The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-09-01
ROAD WORK BEING DONE Bridgeport to Be Center of Splendid System of
 Highways PLAN AND SCOPE
 OF IMPROVEMENTS Trunk Line Through Con- necticut Has Its Incep-
 tion Here
Detailed Account of Work Now Under Contract of
 Much Interest Here

Much Interest Here
 With the State road work now in progress in and around Bridgeport, to- gether with the plans now in process of completion for additional road con- struction by the State highway depart ment, it will not be many months be- fore this city will be the center of as fine system of improved highways as can be found in the State. As a matter of fact, at the present time contracts are running involving the improvement of over sixteen miles of road contiguous to Bridgeport. In ad- dition to this, contractors are at work on eight miles of road on the old Bos- ton post road east of New Haven, all of which has a direct bearing on the welfare of this city, as Bridgeport is one of the largest cities through which this old Accomplishments of the most important in the State-passes in it's one hundred and twenty miles.
 Equal in importance, as related to this City, is the trunk line which starts here and goes through the State north ward to the Berkshires traversing Trumbull, Huntington, Ansonia, Sey- mour, Beacon Falls, Naugatuck, Wa terbury, Thomaston, Harwinton, Tor rington, Winchester and Colebrook. touring routes in the State, and it's importance as a show window for Con necticut will increase in the same ratio as the unimproved intervals are put into a. state of excellence.
 Then there is another important trunk line that starts from Norwalk and also has its outlet in Massachu- setts. This road passes through the towns of Wiltons Weston, sARedding, Bethel, Danbury and through New Milford, Washington, Warren, Corn wall, Canaan and North Canaan. to Bridgeport, it has a. large influence on Fairfield county, of which Bridge port is the metropolis and the county seat, so what affects one section of the county must, perforce, be of in terest to all who reside in this section of the State.
 One of the most important sections of road contracted for this season is the interval from the Mianus bridge in Greenwich to the Stamford town line, which has long been a source of trouble to the tourists B. N. Clark of this section-a distance of 11,369 feet. In the city of Bridgeport there is a contract running for 7,8SS feet of macadam road; in Fairfield, the con- tractors have nearly completed sec ton of macadam road of some $500 feet in length, and this road will bring the town of Fairfield into close touch with it's natural market through the medium of a splendid highway.
 Perhaps one of the most dangerous short stretches of road around Bridge rort is the noted Jump Hill in Easton which has been the source of downfall for more than one ambitious automo- bilist. The letting of the contract for the improvement of this spot-which involves cutting down the hill and fill ing up the hollow together with strengthening the road-ensures a de- cided and distinct improvement of this wretched bit of road. Other improve ments arranged for in the vicinity of Bridgeport are these: Two sections Of road in Wilton, one of 1850 feet on the Norwalk and Ridgefield road. and the other of Il ,467 feet on the Norwalk Trumbull, one of 5165 feet on the Bridgeport and Newtown turnpike, and the other of 17,000 feet on the Bridge port and Easton turnpike. Then, too. contractors are at work on stretch of 2,70O feet in Bedding, and short sec tions in the towns of Ridgefield and Monroe.
 Passing from these several main roads to the Boston post road, to which reference has already been made, ap- proximately eight miles of road are under contract on this highway be- tween Bridgeport and New London, as follows: Ten thousand linear feet in the town of Milford; two contracts in the town of East Lyme aggregating over 15, 900 feet; 1867 feet in the town of Old Lyme and 10,oo0 feet Ghe Ferry road) in the town of Old Saybrook. ~
 In addition to this work, other sec- tions on this old turnpike are now in the works, one in the town of Orange and the other in the town of Water ford.
 Highway Commissioner Macdonald took full field notes of the uncompleted sections from the Long iill road in Trumbull up through to Newtown cen ter and plans have either been pre- pared. or. are in the course of making, for this entire distance. In addition to this surveys have been made on a number of stretches of the trunk line from Bridgeport through to the Berk- shires, in Thomaston, Harwinton and other towns.
 Some people have aabored under the misapprehension that the responsibility for the neglect of State aid roads rest ed with the State. But a reading of the various laws under which State work was prosecuted prior to the en- actment of the law of 1907 will show that the maintenance of such high ways was an obligation on the part of the town in which any such road was constructed. It is a fact, unfortunate ly, that many towns totally ignored the mandate of the laws in this re- spect, with the natural result that the roads were allowed to deteriorate, and, in a, number of cases, these highways developed into wretched state of dis repair.
 With the passage of the law of 1907 inc State was authorized to assume the repair of State aid roads, but un- der an equitable interpretation of the provisions of that act. the State was circumscribed in it's field of activity along this line. Under this interpre- tation. it was demonstrated that every town accepting State aid placed itself 11nfder contract with the State to main