Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1921-07-21
Road Engineer Comes to Martinsburg.

The headquarters of Division En-
gineer b. Z. Gray of the State Road
Commission will be moved from Key
ser TO Martinsburg about August LIST,
il has been announced. The change
will be made, il was said officially, be-
cause of the strategic location Of Mar
tinsburg as regards the trips which
are required to be made by the en-
gineer and staff through the ten coun-
| ties in the eastern part of the State
which comprise the fifth division I'M
| der the plans for construction of the
Statewide system of highways made
possible under the S50,000,0OO bond
issue and the law passed by the Leg
islature controlling the expenditure of
the money. The entire staff and equip
ment will come to Martinsburg, in
Guiding Engineer Gray. who is in
charge of the work, his Office assist
ants, which at first will be limited
to one or two draughtsmen, and Ia
ter be increased to include the nee
essary surveyors probably ten in
number), a field engineering force,
and later sufficient staff men to COW
or the district, three or four in num-
Der, into which the division will be
divided to facilitate the work.
The ten counties included in the
division are Berkeley, Morgan, JEFF
ferson, Mineral, Hampshire, Hardy,
Grant, Pendleton, Tucker and Ran
dolph. The State has been divided
into five divisions with approximately
the same amount of Glass A mileage
at present, and the funds to be dis
tributed for road improvement work
will be apportioned among the coun-
ties on the basis of this mileage. I'm
der the first authorization of bonds,
Sl5,000,000 is to be issued and sold,
and Of this amount the fifth division
will be granted approximately $780,
600 for road purposes, to be apportion-
ed among the counties according to
their totals of Glass A mileage. There
is total of approximately 1900 miles
of Class A road mileage in the State,
and in the fifth division there is about
S72 miles.
Division Engineer Gray, who is in
charge of the work, is federal en-
gineer, and has represented the fed
eral government as Senior highway
engineer for West Virginia since Febru-
airy 1919. He came TO the State for
the first time in 1917 for the govern
ment officially. Before his assign
ment to this State he was for ten years
with the Massachusetts Highway Com
mission in charge of construction and
maintenance. His Office since he
came TO this State for the government
has been at Charleston. He succeeds
Z. ST. c. Smith, who has been trans
ferred to Charleston, and will serve
with ]. K. Monroe on a board of arbi-
tration to determine disputed routes for
roads slated for improvement
Because of the natural foundation
for solid roads it is said that the State
highways can probably be built twice
as rapidly in the Panhandle counties
aS in other parts of the State, and
also at considerable less cost, which
would, II was concluded, speed up
the work here and also get additional
mileage for us. In addition 10 the
natural highways, it is pointed out
that there are natural GrlccS in the sec
ton as whole and where grades are
necessary the preliminary grades have
been cut already, as on the north
western grade from Winchester back
into Morgan and Hampshire cOun-
ties.