The Bryan eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1880-1913, 1911-05-11
A GREAT HIGHWAY THROUGH
BRAZOS COUNTY.

On Wednesday of this week The
Eagle reprinted from the Galveston
News a Dallas special outlining {
plan for building a macadam roat
from Red river to the gulf. Two routes
were proposed, the most direct anC
the one preferred by the promoters
passing through BraZos county length
wise from north to south. Yesterday
several citizens of Bryan called on
The Eagle to discuss the matter, which
they justly consider one of great i'm,
portance, and in this opinion we heart.
lily concur.
The News special stated that the
promoters of the enterprise are seek
ing the cooperation OF the counties
through which the road is to pass,
that communications to this effect hao
been sent to the county judges of all
the counties and that favorable re.
plies had been received from all eX-
cept Robertson, BraZos and Grimes
The editor of The Eagle called the
attention of Judge Board to the News
special, but he was so engaged at the
time that he could not consider it..
Later in the day a reporter was sent
to ask if he had anything to say, but
he was still otherwise occupied, and
we have as yet heard nothing from
him.
The citizens who called on The
Eagle decided to get up a petition to
the commissioners court asking that
honorable body to take up the matter
Such a movement is highly commend
able and will no doubt receive the
support of all public spirited citizens.
1t is well known that Judge Board
and the county commissioners are
giving much attention to road build
ing, and it is only necessary to con-
vince them that the plan is feasible.
And right here IS the cruX of the
matter-is it practicable to build a
macadam road lengthwise through
Brazos county? If it is not, that ends
the discussion; if it is, it ought to be
done. The cost can be accurately as
certained only by survey, but the
experience Of Judge Board and the
commissioners will perhaps enable
them to make an estimate that would
be approximately correct-suffcient
TO serve as basis for a decision as
to whether it should be undertaken.
The only great obstacle is the eX-
pense of material for the macadam.
Our information is that there is no
accessible deposit of gravel that is
suitable to this purpose. The only
available source Of supply seems to
be the quarry on George Dunlap's
land, near Millican, from which the
broken stone for Main street was pro-
cured. The cost OF quarrying, break
ing and distributing along the line
would be great, but whether greater
than the county could afford we are
not prepared to say. All we know Is
that other counties in Texas, some of
them less wealthy than BraZos, have
built and are building macadam roads
in spite of difficulties as great as
those that confront us.
The value of such highway as the
one proposed can scarcely be over
estimated. 1t would turn the main
current of the great tide of overland
travel through the center of Brazos
county. Instead of two or three tour
ist automobiles a week, we should
have ten times that many every day,
and every one would leave more or
less money. And better still. travel
ers would see the county and its re-
sources, which they can not do on the
railroad trains, and would tell Of it
wherever they went Immigrants !
would come and the value OF the lands /
along the road would be doubled and
trebled
Then consider the advantages to
our home people. No other route than
the one proposed would serve so large
number of farmers. 1t would be a
main artery and in a few years
branches would be extended to all
parts of tie county As it is, farmers
often lose the best market by not being
able to get to town through the mud.
With uscadam reads, teams could .
draw, on an average, more than twice
as much as they can pull on the dirt
roads. Think, too, Of the pleasure Of
over good roads. The pro-
verbal profanity OF teamsters would
be only a memory and the next gen
GRAFTON would deny that it ever eT.
listed Every farmer would have his
auto and his wife and daughters could
come to town and do their shopping
in an afternoon. There would be no
littering or defling of the streets, for
it would solve the corral problem.
Good roads made Rome the mistress
of the world and good roads would
make BRYAN the queen city OF South
Central Texas.