The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1915-07-16
One County's Experience

GAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, California, has
- learned how much more economical it is &c
maintain roads than to rebuild.them, having some
two hundred and fifty miles Of state highway road
looked after by engineer, with the county super
yisors looking on. SO efficiently are these miles
taken care of at little expense that grand jury
has Just recommended to the county board that il
turn over to the engineer all the roads in the ooun
ty, and adopt hands off, policy.
An interview with the San Joaquin engineer
Frank F. Quail, is published in the Sacramento
Bee, of July l. The Advertiser republishes the
greater part Of the intdrviewhete inthe hope that
The Honolulu supervisors will read it, cut it out
and paste it where it be referred to frequently
'.Thr secret o. maintaining highway consists in
getting after it he very day after it is built and
Keeping after it continuously. We don I dare to let
them go, said Engineer Quail Repairs must be made
Immediately when the need becomes apparent. It's
useless to spend money building good roads unless you
maintain them. .F "a
There are thirteen district patrolmen in the main.
tenance department. Each man has between twelve
and fifteen miles Of road which he must patrol daily
He works eight hours per day is paid ninety dollars
per month and furnish his horse and wagon.
The maintenance department is conducted as big
corporation would manage its business affairs Re,
sponsibility is fixed. There is passing the buck.
Efficiency has resulted from the "hands off, policy
the part of the Supervisors Politics are kept out
of the department. -, o..;,
In explaining his system. we pick out cOnscien-
tions responsible men who live near the center OF
= their districts and then watch them. While they
n are on their honor patrol man never knows when
t enc fof the assistant engineers will along We
Sco9r the county pretty thoroughly and keep in con
slant touch with the work Of our
tANb hAen Tie Patrolman gees n spot or place upon
the surface of the roadway where the scaling has
worm thu the rocks exposed he first cleans
the spot thoroughly Of all dust and dirt by means of
stable broom, paints it with thin coat Of heavy,
hot asphaltic oil and then the same with rock
screenings fine pea gravel in sufficient quantity to
absorb the oil This forms patch which unites read,
lily; sealing the surface that you can't tell after
few days the patch was put on.
can patromen are required to report daily to the
office the road roads uron which they have been
working and the amount of oil used
"a patromnn is not expected to maintain the mile
age of road given to him, exclusive of other assist
When the condition of the section of the road
IL such that it would be impractcable or impossible
for him maintain the large outfit is employ
cd for the work.
awe have a construction gang which consists of
from twelve to sixteen hired men, according to the
season. The construction g"4g is on call to any part
Of the county. Then also work the county pris-
the chain gang In the winter time the chain
gang averages from twenty to thirty two men. In the
summer time when there is more wOH in the harvest
feeds, our jas are not crowded and the chain gang
ism t large We're working about dozen pris,
oners onthe roads. We get almost as good work out
of the county prisoners as we get out OF the men
whom we hire
awe keep equipment up well. We have five
big auto trucks and have steam rollers, portable
steam boilers, dump wagons, graders, water wagons,
etc. We have a blacksmith and he keeps all of
equipment in the corporation yard in the best of con
dtion
"Our motor patrol gang outfits handle work in which
the entire sealing coat of the roadway is in need of
replacement where the surface has become rough
uneven that it is necessary to reconstruct it,
The maintenance department renders monthly
statement to the SOrs and at the close Of each
year submits exhaustive statement giving the exact
AMOUNT of money spent each piece of roadway.
Tho cost Of maintaining roads varies in accordance
with the traffic and the character of the road. Dur
ing the last six months Of 1918 the county spent $2S
5000 in maintaining 2433G miles Of bonded highway
and $6f9l.7S in maintaining 2il4 miles of unbonded
highway.