St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1916-01-19
THE HIGHWAY PROBLEM.
Enosburg Standard Urges A Better
Quality Of Roads And Elimi-
nate the Mud.

In an editorial, which is reproduced
elsewhere in this issue. the Randolph
Herald and News disagrees with the
Standard regarding change in Yer
mont's highway policy, and the same
disagreement is voiced by the st.
Johnsbury Caledonian in discussing
the Standards highway article of two
weeks ago.
Both of the esteemed contemporary
les revert to the proposition which
always shows itself in a discussion of
the states highway problem-that
conditions in Vermont are peculiar"
Any proposition, such as that sug.
gested by the Herald and News of COW
ering $4,000 miles of highway, the ap
proximate total mileage of the state,
with macadam and of uniform per-
lection is wholly unwarranted. No
state in the Union has ever considered
any such policy, nor has any country
in the world in modern times pursued
any such course in road building.
e
Another boyle that is invariably
brought to the front whenever Yer
mont's highway policy is discussed. is
the necessity of building macadam
roads entirely. The Standard has yet
to learn of any state that is doing this
and knows of no one in Vermont who
has advocated building entirely OF
macadam.
What does the Ca1edonian think of
the 25-mile stretch of road from ST
Johnsbury to Hardwick? This road is
on the state red line route and is the
alternate route between the Adiron-
dackS and White Mountains. A good
deal of money has been expended on
this highway, widening the roadway,
making fills, ETC., and yet there is not
a foot of gravel on the road, as far as
the Standard is aware. 1t is simply a
mud road. In the fall, during the
freezing and thawing process, owing
to the nature of the SOIL it is an I'M
safe road for automobiles. In the
spring it cannot be negotiated until
the ground has thawed out and the
slough holes filled, and in the sum-
mer, during rainy seasons, it is any
thing but a good and satisfactory high
way.
AS we understand the Caledonian's
position, that paper would be salts
fed to have such conditions continue
indefinitely, because Vermont's high
way problem is peculiar" and diff
ferent from that of other states.
From the standpoint of the Stand
ard state money should be expended
in making such roads hard-surface
highways, using gravel or macadam,
or some substance that will eliminate
the mud.
To repeat, the Standard believes
that Vermont's policy should be the
same as that of other states, recog-
nizing the matter as a business prop
ositiOn to take care of the traffic, not
only that created by Vermonters, but
the great revenue-yielding traffic of
the tourists from away.
Trunk lines from Bennington t.
Richford, from Brattleboro to New
port. from White River Junction to
with other necessary cross
state roads should be built by the
state. They should be mudless and
dustIess, gravel being used where it
can be to advantage, macadam and
other forms of construction where
there is no gravel.
We are convinced that a policy of
this kind can be financed without i'm
posing any serious burden upon the
taxpayers of the state, while the ben
ef1cial results would be incalculable,
not only so far as the immediate in
terests of Vermonters are concerned
but by making the state a sharer in
the millions that go in the wake of
the summer tourist and recreation
seeker and of which the other New
England states now enjoy, to a large
extent a monopoly.-Enosbur Stand |
ard.