Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-01-04
A GOOD ROADS OBJECT LESSON.
TSioux CITY Journal


A GOOD ROADS OBJECT LESSON.
[Sioux City Journal
Sioux City's experience with the hill
streets should point moral to Iowa
in the matter of permanent roads.
In the beginning hills were numerous
in Sioux City. After the graders had
done their best many streets were in
clined planes. The absolute necessity
for paving the main arteries was rec
ognized early, but for many years the
side streets and some of the lesser and
more important thoroughfares re-
manned unpaved. Everybody admitted
that Il more comprehensive system or
paving would be fine. but everybody
agree that ii was an Improvement that
could be postponed until prosperity had
delivered a few more fruits. 1t was
during this period of continuous post
ponement that Sioux City learned the
folly of pouring out a continuous flood
Of money for repairs on streets that
were continually needing repairs.
After the spring rains the street de-
nartment would begin it's Sisyphusian
TASK on the hill streets. Flowing water
causes erosion. The sleeper the water
course, the more effective is the eros
ion. After the melting snow and rain
had done their worst to the hill streets
the street department. with graders
and wagons and teams. would slowly
make it's way from hill to hill filling
up the ruts and establishing new
crowns Usually another heavy rain
would come along before the derart-
ment had completed it's work Of re-
',,l
fore a good start was made. Occas-
ionally in the middle of very dry
-umrler the street department might
get few days when it could think of
something besides repairing the hill
streets. In an average year however,
Inc gangs were on the job from carly
saring until late fall. 1t cost lot OF
money every year, and at the begin
ming of the new year the streets were
lust where they were at the beginning
e the old year. While the continue
ous performance was going on the tax
payers of Sioux City paid out, not
thousands or tens of thousands, but
hundreds of thousands Of dollars for
good streets without getting per-
manent result. Because the money
came from the street fund and was dis
trbuted in dribs and drabs. nobody
seemed to worry much about the really
startling economic waste.
Finally-it is disconcerting to think
how recently it was-an alderman had
a bright idea. He insisted 1t was folly
to keep pouring money into rat hole
when the hole obviously had no bottom.
His suggestion was that the city Ind
the property holders cooperate In
nlacing concrete cutters along the sides
Of all the steep streets. Clearly, ne
argued with a we'll graded and gut
tered street most of the water must
run off in the cutters. The minute
the process got a start in Sioux City
the solution of the hill street problem
was under way. The curb and gutter
gangs were kept at work continuously
until all the bad spots had been pet
tered. That solution of course, was
only a partial solution. No matter how
efficient the cutters and how we'll
graded the crown, dirt surface must
require grading and repairs occasional
~. The good results on the investment
in cement curbs and cutters carried
the reform the rest of the way. The
hill street reform developed into
movement to pave with concrete the
surface of the streets between cutters.
Many Of the hill streets are now paved
from curb to curb. Once so surfaced no
problem as to that street remains. Ev-
cry dollar invested in such improve
ment is unanimously agreed to have
been we'll invested.
Does it appear TO the bystander that
Sioux City was egregiously asinine is
ncr sooner arriving at the correct So
luton of the hill street problem? Never
mind about that. The point is that the
state Of Iowa today is making much
bigger mistake on a much larger scale.
Every year Iowa is investing about ST.
5000 in roads without any more to
show for it than Sioux City got out of
its annual investment in repairs on the
hill streets For the most part the
money is put into temporary repairs
on temporary roads. 1t may serve y
useful purpose in keeping the road
gangs at work, but it does not help an
inch toward the solution of Iowa's road
problem.
The best way to invest money in
roads or streets is to put 1t where it
will not call continuously for more.
January.