Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-01-21

| The many industries along the entire
coast transported raw materials for their
use and distributed their products to
market by truck. Inland manufacturers
depended on highways to place their
wares at cmbarkation points for ship
ment abroad, and return-load bureaus
| supplied them for the trip back. Trucks
! for army service overseas were nun under
their own power from factory To ship
| ping point III trains of from 30 To 300.
| Regular daily freight truck service was
established between Boston and Wash
| ington by way of Wilmington. Milk and
| other iood was truckcd daily from many
! points down the peninsula tn Wilmington.
Chester and Philadelphia for the armies OF
workers. Employees were carried to ana
from work by auto bus. On our roads to-
day at any hour. We may find the trucks
OF the manufacturer, the Wholesaler,
the furniture mover, the farmer, the local
dealer and the freight and passenger
service.
Il feel that n large portion Of this
tratiic rs with us Ia stay. and no DOUBT I'D
increase. even under peace conditions.
Now that the possibilities oi the com
mercial truck have been demonstrated III
competition with the railroads, its use
will continue and expand. The nation IS
alive to the fact that roads are neccs-
Sarv and with the extension oi highway
systems, will come an increased number
of trucks The gains IN industrial growth
ui Wilmington, especially IN shlpbuldihR,
are to remain with us. Munltion factories
will no doubt be- gradually transformed Ia
production of chemicals or other materials
needed IN times Of peace and rcconstrlc-
tlon, for surely the present Investments of
our government and private corporations
will not be allowed 10 lie useless and dc
prccIatc Further, # the excellent plans oi
our Ilar6or Commission for the improve
mcnt Of the river front of Wilmington
rnnttrlalzc We shall have even another
terminal for truck fleets transporting
over New Castle county highways
CONSTRUCTION REtp,UsTMENT.
"Duc t. tins evolution of the auto
ruonllc and commercial truck and the re-
sulting changes III the character and
volume Of highway traffic the principal
rural roads v hich have risen from mere
outlr,~ from the farm 10 great national
freight routes IS well are demanding more
rugged CONSTRUCTION and constant main
len. n 4 j. ntttSsar, for even the bv-r roads
A fcW years thck the terms improved
:, al ard stone road> were SYNONYMOUS.
aud NJ to 1915 MI county contracts with
TWO exceptions called for the construction
81 water bound lnacadam roads, mostly
ia, SIX inches deep and II feet wide q
cep; immediately adjacent to Whining
Ton. who're the depth was increased 10
cIght inches and the width to Is or Is
fe,1 These improved roads promised to
~olve the road problem and served very
satisfactorily under CNstinB conditions
with snail maintenance costs
br Stv
bcayr traffic during the spring thaW If
lalh. Emphasized the cstructural weakness
cs 81 several stone roads particularly
the road from Wilmington to Prices
Corner bv way of Flsncrc which col
iapScd entirely and assumed al the
characteristics of tie wcIst dirt road
Traffic Inch had previously been limited
I" areas adjacent To such ccntCrS aS
Philadelphia and New York was cx-
tending It's range II Was realized that
only the best and strongest pavement
would serve To withstand the impact ~
TINS travel and as funds were rot avail
uhlc FOR the necessary expensive cunstr,lc-
tlon temporary relief for the season was
gwen through ScaniNlng and shaping
hir4nG the wear but ono new construction
"a Is undcrt AIKEN this on the Concord
turnpike from the Wilmington city line 10
Blue Ball little less than mile half the
expense ~ which Was dcfraycd by the
generous subscription Of an individual
property owner
For tins work new specifications were
prepared calling for standard construc-
tIohs of the higher type pavements A
copy Of these, together with the special
SET assembled for the Lincoln Highway
Bond Issue construction. accompany
= -. 7v,rl,,Ir -, In.
,randard specifications for the three
general higher type pavements aS
cement concrete, concrete base and
asphalt surface. concrete base, cc,n"nt
sand cushion and vitrIhed brick surface
Construction Of each type has since BEEN
undertaken IN this county
The engineer tells how the new meth i
ols have been applied. first on tie Con
cord turnpike road
LINCOLN HIGHWAY
Concerning the Lincoln Highway the /
report saws The most important work I
81 tins department during the last TWO I
wears has bcen construction on the |
Lincoln Highway from Wilmington 10 the |
MARYLAND State line via EIsmere, Prices +
Corner. Narshallton, St james Church
and Newark The surveys plans Specifi-
cations and contracts. and performance Of
relating 70 al parts Of this work
10 date, have been approved by the CHIEF
engineer of the State Highway Depart
neI.t. as provided ~ Law This arrange
nent Of JOINT supervision, has, ! believe
= urked for the Standardization Of de-
,Igri and methods Of construction between
.ounty and state and ] take tins oppor-
unity of expressing my appreciation Of
lie hearty cooperation and help of our