Evening journal., 1914-06-02
OrR COIfNTY Am ITS ROADS.


II AXPAYERS throughout New Castle county read
with pleasure and interest the annual report Of
County Engineer James Wilson, which published
in full in THE EVENING JOURNAL It is gratifying
to notice that since the Levy Court and It's efficient
County Engineer replaced the expensive and, in many
instances incompetent road commissioners, the sew
hundreds have been relieved of their heavy in
debtedness The county roads have been improved to
remarkable degree, modern road building machinery
owned in sections of New Castle county and
instead of outstanding bills bonds and notes. the sew
eral hundreds show good working balances on hand.
Many Of the shipshod methods have been relegated
to the rear political pull" is found and
days wages is paid for days work The conditions
are not yet perfect but they are greatly improved
With the advent of the stone highways came the de-
mand for better dirt roads To accomplish such
Improvement necessary replace the good fell
lows" who composed the Road Commissioners by
placing a competent engineer and a corps of trained
supervisors in charge. The extrayagant work the
county roads that featured the old system has been
reduced to minimum The make-shift county bridges
needing constant repair have been replaced by sub
stantial concrete The road drags have been
kept in use the crowns Of the roads maintained and a
drainage system has been established. In fact there
has been in many respects, a revolution in the
of the county roads although because lack funds
it has been impossible to do all that needs doing
Blackbrd hundred with its hundreds of miles of
roads is model worthy Of the Kent county people
copying In Brandywine hundred the stone crusher
turned out 1900 perches Of store for the roads
In hundred bridges and cuverts have been built
rebuilt repaired. Among the Mill Greek hundred
improvements notice by Engineer Wilson'S report
the following:
"We have resurfaced about two miles Of these roads
with good trap rock and about onehalf mile of old
rough road with Stag furnished by VIM. H. Swift. We
scraped about thirty 900 miles of road principally in
the Western District and dragged of them. Many
miles Of side dtches were cleaned out and old
fashioned breaks taken out -Four (4) good
masonry bridges with reinforced concrete tops were
built and four (4l others with plank floors Ten QO)
small culverts rebuilt many others replaced
by metal pipe We bought about 400 tons of crushed
material taken from the old keg mill at the foot of
Barley Mill lane and put It on Rising Sun lane Brecks
lane and other adjacent roads In the Southern Dis
trict we fixed several miles of road and them
with cnders from the fibre mills at Marshallton. The
piece of the Marlborough road running from the New
port Pike through Ashley, graded last year.
cred with Stag and binder and rolled into good shape
Al Richardson Park many yards of concrete has been
put in place, mainly in gutter and bridge work
But it ould be unfair to pass by the splend work
accomplished in Levy Court Commissioner Thomas S
Fouracres district without calling special attention
to the improvements in ST. Georges hundred Our
news columns last week mentioned a number Of inn
provements now being made in that hundred. These
included the seawalF south Of Augustine Beach and
new gravel roads being built County Engineer VII
son, in his report, says regarding ST. Georges hun
dred roads:
sures us good working capital for this We
had bridges to build and only three 3D to re-
pair We have shaped up with the scraper five (5)
more miles OF road and have dragged and redragged
some sixtyhve (65) miles The roads this hundred
after once being put into shape by the scraper
easily and economically kept So by of the road
drags. This work has been attended TO with care and
system with the result that Georges our banner
hundred for good dirt roads. Two loads of stone
have been put on the road from Port Penn TO Della
ware City but roads graveled. Three hundred and
sixty (36O) feet of metal culverts various lengths
and dameters, have been put in, to replace old
wooden ones and others in new places that needed
them Bunker Hill was cut down somewhat and round
ed into shape.
It is seasonable TO congratulate County Engineer
Wilson and his supervisors on the excellent work
accomplished during the year, with the limited amount
of money at their command, and on IL economical
administr ton given to the taxpayers OF the county
Farmers do not object to paying taxes-and they are
very low at present-so long the are kept in
order and those who pay the money receive for an
adequate return in public improvements
Our county has network of stone road-l75 miles
Of them With many good dirt roads leading to them
it is safe and convenient to go almost any part Of
the county Il takes fewer horses and less time for
the farmers to bring their products TO Wilmington and
the trucks of the local business men can as readily
deliver loads goods in Red Lion Milford Cross Roads
Christiana other places near and remote ON ac-
count Of the condition of the roads as they can at
Kentmere. We have no doubt the Levy Court and its
road expert County Engineer Wilson and his SUPER
yisors will continue to do all they can with the money
at their command to improve our county roads Let
the cry be, Build roads keep the patrol
system in use, and that the dirt roads are kent
in their best possible condition pending the obtain
ment Of enough money TO improve them scientifically
with stone gravel"
The Confessions of Oscar Wilde" to have any value
hf.f