The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1916-07-11
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!. MASON COUNTY TURNPIKES


| In writing tnls, my blNtn aTJlcle, up
on the Mason county turnpikes, l find
that / have gone over almost so per
cent of Mason county's turnpike sys-
TEN, and with this entire mileage, |
do not believe by actual measurement,
there has been $50 rod of rock hauled
on the roads, so far, this season, neith-
err have / found one effort made to get
the water out of the middle of the
roads, which, indeed, is the most i'm
lportant thing should be done, and IL is
the least expensive. When | say, get
the water off the roads, do not
mean to go from one end of the turn
pixies to the other, with a horse and
cart, digging every atom of dirt that
is in the cutters and hauling same
away, as this would be almost an i'm
possible proposition with the avail
able money. There are a good many
places, which in the aggregate, do not
amount to many miles where the gut
ter is higher than the road. In these
places, of course, the dirt is to be
hauled away. TO take a pick and
shovel and make small cutters from
the track on each side of the road lead
ing to the gutter, would cost very lit
tie money, and believe, could be done
from one end of this county's pixies to
the other, for the sum of $4,000 over
2-S of the pixies in Mason county do
not have sufficient travel upon them
to wear them out and the hard rains
do practically all the damage. 1t
should be the practice, after a heavy
rain, for men to take shovels and go
over the respective roads and where
ever the water cannot get away from
the center of the pike, those places
should be made.
| The management of Mason county
turnpikes have decided several years
ago, that We did not have enough
money to do the necessary 10 UuF
pixies. do not wonder at this because
our management has taken and adopt
ed the most expensive system of re-
pair work, that could possibly be adj
vised. That system is employing peo-
pie to repair turnpikes, who make
business of farming, and you know
what farmer has to do. He is kept
busy in his own crops during most of
the year, and the time he gets to work
the roads is very little. He does not
get to do enough work to keep in prac-
tice, and, therefore, experiments with
probably half of the work that is ac-
complished and gets full pay for il
from Mason county. In making this
remark, | mean to cast no affection up
on any man, as any of us know, that
If we do not have the experience In
any particular line, the job at hand is
l'not successful one, thereby pursuing
the wrong course, the money has been
spent and value received, has not been
rendered
On June 2Srd, started at the Maple
Leaf Pike, near its junction with the
Lexington pike, near the home of
James N. Kirk. This pike is one mile
in length. The grade of it is fine and
with a little money spent each year,
this would always be a good road,
but the usual thing has happened, sew
eral strings of rock are on the sides of
this road beaten into the earth with
mud holes close by. There are no
bridges and no heavy grades, conse-
quently, the up-keep should be very
little.
Statistics of last year, show about
5000 spent on the Maple Leaf and
Hill City pixies, just how much on the
Maple Leaf, | cannot say, but / am
safe in saying, If there was 500 spent
on this mile of road, value received
was not rendered Mason county.
took the Hill City pike, near the
Joseph II. Davis farm going south upon
same, its entire length. This pike /
must say, is the most sadly neglected
thoroughfare in the couRty although
during last fall, II received practically
all the traffic belonging ON the Flem-
ingsburg pike, on account of the re-
construction of the model road u
mentioned before in one of my articles,
that there was great deal Of rock
that had been broken on this road that
had been there for several years, and
l beg again to emphasize this fact.
These rocks have been there from 81
to years without anybody giving at
tention towards spreading them. This
branch of the Hin City is an continue
ton OF hills, and, therefore, should
have drainage. This Il has not had for
a number of years. In fact, l do not
believe a shovel and pick has been
used towards getting the water on OF
this road within 4 years. In places
the cutters are higher than the road
resulting from continued neglect, and
the water from quite large areas Is
being drained Immediately into the
center Of the road There is one point
near the home OF j. b. Steers. at which
|lDOlnt a raVina runa ol,f from fha fa.r,,