Daily Kennebec journal., 1914-02-16
Report Of Or. Jolly, Live Stock
Sanitary Con'r Of Maine.
Chaplain Allen Of Maine State Pris.
on Submits Annual Report.
STATE HOUSE CALENDAR.
Regular Meeting Of Governor and
Council Will BE Held at 10 A. M.
Thursday, Feb. 26.

OF snow on the ground in some Sec
tions Of Maine, yet the office of tho
State highway commission at the
State House is veritable hive of
industry getting affairs into shape
for the actual building and improve
ment Of roads with the coming of
spring.
Since the new highway commission
has come into power there has been
large increase in the routine work
incident to the change in the law;
for example: All former State road
designations ceased when the new law
became effective and since January
81 there have been constantly required
the services Of two engineers and two
or three stenographers in receiving,
fling and putting upon county maps
the suggestions made by the various
boards of municipal officers with re-
spect to designations Of State aid high
ways. In many instances the descrip
tions filed by the municipal officers
have been so brief that it has been
necessary to take the matter up by
correspondence before the commits
sion could determine just what high
ways the municipal officers intended
to describe. After plotting these roads
on the various county maps it was
then necessary to make a survey of
the whole system of roads as sug
gested and then approve or disapprove
locations. This work, which has been
going on for the last six weeks, is
now well in hand and descriptions
are now being prepared of the roads
which have received the commissions
approval and as soon as the designa-
tions are completed, formal acceptance
of one or more routes in each town
will be returned to the municipal Of
ficers.
One duty imposed upon the commits
sion was the selection of system
Of interlocking State highways. Be-
fore the system could be finally de-
termined upon it was necessary to
hold hearings in all parts of the State.
These hearings were held through the
fail and, in fact, hearings We're held
we'll up towards the first of December.
AS 1t was impossible to locate sec
tions CT road for reconstruction until
after the system was laid out and
passing while the system was being
determined upon, it was necessary for
the chief engineer to make surveys
in anticipation of the orders Of the
commission. In an effort to have
surveys ready. some $40 miles of road
was surveyed. The commission have
ordered to be built during 1914 a sec
tion of practically seven miles of road
in each county, making total of 112
miles. The section for Cumberland
county is included in the Federal aid
road between Portland and Brunswick,
which totals about 20 miles in length,
so that there is a total of about 12S
miles for which plans are now being
prepared.
Few people realize how much detail
work there is in the preparation of
a proper set of plans. In the first
place, a survey is made which locates
and records the road as it is found
in the ground, together with all ply
steal characteristics like stone walls.
fences. bridges, culverts property lines
and buildings which may be aTected
by any change of alignment or grade.
Elevations are then taken which show
all changes in the grade OF the road
as found. These notes also show the
elevations of all bridges and culverts,
the surface Of the water and the bed
of the stream and in cases where 1t
is probable that a new culvert or
bridge will be needed a very thorough
survey is made.
Sections are also taken at least each
1oo-ft and where abrupt changes OF
grade occur they are taken oftener.
The object of these sections is to show
the shape of the road and the rise
or fall of the land on either side of
the road, as this information all has
a bearing in planning the new align
ment and grade. At the present time
Is engineers are busy making plans
for the coming seasons work; IN 9TH
er words: They are reproducing on
paper all Of the information that has
been taken on the ground by the
survey parties. When this has been
done a thorough study is made of
each individual section of road and
new alignment or grade established,
and All estimate Of the amount of cut
ting and filling involved, in construct
ing the new grade, together with es-
Inmates Of quantities OF all items of
work incident to the complete recon-
struction Of the road.
The next step is the drafting of
specifications which shall describe in
words each item of work to be per-
formed. These specifications will be
accompanied by a carefully prepared
estimate Of quantities upon which the
engineers will estimate the probable
cost Of reconstructing each section
Of road and upon which bids will be
asked from contractors for doing the
work.
At the present time preliminary
plans have been completed for the
Federal aid road between Portland and
Brunswick Relocations have been
worked out in two or three instances
and the new grade line has been es-
tablished. The computation of guam
titles is practically completed.
On several of the other roads, viz.
Tha section through Fryeburg and the
section through Woolwich and Wis