Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1915-10-07
HENDERSON COUNTY ROAD
MAINTENANCE is URGED.

If Justly feels proud, attention is now
heing directed to the important ques,
zion maintenance by good .many<peo-
ME while others assume the mis-
token attitude that the roads will
trust to luck to take care OF them
selves.
The opinion has been expressed by
some that insufficient attention is be-
inc given to the maintenance of the
roads.
A yerythoughtful article, which TO-
lows has been taken from the Pro-
Sressive Farmer and it deals clearly
Nth this important question Of road
maintenance:
pT Hon. Henry A. Page, Aberdeen,N.C.
mi Page, the authoreof the follow
~ article, is n of the ablest men,
hers of the North CaroHna5 Legisla-
tnre and is one of the foremost good
loads advocates of his section-a Sec
tom which has built and kept good
roads at less cost perhaps than any
other section of the South, the result
,of the application Of the ideas here set
forth.-Editors.)
However it may be in other states,
7 am convinced that here in North
carolina we are wasting 60 per cent
nj the money we are spending for i'm
proved roads; the mud-sill OF our
whole road building structure is rot
ton We are voting bonds to- build
that we call permanent" roads, and
taking no thought for maintenance.
A permanent road does not call for
maintenance. This is the Idea upon
which we are acting, and the result
ic that the type of road we are bnfld-
inc does not lend itself to either easy
or cheap maintenance, and after we
oct il we find that there is no such
thing as a permanent road, and in
building at that ideal we have con-
structed a road that not only needs
unkeen and wears without 1t, but
worse than this, our building methods
have given us a kind of road that $50
.difHcult and expensive to maintain
that we do not maintain it. Therefore
Il wears out, and when it Is past en-
durance there is nothing to do but
make another bond issue and build
another "permanent"(D road. Thin
we are piling up bond issues to be
paid by future generations for a
that will not last until u babies put
on long pants.
No Such Thing as a Permanent"
Road.
Before we can learn truth we have
first to unload error. The first step
therefore Is to ~puncture that bubble
about permanent roads. There 1s no
such thing, at least not within the
reach of any community in my state.
As l have stated, a permanent road
if there were such a thing, would not
need maintenance. There is nc proc
tical way to mend or maintain a mac
adam or other rock road, and they do
wear out quickly; therefore it Is wee
full and wilful waste of public funds
to build rock roads at all. / Know
some road engineers will dispute this
statement, but l am quite sure Of it,
truth nevertheless.=sExit maeadamy
as far as l am concerned. ,
Now for another dogmatie statement
l am willing to tie to: Any road that
does not receive systematic regular
maintenance and inspection from the
day it Is finished will suffer damage
which cannot be fully repaired, and If
this neglect is continued the road will
soon became worthless. Railroads
built up to the highest standard OF
solidity, and yet a repair crew goes
over every mile of every road in the
land every day.
Drag at Least Once Every Two Weeks
How often in reason and common
sense should we inspect and repair
damage to our improved highways?
Once a week, 1 say. You think every
month would be often enough. Split
the difference, and make it every two
weeks. Well, but the very, best built
roads in my state have not been touch
ed In SIX months or a year, or longer
many Of them have never been touch
ed since completion. Some Of these
roads are SO constructed as to make
repair expensive: with others it is i'm
possible.
The question Of maintenance should
De Kept to the front in deciding every
detail Of construction. And Just here
Iet he empha1ze another fundamental
prnclple. There is only one way to
mdintaln a road in good condition all
Tue Time, and that way is to drag it
u1quently enough to keep ruts and
noles u OF its surface. Therefore
sne road should be built in its every
uetall so that it can be easily and
cneaply dragged. The most import.
ont single item in construction is pro-
per drainage. Complete maintenance
Is spelled this way: drag. Surface
material does not matter so much as
"e mink. Gravel, sand-clay, cement
tneSe things do not make good roads
S.dy good. Drain and drag are the
soiuuust twins. 1 am pre-supposing
Nc pest possible location by the best
pOSslDie road engineer; then build to
~ polIsctly drain with your-eye always
u! me later use of a drag.
noTt Spend all ON Construction.
ABOUT that engineer; 1 would en-
hin tne best one in reach, and have
b nn take plenty of time to find the
vest location, avoiding cuts and fills.
much as possible. Better to 20
~'ound than throuCh If for ~ oFho~i