Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1916-09-13
STANDARD ROAD
AT LAST DEVISED
HIT Or Miss Methods Of Con-
structlOn to Be Abandoned.
II WILL Be ECONOMICAL

This Newest Type Of Road Combines
the Best Proportion Of Three Typse
Of Hiahways--Monros County, Mich-
Was First 70 Build Under NJ Nsw
Plan.
The American standard road has ct
last been devised. and when adopted
generally It viii mean relief from the
uneconomic hit or miss methods attend
ing present construction Of miscelia-
neous types OF roads 1t infringes upon
no patents and wipes out the costly
competition between manufacturers OF
road materials, thus effecting saving
of 50 900 to 5000 mile IN the cost OF
permanent roads. The American stand
ard road Is everybody's road from the
standpoint Of satisfactory service and
economy. 1t Is nobody's road In the
sense implied by the use Of a single
material 1t combines the best prop
critics OF three types Of familiar roads-
the stone Of the old macadam road,
the asphalt of the bituminous macadam
road and the portland cement Of the
concrete road
The stone, OF course, Is used through
out. The cement IL used for a con-
crete foundation and the natural a.
phalt for an asphalt macadam wearing
surface Thus each surface 3 con-
fined to the purpose to which It y
best adapted Monroe county. Mich,
Is building forty miles Of the new type
OF road for less than $4,000 mile
And this price includes SIX inch con-
crete curb at the sides OF the FIVE inch
concrete base. The specifications also
call for two inch Rermudes or nat
ural asphalt macadam wearing sur
face, 30 as to insure a resilient and
lasting top adapted to both horse and
motor traffic. The Michigan road Will
cost 5000 q mile less than an all con-
crete road. The price Of the latter.
according to the latest announcement
Of the Portland Cement association, u
now $4,000 mile
But the Michigan rad was not DE-
vised as an experiment A few exam
pies OF the type were built years ago.
thus affording long time tests, some
Of them covering period Of ten years
However, experience with separate
types Of roads has shown that tn the
case Of country roads subjected to
horse and motor trafhc asphalt mac
adam makes an ideal wearing surface,
while 1t has also been demonstrated
that no foundation material exceeds
concrete in durability and strength
Hence the combination not only makes
for efficiency but low initial cost and
minimum maintenance. The latter Inn.
portant economies are obtained through
simplifed methods Of construction and
by reducing the quantities Of cement
and asphalt required for separate types
Of reads, bat without sacrifice Of Sta
bflity and satisfactory seFvice.
Thus there b available It last per
mnnent road Of approximately the cost
OF water bound macadan. type Of
highway that Will become still cheaper
when methods OF. construction are
thoroughly standardized. These roads.
with their attractive -. elastic -
phalt wearing surfaces. sharply d.
fined curb lines and unyielding con-
crete. foundations WIN become the
rule once the public harms Of their
low initial cost No desirable feature
Of any other type Of road has been
eliminated The composite road can
not be transformed into mud o. dust
No boulevard or park road presents q
more even and attractive surface Its
adoption win simplify matters for the
engineer and contractor. making good
results more certain. but most impor-
tant IL the saving to the taxpayer
through greatly reduced initial cost
and low maintenance.