Smyrna times., 1918-01-09
HIRIl-DOVER ROAD MAY
RECEIVE EARLY ATTENTION
.eN1LY MENTIONED IN
P'o oor OF ENGINEER UPHAm

r...,ov Comr1iss on Receives
STATE Siaal'.ommsndations of Engineers for
Ss'g ss.tsm OF Trunk Line Thru State
Cmyrna- Dover read came IN !
Ins ,insnt consideration in the re-
i0' p' Ond recommendations OF Chlet
poad go'' En- Engineer Charles M. Ipham no OF
S'asrars E'su ore to the State Highway Com
Ds.ao s.';on Monday. He told the High
nl''l9n Commission that "the imperative
S's ss.nd in Kent County points to an
as,',r iSnrovsd road between Smyrna and a
n,"ar ,np During large part OF the
,a, Do the State Capital is cut OIL
sl'.,'+ WI. +be northern part of the state on
ii' ,annt Of the condition of the Dover
csu-rs c.sS road. This is the direct line
.r .,rnecting the different ends OF the
.,.ts ' and would serve as commercial
'' ~ military road for the entire state.
D...ticslly the entire amount OF
.s,oupb traffic going from one end OF
~ state to the other passes over this
'..d therefore it is of prime lmpor-
,..oo The natural condition of this
osd is clay that very readily be-
.,mos Stacked with water. a small
,.;D making the road difficult to travel.
large amount of rain or a thaw and
heavy rain makes this road practi-
..lv impossible. " Engineer Upham
commended q concrete road and said
be cost would approximately be $50, :
OOO a mile. 1t is more than likely
that work in the spring will be started
in each county. In Sussex the DUPONT
Rad will be extended to Milford. In
Kent the first work will be the road
betweeu SMYRNA and Dover and in
New Castle the Lincoln Highway.
Commission Hears Route Suggested
At the meeting yesterday the High
vsy Commission received the report
oEngineer Upham with interest. The
generous offer of Gen. dupont, who
will build a trunk line thru the state
from his road in Sussex TO Whining
ton was considered and as his route
will conform as near as possible to
n the County roads as possible and will
B be laid according to the recommenda-
tons of the Commission. there is
prospect of perfect harmony to the
end of obtaining fine road all up anC
down the state.
Genesis of the System Recommended
Mr. Upham puts forward his plal
for this system by beginning with
sort of backbone highway going
through the State longitudjnally, tina
is, from north to south, which grea
4 main highway would develop thre
I spurs below Dover, each of whic
should serve important sections of tn
State--One running from Dover t
Delmar, another from Dover to Selby
vile, and the third from Dover I
4 EehObOth. In the extreme north vii
mngton would be made the center c
asort OF trunk system, with highway
fadlating from it, Tne Philadelphi
4 pike, Mr.. Upham considers one of tn
most important sections of the entil
system and should be built in the mo-
q modern and approved fashion. Penn
dlll he frankly confesses to be a prol
lem for the solution of which he wan
more time. He has two or three idei
concerning ways of eliminating j
amculties, one of which involves IL
employment of a viaduct. All invol'
'aanges of grade. For heavy CONNIE
tlal traffic one of his thoughts is
Oulld another road around it.
Z Route Diverges at Blackbird
! Engineer Upham reported in fl
ue needs of all counties. Besid
i concrete road between Smyrna a
1 lover IN Kent, the route would pa
] through tie main street of Smyrr
] 'nlcn is Of an improved type and
! soOo alignment and width. Direct
] u''tn OF Smyrna the present cour
I .0au Is OF poor alignment. A she
'-OH' however. will greatly imprc
|e road and make it satisfactory 1
4 permanent highway. North of n
4 :. - lsf as Blackbird, with the exc,
j UUn OF very shcrt distance,
q argument Is irrgular but the cur,
9 s'u EASILY be Strengthened in ev,
q instance Directly north of Bla,
q s"u Is the junction Of two roads.
i I' which follows the western part
Il ~ o'a'e passing through Middleto
Il summit Bridge and thence to v
II us'Cn . or Newark. The other
u D. "s 'ne eastern part of the Sta
II cg cra'slng through Odessa and
q urges and thence into Wilmingt
q os,s 49, Two routes could be brought
Y P.d uT' with satisfactory alignment
II man. -'On' Both of these lines pres
II imn.. s Demands why they should
n way" pii'ialenC III