Omaha daily bee., 1909-07-29
COUNTY ROADS INSPECTED
County Board Takes City Council and
Leading Citizens Out.
REPAIRS ARE BADLY NEEDED
city Engineer Craig Expresses His
Desire TO Repair city Roads Lead
Ing Into the Country Dis
tricts. Right Away.

tricts,Rtght Away.
Nine automobiles full Of county commis-
sioners, city councilmen. engineers, sur
veyors and property owners made a Jour
ney of inspection over-the county roads to
Willard and back and as a result the city
will Immediately begin to do it's part tow
ard making Lincoln avenue a perfect thor
oughfare from Hanscom park to Willard.
The "trip grew out Of the invitation ex-
tended to the council Monday by the
county commissioners to go in the cam
missioners' car and see what was needed
on West Center street. When 1t was
found that the county machine could not
carry all that wanted to go the Omaha
Automobile club was asked to help out
and eight big cars were offered. Frank
Colpetzer, w. r. McKeen, c. w. Hull,
Herman Peters and several other business
men interested came with their machines
to boost the proposed Improvements.
n Started IL.
The estreet in need Of repair is west
Center street, or Lincoln avenue, as it is
known farther out. Between the city lin
its and Willard the road is well built of
macadam for most of the distance, with
some tar covered macadam, several
stretches of concrete and a mile or more
Of brick. The city has a brick pavement
from Thirty-second to Thirty-sixth which
is badly in need OF repair and the mac
adam road from Forty-second to the city
limits, a distance of about one mile, is
fun of holes and rough distractions. The
county commissioners, anxious to help the
road, have stretched a poitn in its favor
and have paved the whole street from
Thirty-sixth to Forty-second where 1t ad-
Joins the poor farm property, although it
was incumbent upon them to pave only
half of it.
The commissioners were right In believ-
ing that the city would help the road since
City Engineer Craig has signified his in
tention of repairing the brick Immediately
from the current repair fund and of get
ting estimates upon the cost Of making
over the mile of macadam. This report
will consider the expense of using the
old material and laying a new concrete
gutter and 1t will be given to The council
for action at the next meeting. The county
commissioners estimate that the work will
cost the city between 5000 and 500
Tour "A Revelation.
The trip was a pleasure tour and to most
OF the company excepting the commission
ers 1t was a revelation of the fine roads
that Douglas county has at the disposal
of drivers and motorists. The procession
left the city hall at 2:SO, led by Frank
Colpetzer, with Fred Bruning, chairman
of the board. On the way out to the CITY
limits frequent stops were made to ex-
anime the bad places and City Engineer
Craig and the council looked over the
ground carefully.
The Willard road, Which affords a safe
and smooth highway through some of the
finest scenery in eastern Nebraska. was
built almost entirely from the 500. 900
which the road fund received as an in
h%eritance tax upon the Count Creighton
estate.
For this reason Commissioner Bruning is
favoring a plan to name il the "Creigh-
ton road" and; ma name can be given
this road 1t is probable thai the practice
will be continued of naming the roads after
the great estates which have made them
possible. Nearly every one can be largely
traced to the estate of some one man.
The best part Of the Willard road is
macadam with q tar or "tarva'' covering
which binds the crushed rock tightly and
makes the roadbed as smooth and dust
iSSo as dSpiidils wear Tie town OK Miliar0
is a mile OF concrete, which is much more
permanent than the tarreo macadam, al
though it is not so free from dust. 1t is so
solid and secure, however, that in some
places where the foundation has washed
out from under it completely the road has
held up as a bridge without any danger
of breaking through
Other Roads Inspected.
T.--.
north over a hilly dirt road, which Is not
included in the county's forty miles of
pavements. This road meets the West
Dodge road about five miles east of its
terminus and from that point the com
missioners and their guests came into
Omaha. The west Dodge road is a finely
laid macadam highway, which has only
one or two rough spots in It's whole length.
1t has not been treated with the tar
preparation, however, and for that reason
is dusty. or this fact, however. the county
commissioners who ride in their auto
mobile are not so well aware as are the
farmers whom they pass by the wayside.
In the more than thirty miles which
the exploring party covered only one or
two places in the roads were criticized
and in most Of those cases extensive and
costly improvements will have to be made
before the roads can be cleared. The
chief difficulty is where the maeadam
runs along the bottoms of steep hills and
mud is washed down upon It in rainy
weather.
The forty miles that the county commits
sioners have paved in the last few years
is in excellent condition and solid thorough
fares extend into the country out of
Omaha in every direction.