Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1916-01-27

ignored and neglected, the construc-
ton expenditure is wasted, and those
having the road so neglected in
charge are to blame and should be
held accountable. If the few dollars
necessary for maintenancc-regul
and systematic maintenance-are ex-
pended upon this investment, the
investment is warranted and those in
charge of the road are to be praised
and credited for their good judgment
and economy. Is it not correct,
therefore, in making the statement
that maintenance is more important
than new construction, when new
construction is lost and money thrown
away if maintenance is neglected? !?
no county or other unit having
charge of highway work, should be
permitted to build more miles Of new
road than they have the permanent
annual funds to properly maintain
after these miles of road are con-
structed. Appropriations for road
work should, in every single case.
provide that existing hard surfaced
re ads should first be maintained, and
the balance should then be available
for new construction and as much
work as may be considered necessary
in building or repairing bridges, cul-
verts, drains, and bitches. IT this
rule were followed out by every
county, we would, in ten years, have
far greater mileage of roads in the
finest possible condition than we
have today in Ohio. There are, how
ever, some States which are now fol-
lowing out this very practice to a
certain extent, but in not single
State is the fund for maintenance
ample to take care of the total mile
age of roads that have been improved
with hard surfaces. Among the
Sites that are making the greatest
progress along these lines are New
York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania,
(under the present administration
only, Maryland, Ohio, Connecticut,
California, Iowa, Michigan, and Colo
RADIO. Other States are giving some
attention to maintenance, but not in
the systematic, economical and bust
ness-like way that is being developed
in the States mentioned.
There is now large volume of fast
moving automobile traffic. This,
highway officials are rapidly coming
to appreciate, and this has been the
cause of the tremendous increase in
the amount OF macadam, water-bound,
tar-bound, and asphalt-bound and of
bituminous concrete, that has been
noted within the past two years in
nearly every one of the most pro-
gressive road-building States But
right here is where the question of
maintenance is of the creates inn
portance. There is not and never
will be any type of roadway that will
remain in first-class condition unless
it has the proper system OF main
tenance. On all types of highway,
the patrol system is by far the most
efficient and the most economical way
of preserving the surface, as the
slightest defect in the surface will be
noted by the patrolman on his regular
daily or bi-wcekly or weekly round,
and without further delay, it is fixed
at very small cost which would be
but fraction of the cost if team
and men had to be sent out to the
same place (and after a delay usually
of several weeks, during which the
hole is daily growing larger) from
central repair station.
Macadam Type.
The macadam type of road, if
properly maintained, will remain in
perfect condition for from five to
ten years without additional material
being placed in the form of a new
wearing surface. And the original
cost OF the road, plus the maintenance
| work, in either five or ten years, will
| be several thousand dollars per mile
less than the original cost and main
tenance on the brick or concrete
| pavement. 1t has been demonstrated
in Massachusetts, New York, Mary,
land, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania
that a properly built and properly
maintained tar or asphalt-bound ma.
cadam road, and a bituminous con
crete Gncluding Warenite) road, will
semain in perfect condition under
automobile traffic exceeding one
thousand vehicles per day averaging
between twenty-five and thirty miles
per hour. There are probably nc
better instances to prove this that
the famous White Horse Pike be.
tween Philadelphia and Atlantic City
where as many as ten thousand auto
mobiles use the highway on Saturday:
and Sundays during the summer
months. This road is kept in excel
lent condition, Notwithstanding thi:
heavy traffic, which would Warrant
the construction of brick or con
crete road, at less than two hundred
dollars per mile per year. With thu
exception of short stretch of con
crete, the White Horse Pike is bi
luminous macadam, bituminous con
crete and gravel treated with Glutrn
In the suburban sections of Phila
delphia, nearly all of the streets ant
roads are water-bound and btu