The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-08-31

Wayne county. Michigan. now has
40 miles OF concrete, brick or macad-
am roads.
Concrete road is feet wide has been
adopted as the standard road.
Its cost is about $4,000 a mile.
Forty miles of road have been built.
Thirty-five miles are to be built this
year.
Concrete roads will be extended to
the county line on every main thor
oughfare. and on many cross roads.
Two million dollars will be expend-
ed in the next Ave years.
1t is expected to have a total Of
about 300 miles of good roads when
that money shall have been spent.
Six hundred men with thousands OF
dollars worth of improved labor saving
are at work making Wayne
county's roads as smooth as the good
city paving.
They already have 40 miles OF the
road built; will finish IS miles more
this season and have $4,000, 900 availa.
Bile for use in the next few years-as
fast as it can be used economically, 1t
is estimated that this money will build
something like 200 miles OF road,
The standard road adopted by Coun-
ty Road Commissioners Edward N.
Hines. John Haggerty and William
Murdoch Is a solid concrete road. mix
ed with one part of Portland cement,
two parts sand and four parts stone.
This is now put down at cost of
$1.25 square yard, or not over one
half the cost of city paving. and the
commissioners believe it is just as
good. To prevent "buckling" from the
heat, open spaces are left across the
roadway every Is feet. and to prevent
the concrete from wearing OF at the
edges, the concrete is reinforced with
a steel strip, which projects and which
the commissioners believe will wear
even with the concrete. The concrete
in the principal roads is 16 feet wide.
The cost of a mile, of course. de-
ponds on the width of the concrete. A
16-foot road costs about $13, 900 mile.
Go out Gratiot, Woodward. Mtchi.
gan. Grand Rapids avenues or other
main thoroughfares and you will find
of completed work or in
course of construction. You will find
this road hard. smooth and delight
for drives of any sort of vehicle. It is
the purpose of the road commissioner
to extend this class OF road on every
main thoroughfare to the county line.
Every person in Wayne county is to
live on or within three miles Of good
road within the next four or five
years, is the plan outlined by the COM
mission when it began operations as
a county body four years ago. Mich
igan avenue will be concerted all the
way to Wayne; Woodward avenue to
the county line on the north; Grand
River to Bedford, and Mack and JET.
ferson avenues to the east county
line.
impossible during the sea.
son of spring and fall rains. because
of seas of mud and water which col.
lected on their surface and ankle deep
in dust in the warm, dry seasons, are
now dry all seasons and furnish an
ideal passage way in all weathers.
The good roads movement has seiz.
ed Wayne county and other parts OF
the state in grasp that will not be
shaken off. Taxpayers who a few
years ago objected strongly at the
prospect of throwing so much good
money away in darned experiments
as they expressed it, have become the
most ardent disciples for good roads
They can see actual profit in dollars
and cents from the campaign OF
thoroughfare building as inaugurated
by the county commission.
1t is not unusual to hear farmers
and especially those engaged in truck
gardening, tell how, since the new
road was built they have disposed OF
one or more horses because they found
that q great deal less motive power
was needed than in the old days OF
mud.
q can see an actual saving of 500
per year." said one man recently. "be
cause where / formerly had to have