The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-09-30
VOICES
THE PEOPLE
Kenosha, Wis. Sent. % 1o15


Sometimes person likes to divert
his attention from his business to other
ideas and possibly this note NAV be of
some benefit.
I thought Of how well It would be If
the State Highway Commission would
build the s or 9 feet concrete roads
just to the side of the center of the
road, this would extend the road 100
per cent farther than with IS or IS feet
roads, that would mean that we would
have a concrete road to Racine County
line, concrete road to the pood gravel
roads on the Geneva road and long
way toward the state line on the south
completed at this time What a great
benefit and convenience this would
have been during this muddy season.
Then after the or foot strip is com
pleted as far as the limits in all direc
tions, then how easy it would be to
haul the material and do the work on
the other half, or feet the following
year, or as soon as money is available.
The great cost of building highways is
the carriage of material. Even water
could be hauled for mixing the CON
crete with motor trucks to advantage,
probably cheaper than laying pipe
line and pumping through it.
Another great advantage is that in
building one-half Of the road first and
off to the side of the center, it would
not close the road to traffic at any time
while under construction.
I noticed the other day at Charlotte.
Mich, the city has some concrete paw
ing which is badly cracked and I motto
ed that the cracks running diagonally
did not have the edges clipped off as
much as those which run squarely across
the street, the reason no doubt is that
the wheels cannot bump it as hard di-
|agonally as squarely across. So it
seems like a good idea to set the ex-
pansion joints diagonally which would
make smoother riding and longer life
for the concrete
Another great improvement in con-
Icrete road building could be done by us
ing an enlarged rolling pin when the
cement is soft, to roll this roller over
the work cross-wise, this would take
those corduroy humps out of it. You
find these humps as much in Asphalt
and brick paving as in concrete. It is
the jar of these machines hitting the
humps that help to crumble the joints
and crack the blocks Of concrete high
ways. The specifications should provide
for cross rolling with roller heavy
enough and long enough to make a
smooth longWay surface. Pavements
ARE generally smooth crosswise but not
Ilengthwise, the glare of the headlights
over the road at night will show this to
be a fact.
It seems that providing money for
concrete roads should be provided for
same as done in the cities by special
assessment against the abutting. prop
erty at so much per front foot. The
AUDITING property ought to be assessed
for portion, the state portion, and
the county q portion, this would do
away with disagreeable job of trying
to collect for road by subscription, as
each piece of land on new concrete
road is increased in value by the i'm
Iprovement, it is only reasonable that il
should all be assessed equally. In the
cities the property owner is assessed for
over two- thirds of the entire cost for
paving, and it runs as high as $4,000
per front foot, not including sewer,
sidewalk aud other improvements which
Twill run over $500 more per foot. The
estimated assessment per front foot Of
farm land on concrete road would
be from 25 to SO cents if divided equal
,ly between property owner, county, and
state, and would be less than the aver
age farmer has subscribed in the past
| for concrete roads.
Who is the man to propose a law to
make it compulsory for every automo-
bile to have a governor set to 25 miles
per hour, inspected and sealed by a
state official, and a heavy penalty for
tampering with it? How many lives
and accidents would that save in a
year2 The state law of 25 miles per
hour is only obeyed when there is a
motor police around.
| The glare Of the electric lights are
too strong, they are binding when you
approach them, they cause many acct
dents and should be prohibited. An
evening spent in large cities will show
that binding headlights are not toll
Grated.
noticed that the cities south of us
are considering sewerage disposal again.
Why not do as Chicago has done, all
cities as far as Milwaukee should drain