The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-02-16
FOR BENN|NCTON COUNTY
DEVELOPMENT AND
b{TTERMENT
This Department Edited by Secretary
Willard w. Bartlett of the County
improvement Association
State Road Work in Bennington coun.
ty During 1915

State Road Work in Bennington Cour
ty During 1915
The following article Is a detailed
account of road work accomplished
in Bennington County during the sum
mer of 1915 under the direction of Mr.
James l.. Davis, County Supervisor
| Of Highways. Mr.. Davis Is maintain
ed jointly by the State Department
of Highways and the Bennington
County Association. The remaining
half ofsthis article will appear nex'
Wednesday,. caufe0 olsy wlses
Bennington ia, 81 County Road construc.
tion During 1915.
The width, Of the standsrd state road
: specified by; the State Highway Com
missioner is 21 feet. This may be
thea distance, between the bottoms oi
the bitches on the two sides of the
road II the bitches are shallow enough
SO that in turning out, a wheel might
safely, be run along the bottom. This
condition is found when crossing fiat
lands and in cuts More often on one
side at least, there is an embankment
or fill. If the fill is as much as even
one foot in height the base of the road
embankment will have to be more than
q feet wide, varying with the height
of the ell bankment. In all cases a
'2l feet width means that the road
should be so built that there is wild
tn of u feet available for travel.
In special cases a road may be wild
er or narrower. For example, road
approaching village might be "a feet
wide or mountain road IS feet
The selected gravel or the crushed
stone may be spread to less than the
full width OF the road, 16 and is feet
being the most common widths, the
shoulders being of earth or inferior
gravel The road has crown or side
slope of about one foot This may be
increased on steep grades in order to
throw surface water into the bitches
quickly. The steepest grades allowa-
bic have not been specified by
! the State Highway Commissioner nor
would it be wise to do SO, as grades
in. different localities can best be de-
i termined according to local con-
ditions. In Bennington County dur
ing the past two years it has been
/ found practical usually not to exceed
per cent grades 6 feet rises in 100
feet horizontal distance.) Care is
taken to reduce grades below s per
cent where it can be done without
great cost. The steepest grade built
on any mountain road within the past
two years is II per cent.
With these figures in mind an idea
is readily formed of what has been
accomplished in the improvements
listed below and unnecessary repeti-
ton will be avoided. The policy is
to rebuild the worst places first.
These improvements therefore mean
that usually one of the narrowest or
crookedest. or muddiest places, or
one of the worst hills in the vicinity
has been replaced by agroad built to
the above described standards. When
a less width than 2lNfeetl has been
built 1t. .willebe SO stated.lS has YI
1.-The following was done, during the
season ol 1915: ESQ .ej!laYls3aV 10
Arlington asyitaiar dgw uW8i
The. East Arlington road was com
pleted, finishing near the r, r. station
to- East Arlington stone base was
used with gravel surface. Length.
A 1.2 rods. On the Sandgate road
Icy Hill one.third' mile north of the
West Arlington road was rebuilt. The
old road was on a sloping slate ledge
with wet, clayey spot at the foot
of the hill The rock at the side and
in the road bed was cut away, the
hollow filed at the foot of the hill,
grade reduced and surface graveled.
Stone base was used and retaining
wall built at the lower side. This
work is a start on one end of a long
stretch badly needing improvement
Length, % rods, width Is feet.
bennington:
The road was completed from the
village line south to meet 1914 work.
A dangerous turn was reduced Over
one half the length has stone base
and the entire length is graveled
This completes the improvement oi
the entire road from the village tt