Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1915-10-06

work u There is no desire there and.
no intention @of graVeling any road
that is !; in such n ondi tion that it
would have to be torn up again and
Eregraded in case it ever should be
desired to put down a more perma-
nent surface than the gravel
Every road to be improved will
be put to a permanently establish
ed grade before being graveled.
There are a good many miles Of
road in Polk County that are ready
to receive gravel at once. There are
a great many miles that will re-
quire rather light work. Still other
miles will require rother heavy grad
ing.
County Engineer Budd and his
assistants are already busy On the
surveys and profiles for the roads
which are to be improved first and
for which surveys and profiles have
not already been made and approx
ed. The county engineer, aided by
the Commission engineers, will give
every mile of road individual study.
The plans when finally approved, will
conform to- the state standards in
every particular They will provide
for what appears under present
! traffic conditions, to be the best pos
sible grade and drainage for every
yard of every mile. These plans
will 60 on file and become a part
OF the permanent records of the coun
ty just as street profiles are part of
the permanent record in every city.
The road when built according to
these plans will be ready for gravel,
concrete, brick or any type of surfac-
ing the future may develop. The only
thing now possible to foresee that
might in the future require a. change
in grade would be some radical
change j. traffic and Transports
ton conditions which might neces-
state wider roadways or even grea-
ter grade reductions, that seem i'm
practical now.
Gravel is the most widely distri-
buted road building material in Iowa.
In fact, so far as known at the
present time, it is almost the only
available material in the state for
! extensive road surfacing. The Com
mission feels that the great major
ity Of roads surfaced in Iowa for con-
siderable time at least must be with
gravel. Greene county has for years
been making good use Of the gravel
surface, though using a cheaper
type of surface than is proposed in
Polk County. Polk county, from its
commanding position and with its
ambitious plan to surface Its entire
county road system with high class
gravel promises to become a lead
er in the development Of better roads
Throughout. the state. For this rea-
Son the members Of the Commission
arr especially interesting in securing
the best possible results in Polk
County, but other counties may be
sure that Polk county has no plans
under way which will cause her to
waste money on surfacing roads that
will have to be torn up and done
over again. Every years use of a
properly maintained road grade,
makes that grade just so much bet
ter The use for a. number of years
Of a gravel surface on a properly
establishe' grade makes that grade
an ideal one for any of the more ex-
pensive types. It provides a perfect
ly packed and solid foundation.
The present route of the Lincoln
Highway across Greene County was
surfaced some years ago by dumping
gravel on the road and allowing it
to pack bv traffic. The road was mar
row and poorly graded. The heavy
travel of the past few years made
the surface and the grade entirely
inadequate. Last season the entire
route Of the road across the county
was torn up and put to standard
grade and cross. section. This sea-
son, the regraveling Of 4the road
started with the letting Of contracts