Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-04-18
TUESDAY, APRIL 1s, 1911.
TOO MANY BRIDGES.
Thoughtful Citizen Thinks Business
Sense Should Be Used.

Thoughtful Citizen Thinks Business
Sense Should Be Used.
Editor Yorkville Enquirer:
Will you please allow me space in
your paper to call attention to mat
ter which l think the taxpayers of
York county should be vitality inter-
ested in and give some facts in regard
to It. The matter Is in regard to the
granting of new roads and building of
new bridges, etc, so close together In
certain sections and especially in the
section near my home. During 1910 the
county. / am informed by the present
supervisor, built concrete bridge over
Fishing creek on the main road lead
Ing from Rock Hill to the Bethesda
section, at a cost of something like
$4,000. II is one of the finest pieces
of work in the county and in addition
to building this splendid bridge, they
built high fills on each end of 1t, so
that there will be no trouble In cross
ing this bridge under all conditions oil
weather and freshetS. Within a dls-
tanCe of two and half miles or this
bridge, over Fishing creek, there are
five roads, two of which have been
granted since last Christmas. These
new roads will require at least six ad-
ditional bridges. There is below the
present concrete bridge less than half
mile to be a bridge built, one right
above it in sight, and one about 3-4
mile above that. In addition to the
cost of opening up these new roads
and building new bridges, the mileage
of roads in this section has been more
than doubled and on the main road
leading from Rock Hill to Bethesda,
over the concrete bridge and Stony
Fork, between the Fishing creek and
Catawba township line, the number OF
hands per mile is cut down to three
Ito keep blackjack roads" At Wild
Cat creek, the upper and lower roads
at present are only about one mile
apart, and new road through there
will come between the present two and
another new bridge. On Toole's Fork
there are within about two miles four
roads across Wild Cat, three within
about a mile, or five bridges granted
since Christmas.
Another fact is that the distance Of
the present upper and lower roads for
six or seven miles is not more than 3-4
OF a mile at the greatest, and in lots
of places less than half mile and at
one place about IA mile.
| have been overseeing on road work
for the past fifteen years and am q
great believer in good roads; but 1t
looks to me like ii will be Impossible
to have good roads by opening up new
ones every l-2 mile or so, and going 10
the expense of building and having to
keep up at least a half dozen new
bridges within hollering distance OF
each other. 1t is true they are at pres
ent only asking for fiat bridges, but
the first time one washes away then
expensive ones will be asked for and
the county put to additional expense.
| simply write these facts to put the
taxpayers in touch with them, and II
they are content to let 1t go along this
way then l, of course, will have to
bear my share of it. 1t is positive
fact that one public road that has been
established i'm this section for some
time was not worked last year for the
lack Of men or money to have 1t done,
and still our board has granted two
new ones in this same section since
Christmas, and one just before.
The county has also since put go
yard bridge on the upper old road over
Wild Cat since Christmas.
The above are the true facts OF the
situation and If any taxpayer doubts
it, he can easily investigate for him.
self. 3. +. Merritt.