Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-12-13


consists of the governor John G.. Town
send chairman, and four other members
The principal officers are Charles Nj.
Ipham. chief engineer, and George w
Francis. secretary and a staff at present
consisting of about 20 persons at head
quarters i'm Dover and. most of them,
located throughout the State. The secre-
tarv is officially In charge Of auditing the
finances of the department and, with the
chief engineer who Is the administrative
head of the depart ment. is directly re-
sponshIc to the State Highway Depart
nent and through II to the General As
scrnhlv and the people of the State. The
4cnartmcnt iS divided into seven bureaus,
each in charge OF n division engineer act
ng under the direction of the chief en-
gincer or Of principal assistant Engineer
Samuel hnopt
Tho bureau OF surveys in charge of
Arnold Richardson, assistant engineer.
has two or more survey parties IN the field
IS required. with necessary craftsmen and
clerks IN the general office.
The bureau of design in charge Of As
s,stant Engineer c. y Conner makes the
plans and estimates for new construction,
including drainage. Plans are laid out ac-
cor,ling 10 the latest methods adopted by
Federal government and closely follow
thclr standards. the one exception beng
designing OF bridges and cuycrts which,
on account of the Smallness of the state,
ali arc gwen individual designs
There are maintained complete record
charts of each finished road, which makes
4 posShle To analyzc any Job long after
has been completed These post mortem
charts give the length of slabs. the date
lald. maximum and minimum tempera-
turc, location Of joints and cracks kinds
and proportion Of aN materials entering
.ntn the slab. condition Of sub-grade
and direction of mixer
All additional cracks aS they develop
from year to year, are put on these charts
showing a comparison ot slabs with and
without reinforcement number oi cracks
=, certain slabs against number Of cracks
IN slab OF various lengths, and comparison
II slabs with and without lime. There
are charts showing different contracts but
sing the same kind of metorlals. same
nroportions and sub-grade condition and
fhe same length of slab. which are OBJ
served for a period extending over fifteen
or twenty DAYS It is found that regard
leSs Of the length Of slabs. the number OF
cracks will follow in close proportion,
deuendlng on the maximum and mlnl-
mum ranges Of temperature during the
fcrlod. Construction charts graphically
illustrate the entire job with legend ofIust
what materials entered into the contract
Experlmeutal charts define movement of
slabs that have been measured monthly
bv a Bureau OF Standards man and the
variations recorded Other charts show
The use Of lime and concrete Consider
able study has been expended along thus
line for the development Of better con
rretc
There is st present a force Of nine resi-
dent engineers, each Of them supervising
rom one to six contracts with from one =
four inspectors. many OF them technical
graduates selected with great care and
encouraged to make their best efforts by
being promoted. IS rapidly as their merits
Justify il, to positions OF resident engineers.
The bureau Of maintenance IS in charge
Of Assistant Engineer Elmer Y. Cush-
nan. who Is also IN charge OF the Federal
sid equipment
Each roal Is identified by q route mum
ber and Is divided into ! mile sections
All of the work Is accounted for under
>recific headings such Is roadway metal
shoulders. roadside and guard rails ditch
: and drains, bridges and cuverts. ms
.erials. sundries and supplies. cost per
mile. cost per square yard etc. and an
sccurate record IS kept 81 the different
TENS including the plan and profile map.
late and descriptions OF operations.
The General Oflce Bureau III charge of
Assistant Engineer ] Paul Jones. pre-
serves all Of the record and accounts.
complete summaries Of which are always
instantly available Minute histories of
averv contract. including classified costs.
are kept in ledger and all available data
are kept posted up for the most con
venient reference. This is done 50 thor
1urhly and promptly that the condition of
svery contract for the previous day Is
always known IN the main Office
The bureau Of testing IN charge ot
Assistant Engineer G VI. Hutchins a. i
equipped with laboratory and inspectors
that have charge Of testing all materials
l.ed in road construction. II passes Oh
he quality Of all materials purchased OF
,Ised, and conducts researches and eN-
reriments. All Of the ingredients. con
crete, water, sand, stone lime and cement
are required 10 conform TO the best stand
ards and are thoroughly tested for chem-
cal and mechanical results. The cement Is
subjected 70 compression and boiling tests
and comparative tests are made Of road
concrete taken from the structure and
of those made at the laboratory
The bureau Of economies IS III charge Of
ASS stant Engineer " " Mack, who IS
also III charge Of the department Of right
of wav and of information Tins bureau
provides lectures Illustrated with stereopti-
con slides, showing improved roads and
operations: furnishes information pub
lished in the road bulletin Of the Delaware
Automobile Association giving the state
nf progress Of different sections OF road
work resurfacing and the ike IN Delaware
and I'm contiguous parts Of Pennsylvania
and Mar1land with information concern
ne detours closed roads and the like
Il mas also prepared public exhibition oi
road models including Q display q All
tests now used IN hc department
POST MORTEN RECORDS
The Delaware state Highway Depart
mont was the pioneer III devising and using
what IS called the post mprtem record
tx which is maintained an up-to-date COM
ricte detailed history and chart bv which
every job can be analyzcd at any time
Among the data recorded are the general
date OF the work, and length OF each slab
laid. the number Of cracks and their 10
cation. the kinds Of materials used, the
of materials, the conditions Of
weather conditions, maximum
and minimum temperatures use OF hy
drafted lime use Of reinforcement, opera
ion Of mixer and the name Of inspector
II is thus possible after completion ol
! job to detect and analyze faults while
.lo method has been discovered for the
prevention Of cracks in long
concrete, 50 per cent Of them
,an be eliminated bv good materials and
good workmanship, and none need occur