, will be somewhat
increased by an apportionment to be
made by the Commission at a future
meeting.
A surveying corps is already in the
field in Allegany county going oyer the
proposed route from Washington coun-
ty and will shortly come to Garrett
county.
In discussing the road question re-
Gently the Baltimore Sun contained the
following:
Sooner or later the Good Roads Com
mission will have to deal with what to
many is the most serious problem of all
those confronting namely, the con
struction of the roads so as to stand the
strain Of the automobile traffic.
As yet but little thought has been
given this subject by the commission,
which has been chiefly busy in selecting
the routes in the counties and efTecting
a complete organization for the work
which will begin in the spring.
Those who have studied the question,
however, 4ealize that the roads must
be built so as to stand the automobile
traffic or Use they viii not last and the
millions which the State proposes to
spend on the roads will be of compare
tive small value. In the States that
can be classed as progressive in the
matter Of roadbuilding this automobile
pr blem is recognized as a serious one
and the road engineers of the country
are doing their best 20 find the right
solution.
In Massachusetts, where many thou
sands of dollars haye been spent in con-
structing roads and where the highways
are as fine as anywhere in the country,
it has been found that the roads are be-
ing rapidly destroyed by the automo-
biles. The suction of the big tires
driven at high speed over the roads
loosens the stone and causes the road
to dlsintegrate. In the course of very
little while the road is in bad shape,
and the money spent in its construction
has practically been thrown away.
This question of the effect of automo-
bile traffic on the modern road was one
OF the chief subjects discussed recently
at the international conference of road
engineers held in Paris, which was at
tended by Chief Engineer w. w. Cros-
by, of the Good Roads Commission, and
the discussion there will, no doubt, be
of value to Mr.. Crosby when the time
arrives for the taking up of this impor-
tant question by the commission.
The assertion is made that this is
question that cannot be ignored and
must be dealt with. While the roads
are not being built for the benefit of the
automobiles, the automobile is a factor
that must be reckoned with. 1t has
come to stay, and each year sees a rapid
increase in numbers. Within a short
time, lit is predicted by many, they will
come into general use by farmers, who
will haul their crops to market by means
of automobile trucks.
Students of the road question in this
State want to see the commission deal
with this subject in broad-minded and
liberal manner, and they want the roads
built so that they will stand the auto
mobile traffic and not disintegrate under
it. They say that it is the duty of the
commission to provide roads that will