Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1909-04-27
GOOD ROADS LEGISLATION.
Provision Made by the State TO Assist in
the Construction Of Public Roads.

good roads and should be th'
means of great y promoting ane
stimulating the construction O.
improved roads in North Carolina
This act carries with it an appro
prlaticn of $4,000 aud, as stated IL
the act, "the object and purpose
Of this appropriation shall be te
enable the North Carolina Geolog
ical Board to advise with the
township and county authorities
in building and improvement OF
the public roads, by sending to the
township or county a competent
road engineer, who will assist them
in locating the improved roads,
advise them as to the best road to
build and how to build it, and also
give advise relating to the best
kind of bridge to be built in con-
nectlon with the improvement of
any road. The Geographical
Board. through the State Geolo-
gist, may make inquiries IN regard
to aystems of road building and
management throughout the Unit
ed States and make Investigations
and experiments in regard to the
best methods of road making and
the best kind of road material,
and shall disseminate such knowl-
edge by lectures to be given III the
different couLties and by prepar-
ing, publishing and distributing
bulletins and reports on the sub
jects Of road improvement, and
shall also gather and tabulate ill.,
formation and statistics of road
building in North Carolina and
disse inmate the same throughout
the State"
AS will bo seen from the above,
it is now possible for the Geologi-
cal survey to hire engineers who
are competent road builders and
take up with the various counties
and townships who are contem-
plating the construction of H.
proved roads, where tolocate their
roads, what is the best road to
build, giving consideration to To-
cation. and how to build it,
Arrangements have been made
to employ W. L. Spoon as road eu-
gineer for the geological survey
and he will enter upon his duties
about May 1st. Mr.. Spoons home
is in Alamance county, and he ls
a graduate of the University Of
North Carolina. He has been
dsvoting himself to the study and
construction of good roads fol
fifteen years and during the past
seven years has been road en-
gineer for the Office of public roads
of the United States Department
of Agriculture. He is considered
by the office of public roads as
one of the best engineers in thi:
country and for some features c1
road engineering he has no equal
Thus he comes thoroughly
equipped to take up the various
phases of the enineering worl
which he will be called upon t. de
in the different counties of NORTH
Carolina.
The survey, which has made
thorough study Of the good road
problem, Is confident that it will
be able to save to the countie
which are inaugurating a system
for the construction Of improved
roads, considera money tina
other counties, which have takel
up this kind of work, have spen
unwisely on account of lack of ex
perience.
In North Carolina there al
three types of improved roads NOV
being constructed: macadam
gravel and sand-clay. In deter
mining the kind of road to be built
certain important conditions mus
be considered: (D availabllit.
and Suitable road building mate
rial; (2) estimated am 5unt o
traffic over the road; (3) wealtl
of the county which is to pay fo
the road. In deciding these qnos
tions, the road engineer Of the ge
ologial survey should be of gfea
assistance to the hetownships orcoun
ties, and before these communi
ties begin the construction of i'm
proved roads all these question:
should be given careful considers
tion and the system planned GU
before the work IS started. In dc
ing this there will be little chanc