Milford chronicle., 1919-12-19
27O MILES OF ROADS
IN new STATE SYSTEM
INTIMATELY 1922 MILES WILL COME
Under THE HIGHWAY DEPART
MENT PROGRAM,

That is the title OF most interest
,,1 namphlet pertaining to the oper
ne .ion and the accomplishments of tn,
S.ate Highway Department, just pre-
ssrsd and published by the Clearing
Rgnrse Of the Delaware State Program
nSicb has supervision over the post
w. reconstruction activities in Del
ware under sanction of the Legisla'
snre The pamphlet, which is excel
isntlv printed, contains many attrac-
i've Illustrations Of Delaware's roads
sbefore" and after" the State High
,'ov Department took them over and
converted mud courses into smooth
concrete strips.
Under the caption of Outstanding
accomplishments" the pamphlet says:
"Of the 27O miles of the proposed
,runk-line system, the status of the
Highway Departments work is at
nresent. November, 1919, briefly as
construction completed this year
and last, 73 miles (including the 80
miles of the DUPONT Boulevard).
"Uncompleted, but under contract,
81 miles.
Number of contracts now under
way, % miles.
miles of road now under State
maintenance, IS miles.
"Since the organization of the De-
nartment. 2SO miles of road had been
surveyed. At the present time the
State Highway Department is about to
begin the survey of from so to IS miles
for State work. this being in addition
to surveys made recently for State
aid roads in the various counties. As
noted in Section III, 100 miles have
been plotted to small scale, and detail
ed plans made of 130 miles.
"The Philadelphia Pike is an out
standing accomplishment to every Del
awarean. 1t is a remarkable fact that
in spite of the difficulties of wartime
in getting materials the transportation
embargoes, the rulings of the United
States Highways Council and the Cap
ital Issues Committee, all of which
caused delay, the work on the Phila-
delphia Pike was nevertheless never
entirely shut down.
THE completion of the Dover-Smyr-
ma road virtually opens up the south
ern part of the State. A by-pToduct
of this road, also, has been a certain
improvement in drainage south of
Smyrna"
Discussing How the Good Roads
Movement Started in Delaware" says;
"A number of Delaware citizens, in
cluding notably Mr.. T. Coleman du-
Pont. have for several years called !
attention to the fact that the advent OF
the automobile had made a Statewide 1
system of good roads not only i'm /
Dortant but even imperative in the /
development of an agricultural and in
lustrial State like Delaware. OBJ
riously the first necessity would be a
north and south trunk line road pass
ng through the whole State from the
line to the Maryland
inc Because of the shape of Della
ware, this trunk-line would be both
he first necessity and the backbone OF
ny State wide system that might ever
e developed. But there was no State
authorized to build it or any
ther State road"
The pamphlet then describes the en-
ctment of the Boulevard Corporation
let, and the formation of the DUPONT
Boulevard Corporation. 1t also tells
f the difficulties encountered in New
astle and Kent counties in getting
he right of way for the DUPONT Boule-
ard It also records that three
lonths after the State Highway De-
artment was organized the Boulevard
through its president,
eneral T. Coleman dupont, in Sep
mber, 1917, formally offered to :
landon construction of the DUPONT d,
so soon as it should be COM
eted to the Appenzellar farm, about !
ur miles south of Milford, and of s
eneral duPont's offer to pay for the s
of a State highway from +
lford to Wilmington over such route, Z
such width and of such materials as r
e State Highway Commission should 4
ecify.
The proposal was accepted" con- \
lues the pamphlet This means that \
e cost of SO miles of trunk-line COM =
Using an essential part of the State a
ghway system, does not have to +
me out of the States road fund, and a
at a very considerable amount OF =
ate money is therefore released for =
her parts of the State system. n
Although the width ia feet of the =
IPont Boulevard south of the Appen-
liar Farm is two feet less than that I,
the rest of the State system, the :,
aracter of construction is the same, .
ID the DUPONT Boulevard set a new {
andard for the State. 1t is a per- n
anent road; it is a straight road. 1t :
ustrates a very important principle .
modern road building; that n
raight line is, after all. the shortest Z
stance between two points. AS Cen II
al DUPONT pointed out, the only +,
ally permanent thing about road !,
its location-so get that right! {
lese principles, applied in the Sus- /,
K Boulevard, were a valuable heri- a,
ge for the State Highway Depart +,
ent when it came into existence" {
The pamphlet sets forth that away \
ck in 1911 the Legislature authoriz- n
a company to build an artificial :,
ad' from Wilmington to Great VAL
to be IAN even surface rising to- ie
ard the middle by a gradual arch. n
The building of good roads in Del II
ware requires for its satisfactory
'mpletion Statewide system cover a
9 not only the 270 miles of the State h
stem as at present planned, but ul- II
nately affecting every mile of the :,
50 miles of public roads in the State, a
ID extending through every county, =
cry hundred, every incorporated :,
strict" continues the pamphlet. n n
Today the State of Delaware has :,
nelally resumed its responsibility -
good roads. 1t again demands the .
efIect road, as it did in 1911. The s
ny differences are that the State no
neer leaves the construction to pri-
,le corporations, and that the per-