The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1911-11-18
some SUGGESTIONS ABOUT ROAD
MAKING AND ROAD REPAIR WORK
W. s. Geart State Highway Engineer Gives Many Where
Concentrated Efforts Gave Remarkable Results
always Ready to Give His
Assistance.
Assistance.

to construct six miles of road between
Agra and Kirwin in Phillips county
but, on account of heavy rain, were
forced to postpone the work tenn
porarily.
Even Arkansas and Oklahoma have
now gotten the idea OF building
roads on the one-day picnic plan, and
in addition to a number Of roads al
ready built are proposing the con-
struction of a road from Monte Ne,
Arkansas, to Vinita, Oklahoma, q dis
lance of 80 miles, the work 10 be
done in three days. And even Ten
nessee is promoting the construction
of a road across the state on the same
plan.
Only good can come from these con-
centrated efforts in road improve
ments by the whole community and
they should be encouraged in every
way possible There is scarcely a
town but that has one or more roads
leading to it which need special at
tention and to put them in good con-
dition in many cases viii require more
funds than are available from the
township and county levies. This
road needing repairs may be q bad
rocky hiH or one that is washed bad
" and needs to be properly drained
and graded; or one that is very steep
and could be materially improved by
making a cut at the top and placing
the exeavated material at the foot; or.
t may be a strip Of low wet road
which needs to be elevated above tbs
surrounding country and properly
drained or probably tiled; or If may
be a mud hole which has been there
so long and has cost so much in re-
pairs and in distance travelled to get
around it that the people feel that
it has cost almost too much to change
it now. (Do not fill the mud hole with
stone, 1t only makes two holes in
stead Of one. Drain it thoroughly,
clean the mud out and I'LL It with the
same kind of material as forms the
road surface. A fundamental pTinci-
pie in road construction is to use the
same kind of material in repairing
as was used in the original construc-
ton If it is q stone road, use stone;
if gravel, use gravel; and if clay, use
clay; and if loan, use the same ma
teriaI and nothing else in repairing
it)
It is an easy matter to find such
places about most any town and if a
concentrated effort was made by the
commercial club in cooperation with
the farmers many of these roads
could be converted into the best roads
in the community and the cost to
any particular individual would be
practically nothing and the effect that
sufficient effort was put forth to get
out a large number of men to do this
work would create enough favorable
sentiment in good roads improvement
to do wonders with the available
township and county funds, and it
would stimulate the road officials to
do better work and in many cases
would be an object lesson for them.
Hundreds of officials do not know q
good road when they see it to say
nothing about how to build one.
The actual construction Of the road,
however, should not be started with
out having definite information in re-
gard to the best methods and plans
for carrying out the work and if the
state engineer can be of any service
to any community in the matter of
planning the details of the work and
assisting in the direction of the forces
on the appointed day, the committee
in charge should feel free to ask him
to aid them