Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1912-02-21
STATE HIGHWAYS.
Proper Care After Roads are Built
Is Necessary.


| III tuS oPiIiOu OF StstS ItShNay Son-
missioner Hardisop, the greatest mis-
take the State of Maine is making is in
not providing compulsory laws regarding
the maintenance OF roads built with State
| funds, 1. es the State roads, so called.
at is, practically, waste OF money,
says he, .'to construct splendid piece oil
State highway and then think it is go
ing to last forever without repairs,
Maintenance work should commence very
soon after the road is completed. A few
moments work at the time when small
defect is disclosed may save thousands
of dollars in time, money and materials
later. The cities and towns, for the most
part, don't seem TO appreciate this"
1t is the opinion OF the commission that
much good could be had II the State and
municipal authorities could be made TO
ubserve and pattern after the methods OF
the railroad. Every day the section men
of the railroad patrol every inch OF its
line. ANY minor trouble is fixed then and
| there. A major one is promptly reported
and necessary repairs made with the same
4 promptness. That is what highways need,
according to Mr.. Hsrdison.
| He points out that, while in Maine there
there is a law requiring towns to keep
these roads in good repair, there is no way
to enforce it.
'The prevailing opinion" said he in dis
cussing this subject with a Lewiston
Journal reporter, "sll over the state is
that when piece of permanent highway
! is completed that is the end OF tilt will
last for all time. Nothing could be
further from the fact. Maintenance work
should be begun very soon after the work
is completed. By it a great saving is
made and better results obtained upon the
road.'
In his opinion the new auto license law,
which becomes operative on January 1,
1912, is going to be productive OF better
ment of these conditions. By the word
ing of this law the funds secured from this
source are to be available for both first
construction ana in maintenance work.
He fayors the passage of a law which
| will compel towns to look out for the
sections OF State highway within their
| boundaries. A law similar to that in New
| Hampshire might meet the requirements.
/ The law provides that II piece of State
! highway needs repairs the State depart
/ ment shall give the municipal authorities
sixty days notice. II at the expiration Of
that time it has not been attended TO, the
State goes ahead and makes the repairs.
I When the next state tax is levied upon
| thai particular town the cost of those re-
pairs is included in the tax, so that the
town has to pay the bill for maintenance.
| This law, to date, has been productive of
excellent results as those Maine people
who have autoed over New Hampshire
highways in the past few years are we'll
aware.
| Another law which the commission
/ feels might be adopted IN Maine with
slight modification and, perhaps, on
less elaborate plan, is that of New York,
| providing for constant patrol of the State
roads. This is on somewhat similar
plan OF the railroad section crew. Each
patrol has horse and cart or small cart
which he hauls, according to the nature
of his section, in which he carries mate
rails necessary for slight repairs. As fast
as he discovers spot where little repair
may prevent bad place, he fixes it. The
result is that up-keep cost of the road is
much less than as though it were built
and then nothing done for years, when a
wholesale repairing job must be done.
Nearly all the cities and towns in the
State have done something in the way II
road Improvement this year. In all 400
have constructed sections OF State road.
AT this time the figures have not been
tabulated, so it is impossible to state what
the total mileage will be. All of these
places do not construct the same distance.
Much depends upon the location where
the work is to be done. In some pisces
the character of the road to be improved is
/ such that the cost per mile is extremely
/ high. In such cases the amount of work
done is small whereas, if the chance is
good the length is appreciably greater.
At this time the department has appor-
TONED among the cities and towns the
sum Of SIS, 900 as State aid in road work.
| Another feature which enters into the
amount Of work done is the character of
/ the work. This includesehe work such as
Lewiston and Auburn and Portland have
done and then there is that done by the
towns. The difference in cost of these fig
ures into the municipal authorities de-
cision as how much work shall be done in
year. The average cost per mile OF gravel
road work for the years 190S-9-I0 was
1852, while for Macadam road for the
same period the average per mile was
ss,5l6.