South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-07-12
COMP PLANTS ARE
HEARD BY BOARD
demonstrators Headed by G..
w. Blair Tell Why They OBJ
jeCt to Bremen Highway
Say Work Mot Well Done.

Complaint as to the condition of
the Perkins highway was heard by
the county commissioners Monday
forenoon A formal remonstrance to
the scceptance of the highway has
been filed by George W. Blair and
others. The demonstrators appeared
before the comm missioners Monday as
also did members of the Northern
Indiana Motor club. The motor club
is backing up the demonstrators and
membership campaign, which was to
/ have been started Monday morning
was postponed until Tuesday pending
the hearing before the commissioners.
1t was expected that the hearing
would continue through the afternoon.
IT IS alleged by the demonstrators
that the Perkins highway commonly
known as the Union ST. road or the
Bremen highway, was not constructed
according to specifications The con-
tract was let last July to II. w. Reed
x Sons for $685. and the work was
completed two weeks ago The dis
tance improved was four and One-half
miles, extending from MiShawaka to
Bremen
Among other specific charges
/ brought by the demonstrators is that
the sub-grade was not rolled, that
the gravel was not properly screened.
| that the proper proportions of sand
were not used, that there is not the
required thickness of gravel. that the
road is not uniformly 10 feet wide,
and that there is not proper drainage
Couldn't Use Roller.
Prest Reed of the contracting firm
was the first witness examined He
admitted that the sub-grade had not
been rolled for the entire length with
the steam roller for the reason that
for part of the distance near the north
end the foundation was of sand so
! loose that il could not be packed by
the roller. That section, he said. had
been rolled with a 16-tOn traction en-
gine having 30-inch wheels. He tes-
tilted that at no place had The gravel
been laid without the permission of
the inspecting engineer.
1t was sought by counsel for the
demonstrators TO find out how much
gravel had been used on the entire
highway. The witness could not an
swer from the record OF freight bills
and the question was left unanswered
until invoices from the gravel pits
could be produced as evidence. AS TO
sand that was not screened before it
was used, the witness declared that he
had been instructed by the engineer
that screening would not be neces-
sary. Also, he said that the engineer
had permitted the doing away with
grade boards at certain places where
there was apparently no need for
them.
George ". Blair Of the Aishawaka
WOOlen Manufacturing Co. was next
placed on the stand He said that his
interest in the highway was merely
the interest of "a taxpayer. He said
that he made his first trip over the
road during the second week in April
and that at that time the surface sand
and gravel was very loose When he
made his last trip on last Friday. he
testified, the surface was still loose
although not so much SO as at the
time of his trip in april The south
end, he held. was particularly bad.
Test for Gravel Dept.
The witness also testified that there
were ruts in the road and that at
places il was less than the regulation
I0o feet in width. He said that tests
had been made which showed that the
sand that had been used was much
finer than the specifications called for
and that there was barely nine inches
OF gravel i'm the center of the road
where there should be Il inches.
F'ulmer. living on the road two and
a half miles south of Mishawaka. also
testified that the sub-grade had not
been rolled and also that the road was
not properly graded
The demonstrators are represented
by j Fred Bingham and the contract
ing firm by Fred Woodward. There
We're four or five witnesses still 10 be
heard Monday afternoon.