The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-07-23

q
the old dinosaurs. 1t PUSHES shos,
not quite fitted to is surrounSIsss
and unable to continue sxiaenssI
long unless some aAaptstim ~
made. The difference betvean ~
old monster and the modern 49,
truck 10 that the dinosauf ~
adapt himself to his envifu1S,;
whereas the trucks envir0I - ]
will have 10 change. And = ~ y
10 engineering the trucks strss,4s
for existence, the necessary chssss.
In roAdways will Of course -.
eventually.
Right now, however, only =.
mile out Of two hundred q -
rural roads 10 built to carry ~,
traffic. and the steady increeen !:
heavy vehicles have been serirui,
destructive to our Light roads.
We started out in this CONT,
by building corduroy roads Of -.
and dirt for horseback ridera ~
when We outgrew those, We ~
macadam, which was perfectly IN.
isfactory until automobiles cans
along and took all the dust On y
the macadam, leaving the sha,,
stones bare. Nov, over hsIk n.
roads planned are concrete ga !
good many others are to b aspA,h
and brick. all strong enopsh. vi
properly designed and kept in ~
pair, to hold up any kind Of prsa.|
ent day traffic.
The bureau Of public roads In
for some time been making tern
to show ho~xarious types Of rcad
Withstand heavy impact. Slabs d
different kinds of road were bvilt
Ut the Arlington experiment 81
ton and by use OF special appar.
atus the resistance OF each slab n
accurately figured.
The bureau also wrote to hin.
way engineers all over the county
asking for samples OF road surfscs
and suhsoil from highways whieh
have raveled, and other sampla
i showing satisfactory road mat,
rails. Slabs sent in were to b u.
companied by information to show
the kinds Of traffic hauled over IN
roads and the extent to which The
were kept In repair.
/ A Science Of Roads,
From their own tests and dat
| the bureau will be able more de6
nitely than ever to assist highvul
! commissions in selecting the rislk
kind OF roads for their communL
ties. Engineers Of the bureau q
public roads say that not eoossA
science has been applied to foal
building. Macadam road n oas
| section of a state proves durabla
Therefore, when a road 10 10 b
laid in another county. macadam
Is decided upon, regardless Of b.
cal conditions. An entirely differ
ent kind Of road structure 10 need.
I'd over . sandy subsoil. for In.
stance, from that suitable ovsr I
gravel bed.
| Locality; too, has q good deal b
do with the type Of road needed
Around large cities where heav!
motor trucks make hauls 80 mile
or more out, a dirt road would b,
torn up in no time. Whereas OIL
| in the Rocky mountains, dirt road
lare In many districts well adaptsd
to the class OF traffic. 4
/ But almost everywhere heavl
roads are coming to be necessaf.
and while they are two or thru
times as expensive as macadam Q
clay roads they are economical 1
the long run. A concrete road no
costs from $4,000 to $4,000
mile, which is rs per cent MOI
than 1t cost before the World va
At that, roads have not gone up Z
much Is some other necessitieA
Heav3 trailic and a great II
crease IN the volume Of businel
are putting greater strain on u
highways and making strong
road surfaces imperative, especia
ly around cities and towns ]
Massachusetts,, where account ha
been kept OF travel on main rod
motor traffic has increased over u
per cent in nine years. and 90
eral traflic Of all vehicles has b
] creased 243 per cent. The Create
OF these increases has come in "a
last three years. The country
. ready for a national system
roads and road transportation.
Is another big job that must
done.