The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-11-15
SATURDAY. NOVEMBER Is. 1913.
maintain the Roads
After They Are BUTT.

For years The Journal has been
Eamphasizfng the need OF a policy for
Notwithstanding tlle hard roads after they
have once been built, but so far as we
lnre able to learn no County in the
A@k&te has ever adopted any systematic
lp1an for doing this.
Governor TrannelI has designated
lH&ovember 81 as good roads day for
lF10rada. and he calls upon every able
bodaed man TO get out ON that date
hand put IN days work on the roads.
| A good reads man quoted by the
JaclrsonvtIae Metropolis approves of
1.-THE governors plan, but thinks that
lin repairing the roads already built
chan in building new ones. The Me-
FtropoEs quotes him as follows:
thousands of dollars spent for
Fblxilding good roads will be thrown
Eaway within the next twelve months,
lbecauSe no attempt is made at proper
maintenance afterward."
/ This gentleman believes that the
lreal work for this volunteer corps of
road builders on that day is under
the supervision of some man who
knows to do the little needed repairs
lfound required to prevent greater cost
land damage to the roads later on.
1
fR1en taking every road in a community
lcan by taking the proverbial stitch
ii1l time save many a bad rent in the
web OF roads that covers the coun-
tEry.
eft is the repair and maintenance of
Eroads that counts in the long run he
tstates; and every one knows that this
is true
| Speaking further and at some length
ION this matter, he said:
1.-THE need of effectuaI repair and
maintenance Of highways has now be-
come we'll recognized The resulting
demand for better methods and more
certain results is inSiStent. The Office
of public roads of the department of
agriculture is making a strong effort
to focus the mind of the country on
the fact that maintenanee and effect
rive repair are of equal Importance
with the actual Improvement of bad
kroads. Investment of money in new
eroads does not become real economy
until provision is made for keeping
kthesa new roads in condition after
built and then allowed to fall into dis
repair, much of the original invest
ment is simply wasted
Officials Of the Office of public roads,
wil12n called upon for assistance by the
various states, are pointing out that
sroa,d building is an art based on a
lecdence, and that trained men and ex-
sperienced men are necessary to secure
Fof road funds.
~Sta4isticians have found that al
though the average expenditure on the
Improvement of roads exceeds one
rTialdon dollars q day, q larger portion
'of the money in the United States is
wasted because of the failure to build
the right type of road to meet the
local requirements or the failure to
provide for the continued maintenance
of tine Improvement
All of which Is true We spend In
Escambaa county some 100000 a
year ON hard roads, but with all that
expenditure we have no definite plan
&m maintaining these roads.
Fscanrtaa cuunty's policy is to build
o. road and then abandon 1t until it
becomes 50 Gull OF rJgts and holes as
TO absolutely require attention, and
'we then go at it again and practically
rebuild the road.
We have not yet learned that roads
should be maintained as originally
bsIaat and that it should never be ~ C.
essary to rebuild a road. 1t is easy
TO matntatn road, keeping it per
fect1y smooth and hard at all times. |
if we viii only do It. The expense is
small infinitely less than the cost of
rebuilding the only wonder is
that Intelligent men should so long
have neglected this important feature /
OF the highway question when such
neglect means the squandering of
thousands OF dollars annually that
could just as well be applied to some
useful purpose.