Semi-weekly herald., 1914-05-14

has reached figure which renders
It an uneconomical construction and
invites search fer some other type
Of road, which viii cost no more, or
but very little more, 70 construct, and
whose annual repair bills will be rsa-
sonahle
The brick road offsrs such a sub
stitute. Its frst cost il not prohibi-
tive; 1t 10 very durable; and the an
nual cost Of repairs under careful
supervision Is almost negligible. AL
substitute whose first cost is less than
that of the brick road, but regard
ing whose cost Of 'upksep this is less
data available. is the concrete road
Now first class macadam road
costa in this state from $4,000 to
$4,000 . mile 70 build; . concrete
road costs from $4,000 to $4,000 a
mile; and brick road costa from
$20, 900 to 5000 . mile. Thus far
the experience Of the modern road
builder with concrete has been limit
ed. Michigan has roads Of this char
acter in one county, and the results
have been very satisfactory; but the
roads have not been in service long
enough to justify any conclusion as
to their permanence and economy. In
hundreds of cities brick roads have
been laid and have been down for
many years, which, without exception,
have demonstrated their durability.
Reads Of this character, which have
been in service for twenty-five years,
have stood up under the. test of the
hardest kind Of traffic. What is more
to the point is that the annual cost
of maintaining these brick roads has
been remarkably low. ranging from
practically nothing to from $40 TO
$50. per miae.
Now, in New York = mile Of ma
cadam costing $4,000 would not last
over ten years, and it costs $1,000 q
year to maintain and surface such
road. At the end Of the ten years
the roads must be rebuilt, and the
cost of the reconstruction would be
81, 900 q mile. Tho total expenditure
for twenty years on q macadam road
amounts to $50, 900, including $4,000
for building; $4,000 for maintenance,
and $4,000. for rebuilding at the end
of the first ten years.
Compare this with the total ex-
penditures for ten years on vitrified
brick road, which win amount to
$28, 900 only. il we allow maximum
Of $25,Oos a year for building and
q minimum figure Of $50 gear for
maintenance.
Governor Gynn advocates the use
of vitrifed brick rather than con-
crete because the state geologist in
forms him that New York state has
An inexhaustibls and widely distribut-
ed deposit Of shale, which may be
made the basis of q brick factory
large enough to supply all the local
! requirements with materials of the
best quality. The governor advocates
| the use of prison labor in making the
bricks, leaving the state roads to be
constructed by frse labor working un-
dor contractors or In ths employ Of
1 the stste itself. It is estimated that
BY this plan brick roads can be con.
structsd At q cost of $4,000 mile
Now on this basis the total cost Of
a mile Of brick road for twenty years
would be $4,000, including s15,0Ot
for the original construction and 2t
years Of maintenance at $50 year
The total cost Of maeadam road
for the same period, ss we have
shown above, is over double this sum
or $4,000. 1t is pointed out that
the magnitude in the economy thus
proposed is shown by the fact thai
the total saving. is 1900 miles Of
road yet to be constructed will amount
to $l46,000,00 in the twenty years
aftsr thsir completion, or more thar
the total cost Of constructing ths
states entire system of highways.
| That sems very radical change
must be made in the present plans
for tho construction Of our state high
ways 10 shown by the following facts
One hundred million dollars has beer
voted for the construction Of the new
highways in New York state. If tn,
future roads cost as much as thost
which have been built, it will re
tquire an additional thirty million t.
complete the whole system. On New
York's $4,000 miles of macadam road
the annual cost Of maintenance viii
be $12,000,00 The total cost of tn,
roads will b. s1s0. 900 900, aud at tn,
end Of ten years, which under heav,
automobile and motor traffic is ths
tor mof life Of . macadam road, ths
state will have little TO show for il
expenditure Of $3.50, 600, 900. Further
more, in twenty years thereafter the
tax for highways will be at least
$40, 100000 year, If the roads are