Arizona republican., 1910-06-14
OUR NEW ROADS
 sEVEREsT STRAIN
Mans Latest luxury.-The Automo bile-ls the Most Destructive ot
 All Vehicles.

Arizona is today entering upon period of road development that will mean eventually the criss crossing of the territory with we'll made. per manent roadways The first of these roads is now in course of construction
 In building these highways an en- tirely new element in road making has entered within the last decade. T. is the advent of the automobile, the most destructive agent to modern roads known-and the motor car has come to stay. Europe is just learning that even the superb roads that the Romans laid out are not proof against this modern four-Wheeled, self-pro- pelled invention of man. The Sofe rubber tires are more destructive by far than steel trimmed wagon wheels and England is now rebuilding roads that have stood the test of ages till the automobile ran over them.
 The problem of finding the best re- sistant ;o the wheels of the motor f is one that engineers are now study ing and ondeavoring to solve. A Phoe- nix engineer who has had somethiT to do with the making Of roads, was asked for his views on the subject He submits the following:
 The most serious and difficult pre- blem now engaging the attention of highway engineers all over the wo ri is the preservation Of the roads under the destructive action of motor Vehi cles and the devising of new methods of construction adapted to the require nf izf f. lie. That the automobile has come to say no one will dispute. It is es timated that there are already about 3OO. 900 machines owned in the United States, and the number is increasing at a marvellous rate. In France. which is credited with having the most su perb system of roads in the world. built at a cost of about S625. .O00, ,000. a great international road congress was sanctioned by the French govern ment and held at Paris in October, 1908
 So alarming were the ravages caused by motor traffic on the costly French road system that the purpose of the meeting was announced to be The Adaptation of Roads to Modern Methods of Locomotion.' In the United States, the problem as yet is a vital one only near the great centers of population, for the reason that but small percentage of the total mileage of roads is improved. and the motor traffic is largely confined to small areas of country, but it will of neces- sitv become increasingly important with the constantly increasing use of the automobile.
 The fact that must give us concern is that the old methods of cOnstruc- ton which have stood every test for more than a hundred years are made quate to meet the conditions of this new form of traffic. and that we are in the midst of a transition period which may eventually revolutionize the science and art of the road builder. The highway engineer of today is called upon to ascertain in what way the automobile injures the road, what is the exact cause Of the injury, and finally to devise an adequate remedy.
 While the destruction of the road may be considered as the most tan gible and serious problem, the dust nuisance as intensified by motor traf- fife is most far-reaching in its indirect effects It has been claimed that nine tenths of the dust produced by man comes from streets and highways, and some one has very aptly termed the public road the national dust factory" The effect of the huge clouds of dust upon health must be great, as most forms of disease are transmitted by this gern-laden dust The damage to crops growing adjacent to the public highway through the dust nuisance Is real and tangible, and particularly is this true of small fruits So extreme has this condition become in certain districts that no attempt is made to raise fruit near dusty roads. Its ef- feet upon some classes of live stock is most severe, cattle and horses in par ticular being susceptible to the germs of tuberculosis carried by the dust The automobile can not be held re- sponsible for these forms of damage. but it has undoubtedly in ensified them The road builder is, therefore called upon in many cases to mitigate the dust nuisance by devising form of treatment which might be consid- cred a palliative.
 The efforts of progressive highway engineers are directed. therefore, pri- marily toward the preservation of our roads and the construction of dustless roads, and. secondly. to minimizing or mitigating the dust nuisance.
 The experiments conducted by high way engineers. particularly in France