The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1919-05-09
SAYS nine FOOT
ROADS ENOUGH
Government Expert Inspects
Roads From Elizabeth
City To Virginia

Pasquotank County and northeast
ern North Carolina may have to adopt
a nine foot single track cement road
for their first permanent hard surfaced
highways. It is altogether probable
that the State Highway Commission
will not approve any other width of
road for state and federal aid any time
soon. This newspaper gets this in
timation from w. L. Spoon, of the
United States Bureau Of Roads who
was here last Friday for the purpose
of inspecting and reporting upon road
projects calling for state and federal
aid, in this vicinity. Mr.. Spoon has
been loaned to the State Highway Com
mission by the Federal Bureau. The
State Highway Commission sent him =.
here to get his opinion as to which Of
the two proposed interstate highway
projects should receive state and fed s
eral aid.
Mr.. Spoon went over the proposed
route from Elizabeth City to the Vir-
ginia state line via South Mills and
the Dismal Swamp Canal He was i'm
pressed with the need of this project,
not only as an interstate highway, but
as feeder for the great state highway
system.
Mr. Spoon then went over the route
of the proposed highway between Eliz-
abeth City and the Virginia lima via
Shawboro, Snowden and Moyock. He
followed the meanderings of this road
and observed that it crossed the Nor
folk Southern Rail Road seven times
between Elizabeth City and North
bogs that would have to be overcome.
And he noted something of the i'm
mense population to be served by this
road. He thought the road from Eliz-
abeth City to Moyock should parallel
1.-THE N. S. R., r. and not cross and re-
cross that rail road every few miles.
And after looking over both routes
Mr.. Spoon indicated that he did not
believe that state and federal aid would
lbe available for both roads and if the
idea was to build double track roads;
but that state and federal aid would
be available for both roads if both
roads were of less expensive single
: track construction. And Mr.. Spoon
said emphatically| that a nine foot road
was all the road we needed and all the
road we should attempt to build until
we had more experience in road build
ling and had more money to build with.
ss:fsFFFhen a man gets to the end OF a.
cement road and gets off in the mud
he is not so much concerned with the
: width Of the road as with it's length.
= It is better to build narrower roads
and more roads, than to use up all
your appropriation in a shorter mileage
Of double track roads.
Asked what he considered an ideal
TYPE of, construction for this country,
Mr.. Spoon said he favored a 25 foot
road with nine feet of government
standard cement paving in the center.
The eight feet of dirt on each side
should be sown in Bermuda grass
which makes a firm sod that does not
: easily wash or break down under light
e traffic. The cement should have a
: curb on each side, to prevent it break
D ing off along the edges under traffic.
The idea that nine foot road is not
4 wide enough is an idea born in the
minds of persons who have never used
D such roads and who don't know what
they are talking about, says Mr.. Spoon.
y And this man Spoon is road builder
of many years experience; in fact, he
l. is the man who first discovered and
y applied the formula Of the modern sand
clay road.
cit is not very often in a journey
: that one has to turn out fo ranother
: vehicle on the road says Mr.. Spoon
e "and when one does have to turn out
= on a nine foot road he still has two
e wheels on hard paving and never has
= to slacken his speed"
l. And so this man Spoon went back tc
i Raleigh last Saturday with the opinion
Is that Elizabeth City and her neighbor-
q ing counties need two roads into Vir-
'e ginia and that we ought to get state
T.: and federal aid for both and probably
~ will get state and federal aid for botf
on the basis of single track cemen
d construction. This newspaper feel'
>. that it understood Mr.. Spoon thoroly
- because this newspaper had repre-
. sentative with him on both tours o.
' inspection.