Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1912-07-12
Let Contract For Oiling State
Roads.

Chairman o. E. Weller, of the State
Roads Commission. has announced thai
contracts have been awarded the United
Gas Improvement Company of Philadel.
phia and the Standard Oil Company fol-
oiling the surface of all State constructed
highways, and that the work is now under
way. The price at which it is being done
varies according to conditions, but Mr..
Weller asserts that the cost is very rea-
sonable. The work will probably be CON-
pleted by August IS.
I'm the estimation of the members of
the commission" said Mr.. Weller, the
maintenance Of the new roads is of as
much Importance as is the building Of
Them In fact to construct costly high
ways and then allow them to 60 to pieces
would be worse than foolish For this rea-
son we have decided that we would waste
no time in making provision for the main
tenance of the roads already constructed.
ut is useless to discuss the ACCESSIBILITY
OF oiling roads as means of preserving
them. That point is conceded. But if the
oiline is to be done, the summer is the
time to do it, when the greatest amount of
penetration can be secured Some of these
roads came through the winter in rather
bad shape. and owing to the wet spring
Waatha We xyara not ohIa m ata.t .aoo;,
ing them as early as we would have liked,
but we are getting along very nicely now.
IN addition we are establishing and
perfectine patrol system throughout the
State so as to keep the roads up as they
begin to wear away. Next year we will
have a large motor truck that will be COM
bination patrol, repair and oil wagon.
At this point Mr.. Weller drifted into con-
struction in contradistinction to mainte-
nance. In this connection he said:
THE old contracts are being pushed to
completion as rapidly as possible. and in
several instances where the commission
has not been satisfied with the progress
which was being made the contracts have
been abroeated.
IN the Western Maryland counties of Gar
rett. Allegany. Washington, Frederick and
Howard-which are traversed by the Fred
erick and the old National pikes-the pro-
blem is one mainly of resurfacing This
work covers something over 100 miles, and
we have found many difficulties in the way
of letting it to contract for the reason that
conditions vary so greatly. We have there
fore undertaken to do the work ourselves,
but have had much difficulty in securing
the necessary labor and equipment to have
the work done properly. However, we
hope by fall we will have made satisfactory
progress.
IN other parts of the State we have
amount of new work under
way. Additional surveys are now being
made and contracts are being let as the
plans are worked out.
'0n the Washington boulevard the work
has not been progressing satisfactorily on
the four and half miles between Belts
vile and Contee, but the contractors are
being pushed and every effort is being
made to complete this section by fall.
Contracts have also been let for the sec
tons Of this road at Bladensburg, Point
Branch and from the bridge across the
Patapsco river at Elkridee to the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad crossing at HalethOrp.
Plans have also been made for the section
through Laurel and the contract can be
awarded as soon as the town authorities
agree to do some curbine and guttering.
AT Point Branch, where there is bad
fill, which is frequently washed away by
the stream during high water. we are 60
ing to build concrete road in order to
hold the fill. While the road engineer of
Baltimore county. Mr.. Shirley. our chief
engineer. built a road of this character at
White Hall. where conditions were similar
to those at Point Branch, and the results
were very satisfactory.
The cost Of maintaining waterbound
macadam roads under heavy motor traffic
is so great that it has been necessary to
devise some kind of road which will stand
up better than the ordinary macadam
roads. and the concrete road offers very
promising substitute. In the last four or
five years Wayne county. Mich. in which
the city of Detroit is located. has built 40
miles of these roads with very satisfactory
results. II the road which we propose to
build at Point Branch proves a success, we
will build others next year. where the con-
1tions warrant
THE work which is being done on the
Annapolis boulevard between Boone and
Revell. likewise, has not been altogether
but we hope to have the road
completed to the Severn river before winter
sets in. Mr.. Shirley and will inspect the
road at once. We have now covered all Of
the roads in the State and familiarized
ourselves Herewith. Hereafter we shall de-
vote two or three days Of each week to the
constant going over Of these highways so
that we will be in close personal touch
with the construction and maintenance at
all points"
Glen Echo Park.
Never in the history of Glen Echo Park