Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-03-21
The Districts Roads.
TO the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor OF The Star:
Kindly allow me space for a correction
as to your editorial of March ~. entitled
THE District Roads, which is apt TO
produce some incorrect impressions
First. The fire engine was en- route to a
fire at Chevy Chase lake. two miles be-
yond tho District line. and was stuck
in the mud Of Montgomery county. not
OF the District OF Columbia.
Second. The statement that Outside
or tie parks there is only one first-class
road within the District" is equally mis-
leading. The better constructed roads
are nearly all outside of the parks The
latter seem better. not altogether because
of the excellence of their construction.
hut because the grinding traffic of heavily
loaded wagons is not permitted upon
them to cut and crush the surface. Four
teenth street extended. the Military road.
Belt road. Park road. Massachusetts
avenue beyond Rock Creek. Canal road.
Wisconsin avenue. Georgia (old Bright
wood avenue. Bunker Hill road. Rhode
Island avenue extended. Bladensburg
road. Benning road Sheriff road, kenil-
worth road. Good Hope road. Nichols
avenue and Livingstone road nearly
forty miles of the main arteries of travel
10 and from the city. carrying in all of
the farm and garden products use,
are all macadamized for the greater part
of their lengths. are smooth and well
drained. sustain heavy commercial and
pleasure traffic. and are roads on which
any vehicle. heavy or light, can maintain
its full speed without obstruction due
10 the defects of the road at all seasons.
There is in wet weather little I'M
avodable sloppiness on some of the most
travelled, but no mire, ruts nor holes.
These not all wide roads. but they
accommodate the traffic.
Besides these, we have many more
miles of less Travelled macadam roads
and good graveled roads which are. in
good condition for travel all the year.
and numerous shorter streets. sustain
ing heavy wear. most of which are kept
In fair state of repair.
Every roaD or street outside of the
original boundary of the city at Florida
avenue IS classed as county road"
There are over one hundred and sixty
miles of these roads. large proportion
of which are improved and are kept in
repair. Unfortunately. also, we have
n considerable number of uuimproved
streets, with scattered buildings and little
travel, for the Improvement of which no
funds have ever been provided. The
cost of improving these is in many cases
not yet justified by the necessity for it:
but their condition is necessarily bad in
wet weather.
We are constructing well-built new
roads I'm the District at the rate of about
$4,000 per annum. exclusive of asphalt
pavements. We also expend about
500. per annum for repairs to county
roads. including sprinkiing. The rate of
wear on the principal roads has largely
increased in the last five years. due to
the use Of automobiles at high speed.
When ii is considered that the amount
appropriated for repair must maintain
over $50 miles of road in passable order
at all times. besides taking care of the
drainage conditions and safety of unim-
proved streets and alleys. il is not TO be
ct f<, ,-,I,
little-traveled roads will occasionally de-
yelop a mudhole. L. r. GRABILI