St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1915-03-24
ROAD MAINTENANCE
State Highway Commissioner Prom
ises More Attention To That This
SeasOn--County Meeting.

Every road commissioner in Gale
donia county and nearly every Sc
lectman was present at the meeting
of the county road men with Stoddard
B. Bates, state highway commission
er, at Pythian Hall last Wednesday
forenoon. 1t was one of the best at
tended meetings of the series being
held throughout the county and very
much interest was shown. Commits
sioner Bates had charge of the meet
ing and said that he purposed to give
attention this season to the mainte-
nance of the highways already inn
proved rather than the construction
of a large amount of improved high
way.
The state has already built the
worst portions of the selected high
ways in the state and the construc-
tion of the remaining portions should
not be so expensive as the first work.
This will allow the state to recon
struct about as many miles of high
way as usual and still have more
money for maintaining highways al
ready. improved. 1t is hoped that
more of the maintenance work can
ways and so get the benefits of state
aid in a larger territory than ever.
Commissioner Bates emphasized
the necessity Of getting over the roads
now and stopping any place where
the surface water was doing damage
and opening all sluice ways to pre-
vent as much spring damage as pos
sible. He also laid much emphasis
on the undesirability of running a
road machine over all the roads in
town and tearing them up each sea-
son. His policy would be not to dis
turb a roadway that is not to be i'm
proved and keep it in as good cond1-
ton as possible with the road drag
and carting in dirt in the worst
places. Keep the road bed smooth
and the water off it and do not dis
turb it until ready to really improve
it. The only highway to be torn
up then would be the road to be real
ly improved.
Dinner was served in Pythian Hall
at noon by the Commercial Club but
no speeches were made as the time
was needed for the regular work of
the meeting.
At the afternoon session James Il.
Davis of Manchester, road commits
sioner of Bennington county and
civil engineer of high standing gave
an illustrated lecture showing i'm
provements that had been made in
Vermont roads. He urged the en-
ployment of trained engineer on all
improvements of any magnitude as
experience had shown it to be more
economical than to attempt to do
without them The railroads employ
them because it pays and the highway
authorities are coming to realize their
use in highway work
After the illustrated section was
finished, Mr. Davis gave talk on the
use of cement in highway work, es-
pecially for cuIverts and bridges.
Much of the cement work done in the
past has not been a success on &C
count of ignorance about its prepara-
'tion and use He gave many prac-
'tical. suggestions and urged the use
of reinforced cement on all cement
slabs used to cover a space of four
feet or more.
Commissioner Bates then told the
roadmen that wherever possible the
state would help the villages in lay
ing the dust. The dust problem is
one Of the most serious in connection
with our roads and the state was
ready to try and get the best meth
DDS of controlling the dust into use.
A powder had been used in Proctor
that was not so dirty as the OIL more
generally used.