Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-02-19
LIGHT ON COST HIGHWAY
CONSTRUCTION in MAINE.

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The cost of highway construction
in Maine is one of the most talked
about matters before the people to-
day and opinions are many and
varied. An illustration is a story that
has been passed along that the con-
crete highway now being built be-
tween Portland and Auburn is cost
ing the State about $4,000 per mile.
while the actual cost is slightly over
$4,000 per mile.
A wide demand for gravel high
ways is found among people who be-
lieve that they can be built at much
less cost, while the actual conditions
and facts show that it is not so much
the actual kind of material which
makes the cost of roads SO high but
the fact that the material is not con-
veniently located, cannot be easily
obtained, undertakings and founda-
ton costs are approximately the
same for all types, and labor is hard
to secure and expensive when found.
The Maine Automobile Association,
about three weeks ago, to learn the
facts in connection with highway
costs, requested the State Highway
/ Commission to furnish it with a de-
tailed statement of it's expenditures
for various types of road in 1914,
when labor and materials were at
their low point; during the war,
when the high cost mark was
reached; and. during the most recent
year that figures were available for
a complete period of IL months.
Chief Engineer Paul D. Sargent Of
the Highway Commission complied
with the request, sending his reply
and compilation to Sec. d. w. Hoegg,
Jr.t The association now gives the
letter to the public, that it may
share in the information it con-
tains. but neither in any way in
criticism or defence of the commits
sion or it's work in particular. 1t
follows:
Il am handing you herewith the
information which you requested
some 10 days or two weeks ago rela-
tive to average per mile for different
types of road which the Commission
has, built since 1914. 1t is hardly fair
to assume in looking at an average
cost per mile, even for the same type
of road, that the cost as represented
in the figures represents the same
amount of work on every mile. This
is far from the fact. 1 make this ex-
PLANTATION so that you will not mis-
interpret the figures.
Our contracts are all let on the
unit price basis, that is to say, we
pay SO much per cubic yard for
earth excavation, ledge excavation,
for stone base, V drain, for concrete
in culverts and bridges and for
gravel or crushed stone laid in road
surface and rolled. The number of
units in a mile of any road, except
surfacing material which is fairly
constant. depends upon the charac-
ter of the ground upon which we are
working. For example, some roads
which we have undertaken have had
an excessive amount of ledge ex-
cavation in comparison with a good
many other miles of road Such
road was built in Whiting in 1914,
where nine miles of grading was
done and an extremely large amount
of ledge was handled. A road with
out any ledge was rebuilt in Poland
in 1915 from Middle Range pond
through, the woods toward Poland
SoII CI IFS w DIS CNSI SsiillN anu
gravelly soil and was very easy and
economical to construct. When a
road is built over clay we find it
necessary to put in a good deal of
foundation work. The expense of
this Will depend on the haul for the
stone, but without putting the stone
foundation into the road we would
be sure to have a failure in within
three or four years after the road is
finished and sometimes | have known
failures to occur within two years
after the completion of road where
no attention has been given to foun-
dation. We have under construction
at the present time through the clay
of Vassalboro a, road which calls for
an S-inch stone base its whole
length 1t has been necessary on
two hills in VassaIboro to take out
the clay and substitute stone to a
depth of so inches in order to get a
secure foundation for the read crust.
1t is just such conditions as these
which add to the cost of road and
which the travelling public know
nothing about when they pass over
piece of road surface.
II ought,to state right here that in
many parts of the United States to-
day roads are failing under present
day traffic because no attention was
given to foundation. The road sur
face, whatever it was, was laid uni
formly over all of the subgrade, just
as it happened to be found. A COM
mittee, composed of the Federal Blu
reau of Public Roads, the American
Association of State Highway Of
ficials, and others interested in the
proper construction of roads are
making a study of this question to-
day, that is, how to treat different
types of subgrade so that they will
hold up pavements, and it is con-
coded bysall road engineers that this
is the most important single investi-
cation with respect to improved road
work which is under way at the
present time.
1.-The cost of the road surface and
all concrete as well will vary with
the length of haul for materials.
Il ought to mention the matter Of
grading. We have not been as lib
eral in cutting grades as possibly we
ought to be and the government has
criticised us very severely on this
matter. We have had in mind the
additional cost of the road on ac-
count of what might appear to a
L.