The Newport miner. [volume] (Newport, Wash.) 1899-current, 1912-02-08
Various Methods Depend Upon
Local Conditions.
COST IS A BIG FACTOR
The Ideal Highway Of Today Must Be
Smooth, Durable, Dustless and Cheap,
Says James Owen, Essex County,
New Jersey, Expert.

In discussing the good roads problem
in such an extensive country as tnls
one. with it's varying climate, topQS-
raphy, materials to be used and habits
of the people, it would be hard for any
one individual to cover the ground as
of necessity each mans environment
and experience are limited. Yet the
aggregate Of such experiences will be
of value to all.
To properly consider the subject in
it's entirety 1t may be wise to indulge
In a classification Of the people, the
pavements and the pay. The travel
ing people may be divided into urban.
suburban and rural. It may be conf
IDENTIFY stated that the requirements
of the pavements differ in character
practically in accordance with this
classification except that there may be
a certain overlapping due to special
conditions This covers two heads.
The ability to pay varies systematically
with climate. topography and energy
of the community.
Now enters into consideration the
character Of the vehicles Of today,
which are two, self propelled and horse
drawn. Both Of these may be divided
into fast and slow moving, the heavy
wagon and light buggy, the motor
truck and the automobile, these intro
ducing still other items-the iron tire
Of the wagon, the rubber tire Of the
buggy, the corrugated tire Of the mo-
tor truck and the pneumatic tire of
the automobile. All these factors vary
in weight and speed, and their effect
on the surface of the pavement is Of
vital Importance.
Another point which has not yet
arisen is the effect OF different pave
ments on the tires of vehicles. So far
the owners Of such vehicles have been
so busy trying to get something smooth
to ride upon that they have beer con
tent to pay their bills for new tires and
new wheels ungrudgingly, yet in the
future it will be an important ecOnom-
ic factor.
There Is still another factor which
today is the most important in road
construction-viz, the suppression of
dust.
Taking all the factors outlined here
tofore, the problem is to furnish road
that is smooth, durable, dustless and
cheap, and that problem is today fac
ing the civilized world. With the
use of such standard pavements as
wood block. granite block, Medina
sandstone, brick, asphalt and the tar
compounds and with proper care in
the selection and manufacture Of ma
terial and a conscientious disposal of
it in place, in most cases a smooth,
dustless pavement will be secured.
However, this point is one for purely
local consideration and cannot be gen
eralized upon
We now come to the maStic PROPOSE
lions in which the maintenance depart
ment sooner or later takes an interest.
The asphalt and tar preparations give
a smooth. dustless and serviceable
road and are desirable for residential
sections and in many cities are univer-
SAL Their maintenance is carried on
in different municipalities in different
ways, some owning their own repair
ing plant, others contracting the re-
pairs and still others neglecting them
altogether. 1t is safe to say, how
ever, that after five years use of these
paVements the item of repairs begins
to be factor, although the writer has
one asphalt pavement which has been
in use for nearly ten years without re-
pairs or apparent necessity for them.
l wish to allude to the financial prob
lem in road construction, and it might
be we'll to note the varying channels
from which money comes. Taking my
own state as an example. these are as
follows:
City Street Paving.-A part, say
about 80 per cent on property. balance
on the city at large. Maintenance
city charge.
Suburban Towns.-Streets macadam-
lied sixteen feet wide. A general tax;
extra width. local assessments.
Rural Towns. Mostly developed by
either state roads or county roads.
County Roads.-Main arterial high
ways paid for on bond issue of the
county. maintained by the county.
County road repair system abandoned
when state roads came into use.
State Roads.-State pays 33 per cent,
county 561a per cent. town 1912 per
cent. Maintained by the county with
contributions from the state of auto
mobile money. say 20 per cent.
With such varied methods of pay
ment for original construction it is to
10 noted that the maintenance cost is
<rayed by either the county or mu-
i'&lity. with the addition of small
1unt from automobile taxes Now
tiers the important part Of the whole
Question of road and street mainte
nance and that is the ability and will
ingness to pay.
AS to ability. that is a condition hard
to galnsay. AS to willingness that
can be overcome by education. To
properly educate a community to high