Omaha daily bee., 1916-05-27
GIVES HIS VIEWS
ON GOOD ROADS
City Commissioner Jardine Dis
cusses Merits of Various Kinds of
Highway Construction.
CONSIDERS ANGLE OF AUTO


First and foremost, the matter OF
good roads has great many angles
to be looked at" declared City Com
missioner Jardine. THE advent of the
automobile is possibly the first angle
to be considered.
"Macadam used to be considered,
il properly put down, to be one OF
the best and most practical cheap
pavements; but the suction OF the
automobile going over a macadam
road has proved, in all parts OF the
country, that it is a class Of pave
ment that could not be utilized to
the best advantage, owing TO the sue
ton caused by the cars being rap
idly driven over the road. The small
particles of dust that wear on the
surface with horse and wagon were
pounded back into the road and made
~@art of it; but the suction OF the
automobile draws it out and leaves
the road in a far more dilapidated
condition in five months than the
wear and tear for five years with
horse-drawn equipments, unless oiled
or tarred, and then 1t is not always
satisfactory. Therefore, it is neces-
sary to construct a different kind of
a road, namely, a road that is oiled
or tarred SO as to keep down the
suction.
"A dirt road, properly construct
ed, properly rounded and properly
bound by tar or oil, with properly
constructed cutters and drains to-
gether with proper spillways, is far
better than any cheap macadam that
can be put down, as the oil sheds the
water; it holds together the dust and
dirt so that suction cannot pick it up,
and leaves the road in fairly good
shape il i is kept properly repaired
by this method. ..
AS TO the relative cost, / believe
it is far cheaper than a macadam
road and far superior from a wearing
standpoint. Take the ordinary dirt
road, pulverized properly, and in low
and DOGGY places drain tile put in so
as TO take away any surface water,
and built up from the ground clear
to the top by being pulverized and
rolled as the grade is raised, and kept
dragged with King drag, or an in
strument of that kind after every
rain, which can readily be done in
the country by each man having a
certain amount Of road to handle;
frost and climate will not injure this
kind OF road with reference to ex-
pansion and contraction.
Take the road between Council
Bluffs and Sioux City. They have a
dirt road there that is built along this
plan, with the exception OF the oil
and tar, and after each and every
hard rain the roads, in one hours
time, are better than they were be-
fore the rain, as they dry quickly if
the sun comes out and the winds
blows, thereby settling the dust.
If you are going to build artificial
roads, | believe the best and cheap
est road, in the long run, would be
a brick pavement with concrete base,
properly constructed in such a man
ner that water coming off the pave
ment could not run over the sides Of
the road, thereby settling the outside
so as to crack the pavement in any
place, the center of the road on the
grades to be depressed some so as
to carry the water and dump it at
the lowest point. believe a pave
ment of this kind would last fifty
years, if properly put down.
THE next best pavement, / believe,
would be concrete pavement made
of hard granite laid in such manner
that the center of it would be, pos
sbly, an inch and a half or two
inches lower than the outside, with
an expansion joint through the CEN
ter of it filled with asphaltum so that
the pavement in no shape would
crack, and that the edges of the con-
crete would not wear any faster than
the asphalt itself, together with an
expansion joint every. eighty feet
crosswise filled with ASPHALT. In that
way it would eliminate all the cracks
that are so injurious TO concrete
pavements laid In the country, and
would maintain the outside walls so
that the pavement would always be
intact.
THE construction of roads leading
In and out of community, If good,
are the most valuable asset for in
creased property values by reducing
transportation expenses, making mar
kets easy of access, thereby inereas-
ing the prosperity OF the markets. If,
on the other hand, poor roads lead
into a market, they will not be trav-
eled and, consequently, they are a
liability instead OF an asset. They
are bound 10 reduce real estate values
by keeping trade away from, as poor
roads add to the cost of transporta-
ton and upkeep by breakage and
wear and tear on equipment All tax
payers are vitality interested in good
roads, and should see To il that the
best roads should be maintained In
the vicinity OF their properties that
can possibly be secured. climate and
conditions taken into consideration,
a. Grades and proper drainage are
other material factors"