The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1913-08-14
OLD NATIONAL ROAD
IS BEING RESTORED
State Roads Commission Should Com.
pIete Work in One Year.

In another year, or possibly sooner
the old National road, which for years
was the link that connected Baltimore
with the country west of the Ohio river
Will be restored to its original condition
as i through highway. The State
Roads Commission now has hundreds of
men at work on this road at various
points between Baltimore and the Pen
nsylvania line west Of Grantsville, in
Garrett county, and the worst sections
of the old road have already been put in
good shape. The highway now is in
better condition than it has been since
the day the Baltimore and Ohio railroad
completed its line between Cumberland
and Wheeling, W. Va.
/ The National road proper that is.
the section Of the east and West high
way built by and at the expense Of the
National government in Jetfersons
administration began at Cumberland
and ended at Wheeling. From the time
that the Baltimore and Ohio reached
/ Cumberland and the time when it got
through to Wheeling this section Of road
handled traffic that was enormous for
those days.
The principal places through which
this historic road passes in Maryland
are Grantsville Frostburg. Cumber-
land, Handbook, Hagerstown, Freder-
lex and EIhcott City.
a few years ago the State Roads Com
mission bought from a turnpike com
pany that portion Of the road running
from Baltimore to the Conococheague
Greek west Of Hagerstown. From that
point to Cumberland the road was in
the hands of Washington and AHegany
counties and for the most part was
either badly kept or not kept at ALL
/ Long stretches in the mountain west of
, Hancock had become mere cutters filed
with bare rocks. West Of Frostburg
the old National pike was nearly as bad
as the mountains between Hancock
and Cumberland. There have been
many complaints about the condition of
this road, and many tourists have elimi.
mated Maryland from their trips becalase
t was difticult e get N from the Wet.
III 81 81 q nj "a ~ ~
worst sections of the road between
Baltimore and GrantsviIle are undergo
ing a rapid transformation. Right in
Southwest Baltimore where the Fred
erick pike enters the city was one Of
the toughest sections Of road but con
tract has been let and work has been
started on the rebuilding Of this portion.
Work is to be pushed in rebuilding the
road from Baltimore to Gainesville.
though it is possible to get from Balu-
more to that place over a good road by
other routes.
West from EIhcott City five miles of
the pike have already been macadamiz-
ed and other sections are being rebuilt
| The old road had very little stone left on
I it and it is being torn up and reconstruct
ed with macadam at a cost Of $1,000 a
mile, halt Of what an entirely new road
would cost. BY fall there will be very
| little unreconstrdcted road between
/ Flhcott City and Frederick Then from
! Frederick the road has already been re-
/ built to Middletown and from Hagers
town east a long stretch has been put
in proper shape and by the close Of the
road building season there will be little
/ left to do in the a miles from Frederick
to Hagerstown
West of Hagerstown and East Of
Hancock macadam work is going on at
good speed, and the worst sections are
being rebuilt. From Hancock west tc
| Cumberland is the hardest problem ].
that good road material is far distant
and costly to haul, but the traffic
is light. This section is practically
all mountains one big climb after
another, and the commission has gone
to work to smooth up the road by cover
ing the stones with earth and shaping
the surface up at cost Of about $3.50 a
mile. This work is being done very
satisfactorily and rapidly by gang
under the direct supervision of the com
mission. Last year one Of the worst
sections was rebuilt Of shale as an eX-
pertinent, and more of this construction
will he used where the shale is at hanC
and other material scarce. East OF
Flintstone in Allegany county macadan
is being put down to meet the gang
working west from Hancock, and from
Green Ridge to Cumberland most OF
the going is now good
West Of Cumberland there is gooC
road for , continuous miles and the next
section is now under construction.
GrantsviIle is % miles west of Cumber.
land and here the roadbuiders are
working east, laying modern macadam
with a large force 1t is between the
completed section west of Frostburg anc
the completed section east of Grants
vile that there is now remaining the
toughest road between Baltimore anC
Pennsylvania state line, but this is moth
ing like as rough as was that between
Hancock and Cumberland before it wa,
shaped up. Another year will close this
gap and then the Cumberland Grants
/ vile section will be as good as any Other
road in the United States, even though
it goes through a country where roaC
material is scarce and labor hard t.
obtain. From Cumberland to Grants
vile, as from Hancock to Cumberland
1t is mountain after mountain through
a thinlY settled country though much Of
it is capable of great development
The scenery on this old road, es
pecally in the mountain sections. i!