El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-01-06


boulders. but at the present time this
procedure is reversed and the greater
part OF the state can now be Travelled
over roads that deserve little criticism
I Five years ago Il might also be said
( that a good road enthusiast was an
unusual person to meet. but this to
| has changed so that today a man who
| denounces good roads as a useless ex-
! pense is looked upon as an undesira bic
| citizen. While Texas still ranks far
I down in the list Of states having i'm
! proved road mileage, She stands among
| the first in reference to activity In
I road Improvement at the present time
/ All of this road Improvement has cost
| money-lots Of it-and the most re-
/ grettable thing about ii is that only a
/ little more than half of this money
] brought 1uu value in god roads. In
: other words Texas is paying for more
good roads than she is getting, and
1 this is due to lack of system and
knowledge in proper methods OF con-
structiOn and maintenance
The amount II money spent last year
/ IN the state has been variOuslv esti-
mated at from five to fourteen million
dollars; however s1O.O0O.O0O is more
nearly the correct amount. DR.. J. a
Udden Of the University OF Texas has
recently collected data upon this sub
! ject from the county judges and en-
gineers regarding their Counties. Dur
ing the year 1915 there were over 81
100000 in road and bridge bonds voted
upon, and the greater part of these
were spent during the year.
: Big Road Expenditure.
Besides these bonds there was spent
nearly 100000 collected from special
road taxes including tax levies labor.
fines and money derived from Jther
sources. While ten million dollars IS
a great deal Of money TO spend upon
roads II is very little when II is con
sidered that there are about 10000
miles OF road in the state at the Pres
ent time. OF this number of miles,
the greater part OF ii is unimproved.
and perhaps never will be. as they are
IN the remote parts of the state Then
II must also be kept in mind that in
some parts OF the state. such as in
northwest Texas the natural earth is
almost q first class road itself II
IS therefore not exactly fair TO call
these natural earth roads poor. and
further. this large mileage OF natural
earth roads add 10 the total mileage
Of roads without n corresponding in
crease in what might be termed good
roads,
Improved earth roads. sand. clay and :
adobe roads total $1,000 miles. and /
can be Travelled at all times. but are !
Al their best during the dry summer /
months This type might be considered :
as first class roads from the tourists :
point OF view We're II not for the dust I
which forms a part Of this certain /
character of road. The hard surfaced !
road Characteristic of Texas, however. !
=
appreciation Of this natural road prod 4
uct by building q greater mileage OF ]
gravel road than all the other types I
OF hard surface roads combined.
should OH Roads. /
There are 5000 miles Of gravel road /
in the state. and were they oiled TO .
lay the dust. they would prove very
satisfactory. and ideal for the tourist.
It IS important 10 know that this 5000
miles Is practically all through roads. {
and the tourist receives the full bene-
fit OF the total mileage. The new
Austin-San Antonio post road. which
has the distinction Of being the long
est post road IN the state Is built or
gravel. The counties OF BeNar. Bel,
Dallas, Harris. McLennan. Tarrant and
Travis all have the greater part Of
their roads made OF this material
shell Road Important.
Next in importance IN number OF
miles IS the shell road. but this type
IS limited to the coast country. where 4
shell IS the only available material
II il were not for the dust OF these !
perfect. but as IL IS they are depend
able at all times. In 1915 there were
800 miles Of shell roads in the state
Water bound macadam follows the
she'll roads with 1874 miles. These are
found chiefly in Dallas. Fannin. Comsl I
and Maverick counties. Most Of these !
water bound macadam roads have been
oiled. which fnSures them 4 long life. !
and presents TO the tourist an almost
ideal road for travel, being dustless.
smooth and never soft BituminOus
roads total 81 miles. and are located
chiefly in the more populated counties
OF BeXar. Dallas, Mcclellan and Tarrant.
The road between Dallas and Fort
Worth. thence to Mineral Wells. is the
most noted road Of this type. present
ing to the public practically a paved
street all the way.
What About 81 Pa,oe
Last but not least. Texas has en-
tered into the field Of concrete road
being led off by Hunt
has been built radiating from Green
Vile. Navarro and Mcclellan counties
have constructed several miles OF this
type particularly in wash out sections,
where II is an ideal road
All OF this advancement in road con-
in Texas has been made not
there is no highway COM
mission in the state Along this line
Texas has = distinction not to be en-
Wed in that there is only one other
state in the union without a highway
commission. and that is Indiana. The
OF good roads in Texas
is purely a matter OF local interest
being limited to as small a unit as a |
precinct, the bonds being voted by the
people. and II they pass the community |
will construct their own roads in most
cases without even an engineer TO su-
pervise the work
There are. however. many influences
II work in the state to promote the
movement for improved roads. The
most important and the most influ-
initial OF these is the automobile owner,
who is a staunch believer in good roads,
and a great bOoster-for he can ap- /
Dreciate their benefits not only to him
self but to the farmer and the mer-
liant as we'll Good road organiza-
ions carry on the work OF the indi-
7idual prOmoter-but with much (
greater force. and il is to the latter
hat Texas owes much Of the present
advancement. When the interest of
he farmer is aroused, and the advan-