Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-11-28
MAKING BETTER ROADS
Excellent Work In Kings Mountain
Township.
Commission GETS GOOD RESULTS
Less Than Half of the Available
Money so far Expended and at Least
Fifteen Miles of Roads Practically
Com nLAtad

FIfteen MILES or hoaos FractlcalIy
Completed.
Now that the heaviest part Of the
work of gathering the crops is out of
the way, the Kings Mountain Town
ship Highway commission has resumed
its activities on the public roads and is
pushing ahead as rapidly as the
weather AMI the labor supply will per-
nit to finish up by the end Of the year
as much work as has already been
commenced as Is possible.
Up to the present time the commits
sion has practically completed about
fifteen miles Of road, in whole and
broken pieces Of sections, and so far
It has expended only about $4,000 Of
the $4,000 derived from the sale Of the
road bonds. Unless there is unfor-
seen interference with the plans now in
operation, 1t expects to spend some-
where in the neighborhood Of $4,000
more during the present month, and
wind up the year with about $4,000
for further operations.
It Is some remarkably good work
that the commission has done. The
work speaks for itself, and that it is Of
surprisingly superior quality Is the
verdict of practically everybody who
has seen it. The editor Of The York
vile Enquirer went over portion OF
the. road last Wednesday afternoon m
company with Mr.. D. C. Clark in his
automobile. Because of limited time,
the lateness of the hour and threaten
ing weather, the trip took in only
portion Of the different stretches Of
work that have been completed in
whole or in part; but it included all
that has been done along the eleven
miles between the York township line
and the North Carolina line.
Mr.. J. D. Smith, secretary Of the
highway commission, got in the car at
the invitation Of Mr.. Clark at his home
eight miles north Of Yorkville, and
rode en- UP to the North Carolina line.
He was able to answer the EDITORS
questions, as to what was being done,
how it was being done, approximate
costs, ETC., aid it is to be said Of him
that although quite modest and con-
servative about il all he lis showing
most commendable interest for a care
full business man Of affairs who is
carrying such heavy public respon-
sibility practically without pecuniary
compensation, his pay being only
nominal. ....J
The Kings Mountain road work Is
practically completed from the North
Carolina line down to Smith Brothers
a distance Of approximately seven
miles, and it was here that the road
workers were encountered. The work.
ers here were engaged in surfacing.
They had already prepared the road
bed with a nice rounding up toward
the centre with clean cut waterways on
either side, and were then engaged in
surfacing. The surfacing is done with
surface soil from adjoining field and
here this soil was piled in the centre
of the road to a height Of from two to
three feet for distance Of hundred
yards or more. The next operation as
Mr.. Clark explained was to go through
the centre Of the heaped up soil with
big plow and afterward, with scrapes,
drags, etc, spread it over the whole
roadway, leaving it higher in the
middle and thinner toward the o ter
edges. In the middle Of the road the
soil Is left to depth Of y or IA inches,
so it will pack down to about ten or
twelve inches, and the whole roadway
is so covered as to leave none Of the
original surface exposed except at the
outer edges. There was working at
this point a force Of fifteen or twenty
men with Mr.. John w. Quinn, in
charge.
After passing the long bank Of sur
face soil piled in the road. the auto
mobile came upon the recently finished
surface Of the old road, which though
not quite as hard and smooth as could
be desired was such a marked i'm
provement over what it had ever been
before that it was an easy justification
of the work that had been done. 1t is
what anybody would call a good road,
far superior to anything over which
the car had PASSED on the way up from
Yorkyille; bul although it was quite
smooth and carried the rapidly NOV
ing car without the jolting that had
been experienced just previously, Mr.
Smith did not appear to be entirely
satisfied with it. 1t showed some deep
ruts that he did not altogether like;
but which he hoped would eventually
be smoothed out by constant dragging
From Bethany church, however up to
the North Carolina line, distance or
about five miles, there is no need for
apology. The road is as hard and as
smooth as could be desired with hardly
a rut, and not a grade that would call
for the slightest modification of speed.
1t is simply as good road as anybody
could want.
1T used to be the talk up this way"
remarked Mr. Clark, that you could
tell where you struck the line b. the
difference in the road, the road on the
North Carolina side being so much
better than it was on the York county