The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1919-10-24
ENGINEER MONAHAN TELLS
ABOUT HIGHWAY BUILDING

point to another should pass through
or. near a number of settlements
farms, or homes. AS these are sci
dom so located that good service al
one point will not mean poor location
or service at others, the engineer is
forced to matter of compromise.
The normal demand of each in
dividual is to have the main highway
pass directly by his place so that he
may have the most direct and short
est route to the outside world, which
is usually the railway station. The
satisfactory from this standpoint
cost of construction and upkeep be-
ing far too great. A better plan is to
construct main arteries Of travel
radiating or leading from these to
the points to be served.
: The object in the past was to Sc
cure the shortest route possible re-
gardless of the grade. 1t is far bet
ter to have the road little longer
and secure gently grade; road To-
Gated in this manner will not only
give the best service but will be a
permanent location.
Road building is expensive and
often proves more costly than neces-
sary. The reduction Of cost is ef-
fected by the proper location and
the use of modern road machinery,
eliminating as much as possible cost
ly hand-labor. Another important
thing is to have competent road
builder in charge of the construction,
so that the best methods are used
and so insure roads that will stand
the traffic.
The surfacing of the road should
also be in keeping with the character
and amount of traffic. A lightly sur
faced road eminently fitted for light
traffic will begin to fail under heavy
traffic A road we'll suited to heavy
hauling, where a few light bumps
are not Objectionable may be rough
for fast and easy going passenger
vehicles. The strength of the surface
should always be designed greater
than appears to be needed at the
start on account Of the increase of
traffic which will follow the con-
struction of good roads.
The surfacing should be Of the
most easily obtained material that
will give satisfactory wear, and may
be anything from compacted soil to
solid concrete. Among those now
proving satisfactory for rural roads
under normal conditions are: crush
ed stone or gravel which may be in
creased to varying depth of maca-
dam; sand and clay or top soil and
clay; tar bound material, brick, stone
NJ 70 Tho
surface should always be laid on a
firm foundation and properly arched
or crowned to afford good surface
drainage. Some surfacing material ;
when worn must be taken up entirely
while others can be easily mended, a
point that should be remembered. |
Some surfacing material require
heavy, expensive equipment for lay |
ing and is therefore unsuited for the |
small jobs.
The farmer is today the largest
user of both automobiles and horse
drawn vehicles and the wear on them
from bad roads is annually enough to
keep in repair the main highways
and the important branch roads. He
is simply paying for good roads in
his repair, bills with out having adj
vantage of easy travel. All well
regulated business enterprises could
never countenance such waste, but
would make the needed improvements
md reap the accrued advantages. The
'armers by little organization and
effort accomplish the same results
md reap the same benefits.
Mention has already been made of
he increased land values, and their
fleet in Immediately offsetting the
osts of roads. A mile of good road s
nay cost as much at $4,000, but it
will serve at least 600 acres Of land
Inder normal conditions. An increase ;