Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-08-23
Ichristian science Monitor.1

TChristan Science Monitor.1
Milwaukee-With sixty-five miles of
concrete roads in use and th1rty-flVe
miles under construction, the people or
Milwaukee county believe that before
the end of the year they will possess
perhaps the finest system of country
HIGHWAYS in the United States. The
roads. extending into the state in three
directions, are smooth, hard, dustless
and promise to be more permanent
than any other kind of road.
A committee of the board of super
yisors the county governing body, is
in charge of road and bridge building
in Milwaukee county. Immediate sup
ervision however, is given over to
county highway commissioner who en-
1aiovs a staff of assistants and is held
directly responsible for all the work.
H. j. Kuelling is highway commls-
sioner.
1t is the plan of the county board
10 cover Milwaukee county with net
work of concrete roads. Twelve high
WAYS leading from Milwaukee out into
the state and forming a part of pro-
spective comprehensive system OF roads
will be concerted from the city limits
to the colunty line by the end OF the
present year.
The county authorities are planning
to complete the system in 1916 with
concrete conn Getting road This road
will begin near Lake Michigan inside
the north county limits, extend west
nearly TO the county line, south TO the
sounty county limits, and then east TO
the lake. 1t Will cross all the other
concrete roads and give Milwaukee
county a circle route" of concrete,
fifty-one miles long.
The roads, with few exceptions,
are sixteen TO eighteen feet wide.
The roadbeds are thoroughly rolled
before the concrete is LAID. In many
Instances the roads are built up o. cut
thru to minimize the grades, muc2 as
in the case OF railroad beds.
The proportions now used in mixing
concrete for the roads are one part OF
cement two OF sand and three and one
half of gravel Considerable care Is eN-
ercised in obtaining the right quality
of materials, for this has been found to
be a large factor in making good con-
crete No relnforcenlents of any kind
are used. This has been found unnec-
essary on account OF the uniformly
solid nature of the country thru winch
the roads pass. Most of the roads are
faced with a smooth cement miNture.
In q few places where traffic colldi-
tons demand a brick facing has been
laid over a concrete foundation. IN the
case of the Whitefish bay, National
avenue and Grand avenue stretches,
which resemble boulevards more than
country highways. a facing OF asphalt
was laid over the concrete foundation
The Whtefish bay road, which leads
thru a fashionable residence district,
Is forty feet wide and three miles long.
Bridges were necessitated on some of
the roads They were built Of oncrete
and increased the cost of the roads con-
siderably. A matter of satisfaction tc
users of the roads. however, is the fact
that the concrete roadways were con-
tinued un5roken over the bridges,
These concrete roads are all state
aid" roads, the state paying one third
of their cost. The state furnishes this
aid for the building of permanent high
ways that are recognized as part Of a
state highway system. To come under
this category, a road must lead some
where"-that is, it must be part OF a
mainly travelled way between two or
more cities or towns.
The township thru which a road
passes pays part of its cost, though not
any definitely settled percentage. while
the county pays the rest. No part of
the cost is charged directly to owners
of property along the road.
Regarding the cost, Commissioner
Kuelling in n recant -ennrt showed
that the cost of construction during
1914 varied from sl.lo TO s145 per
square yard. During 1913, when cement
was cheaper but labor more expensive,
the cost of work under a contract sys-
tenn varied from S1.24 to s1.72, while
that done by the commissions own
force was from $3.50 to s1.61.
The costs varied principally accord
ing to the distance materials had to be
Kuelling's report, will differ a little
with the quality of concrete in the read,
but Is comparatively low.
I'VE consider it economy to have a
small maintenance crew go over all the
roads once or twice a year" says the
report. Such a crew consists of a
foreman, one team and four laborers
Under average conditions this crew will
cover all joints. cracks and small pits
at cost of from SIS to $40 per mile
of eighteen-foot road
From 1912 when construction Of con-
crete roads was begun, to Tan. l, 1915,
the cost of Slilwau kee county's roads
was s1,1S9489. For this year $T4o,445
100000, which will have been spent
by the end Of the year. Tho this
figure is large, the taxpayers appar-
emily do not begrudge its expenditure.
No complaint has been heard. and it is
not expected any retrenchnent in the
present policy viii need to be made.
Concerning the matter of cost, Com
missioner Kuelling's report observes
While concrete in its present form has
some disadvantages, We believe that II
now meets modern traffic conditions as
economically as any form of pavement
known. We also believe that the next
few years will bring about q quality OF
concrete and form OF construction that
will make a country road have very
lengthy life from a road standpoint, es-
peciaIly if the traffic conditions con-
tinue to change in the direction they
now are going"
But few objections have been raised
against the roads, among them being
the hardness of their surface for horses
and the great temptation they give tor
automobile and motorcycle speeding.
The former objection has been over
come by covering the roads with a thir
tar surface, while the latter Is being
overcome rapidly by the sheriffs
mounted deputies. The state law, linn.
iting the speed Of motor vehicles tt
twenty-five miles an hour, is strictly
enforced.
Evidence Of This Utility