Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1918-07-06
V|AbLE ROADS A
WAR NECESSITY
Col. James w. Howard Tells How
Badly They Arc Needed
at This Time.


ing To Municipal Engineering:
A viable road means one which II IN
condition properly to fulfill its function
of providing safe and rapid transit OF
vehicles. A constantly vable road n
road, including culvcrts and bridges,
which is efficient for traffic at all times.
Europe for many years, and now our
country. has realized that one of the great
est factors necessary for preparation and
prosecution of modern warfare IL CON
stantly viable roads, necessary for many
purposes, among them.
USES or MILITARY ROADS.
(a) To furnish through routes for auto
trucks to deliver themselves from where
manufactured To the point needed for
use or for export.
(b) To enable auto trucks tn carry
large loads of machinery, ordnance,
munitions, vast supplies for military and
civil purposes. directly from where first
loaded To where their loads are to be used
or exported: and to do SO quicker and
cheaper, up to Mt least 300 miles, than To
truck supplies la n local railroad station,
reload. go by railroad to another location
and there reload on trucks and deliver the
supplies TO the exact location needed for
use or export.
(cl Niable through routes for auto
trucks relieve not only railroad transit
congestion, but especially the great and
increasing congestion at railroad termini.
I'D TO eliminate terminus railroad
freight congestion Mt large cities by having
good local roads around and radiatng
from large cities and export points la
surrounding small towns, which enables
the railroad freight stations ot many
small towns tO be used ~ handle freight
thus kept away from centralized large
city congestion; because those roads en-
able auto trucks to have many places To
receive freight and deliver II directly la
the exact locations needed in and near
large critics or on the export dock. The local
inadequate large freight stations IN the
large cities are thus relieved from CON
gcstlon in Europe, and must be so relieved
IN America OTHERWISE disaster will fol
low the choking and delay now prevalent
and increasing m many of orr large cities.
The congestcd terfnini of our largest
cities. holding back cars loaded and
idle on miles Of side tracks outside the
critics. Is one 81 the reasons why coal, for
example, So necessary for our productive
efficiency. cannot be delivered to the con
sumner, and why ships cannot he built
faster, because waiting for materials,
Slowness Of transit and congestion Of the
necessary supplies has lost many wars.
Niahle routes. furnishing sure transit and
prompt delivery, have won wars and arc n
tremendous necessity for Va now.
Experience of past wars has established
the MILITARY dlctum that the war prepare
tion and continued supply Of soldiers.
materials and adjunCts have three fact
ors First and most important IN quality
and quantity; second, speed Of preparation
and delivery third and last to be consider
ca Is cost tor the war must bc won, cost
what IL may
NEED F0R IMMEDIATE ACTION.
Niahlc roads are military necessity
and q vital adjunct They must he ot
good quality. quickly supplied and main
tanned at whatever necessary cost This
can best he done by using existing good
roads linking them up with old roads 20
he quickly repaired and rcsurfaCed; also.
where absolutely necessary, some old
bad and weak roads must bc entirely re-
built The national, State and county
officials should now quickly select the
roads in many parts OF most states ncces-
sary for war and pressing domestic sup
plies: inspect them: decide which must he
repaired resurfaced or entirely rebuilt, to
carry heavy auto truck unit loads and
IN many parts of most States must be
quickly started and rapidly continued, by
fixed bid price or percentage contracts,
force account or day labor, including Use
OF prisoners properly pald) where pos
sible
FOUR GENERAL GROUPS OF MILITARY ROADS
The roads needed for war productive
ness and deliveries and for sustaining the
10 ha Divided Inf
four general groups. VIZ:
First Roads which are IN good con
dition and will bear the heavy loads and
resist the wear of traffic and weather,
sufficiently to be kept with attention IN
constant viabillty.
Second -Roads which have firm foun-
dations, bat have their wearing surface
LAYERS so much out of repair IN spots rs To
impede traffic and injure automobiles
Such roads can usually be quickest speed
being most importantly and cheapest put
in viable condition by repairing the spots
with the same kinds of materials as now
compose those roads.
Third Roads which have firm founda-
tons. but are In bad disrepair, and need
new resurfaciDg over large sections or the
whole road, and which can be quickest
and economically considering reduction
OF subsequent maintenance made vIable
bv resurfacing them. To do this it is
cheapest and quickest where possible to
use local materials such as crushed stone,
crushed hard Stag, gravel sand and some
times ground mineral filler, mixed hot in
various proportions to be as dense as pos
sible, together with suitable bitumens,
such as asphalt-cements. Spread the mix
ture and consolidate it with heavy steam
or gasoline rollers TO a finished depth OF at
least two inches at all points. 1t may be
necessary in some cases to even up, not
cut down the old road surface by any of
the established methods and materials.
In some cases it is best to ill depressons
and even up the old macadam or other old
road surface before resurfacing, by using
crushed stone or its equivalent and pour
ing hot bitumen on it penetration
method). The asphalt concrete or other
bituminous compound thus used for re-
surfacing, when rolled hard can be cooled
with water and thus ut once opened to
traffic as the work progresses. Work can
be done on alternate sides of the road and
traffic kept moving.
Fourth Roads which have no firm base
and which must be rebuilt, including
grading, foundation and wearing surface
layer In such cases, where traffic can be
safely blocked and sent by other roads
for some time, it is slow but feasible to
construct new roads with various materials
needing time to use, such as Portland
cement concrete foundations, brick, stone
blocks, etc In some cases where entire
new roads must be built some time can
Isst,N