The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1916-08-13

1eaVy, the roads VIII generally be I'M
proved, some of them with high type
of hard surface while those sections
reaching back into the thinly settled
will probably be main
tanned as earth roads for some years
to come. It will, therefore, not be
practical to give any one road in the
county system the same class of main
tenance for its entire length.
For the heavily Travelled roads ad- |
jacent to the towns a patrol system, |
such as has been described for state |
road maintenance, would be found !
advisable, but on the less travelled |
roads the gang system will be found |
adequate and more economical. What
is generally termed "the gang sys-
tenn" is very similar to the district
forces as they are now worked in this
state. Such force should be equip
ped with a light camp outfit which
could be quickly moved, and it should
be so organized as to cover all of the
roads which it is expected to maintain
at least twice a year.
AS most Of these roads radiate out
from the towns it would appear both
practical and economical to employ
the patrol system for such distances
out from the towns as the traffic
would warrant. Say, for instance,
there are four roads leading out from
certain town and that the traffic
would warrant patrol maintenance for
distance of three miles out on each
road. This would give a total of
twelve miles to be patrolled, or about
enough to employ one patrolnan. At
the point where the patrolman stop
red the maintenance would be taken
up by the gang system, as already
outlined, and extended as far back
into the country as the road continued
to be public highway.
The gang system is especially adap-
ted to the use of convict labor, and if
properly handled should reduce the
cost of doing the same work with free
labor by about half.
In addition to the maintenance work
done by the gang, there should be
some arrangement whereby persons
living on the road would operate a
road drag whenever the road became
rutted. AS there is generally only
one time after each rain when con-
ditions are suitable for dragging, no
one man should be given more road
than he could properly drag in one
, day.
No system is self-operative, and a
county maintenance system is no ex-
ception of the rule. Highway main
tenance calls for greater ability and
) a higher degree of Intelligence than
: highway construction, and therefore
{ if the county system is to be in the
least degree successful it must have
: at its head man who can combine
eAe cutive ability with some degree Of
l technical training. 1t does not mat.
/ ter whether you call him county en-
5 gineer or county superintendent, bu'
he must be a man who can plan anC
e lay out his work for a year ahead
?, estimte what it will cost, and then d.
e it in a workmanlike manner for tht
r amount of his estimate. Such maj
: will probably cost from two to thre
: times as much as you have been pay
e ing in the past for unframed super
e vision, but such man will save eacl
n month many times his total salar,
S and give you dollars worth of worl
e for every dollar expended.
h We have discussed characteristics O
a through state roads and the form o
l. maintenance TO make them efficien
d in the DEVELOPMENT of our state. A
g the present time no such system eX
lists, but there seems to be a stron
It sentiment developing in favor of tn
t, establishing of such system, whic
d will carry the home seeker and tn
= tourist into every county and advel
# tise our wonderful resources. W
have also discussed the characteristic
s. of county road system and an eff
d cient form of maintenance for SAM
d All that / have said in connection wit
r both the state and county systems
is purely suggestive, but at the sam
time both are in line with the develop
st ment of road maintenance in all of tt
al progressive communities of this coul
m try. Every county and state that hs
Id organized a maintenance system VI
ID der trained supervision has found th'
not only was the efficiency of the
be roads increased manifold, but the a
E. tual cost in dollars and cents was r
duced.
is Should the people of our state d