Evening star., 1922-05-14
BY JOHN n. MACKALL,
Chairman and Chief Engineer. Mar.
land State Roads Commission.


| Chairman and Chief Engineer. Mary.
| land State Roads Commission.
| With the principal routes in the
state highway system all improved,
| Maryland has reached a position
where more thought and effort may
! be placed rightfully on details that
! mean so much in making road travel
/ safe. expeditions and agreeable. This
| in no way means that road construc-
| tion in the state is at a standstill. On
the contrary, contracts awarded in
| 1921 for paved roads covered a
greater mileage than in any previous
year, and 1922 promises to be another
! active season. But the work Is largely
on connections and secondary routes
or on reconstruction. and is taken
care of without difficulty by a
smoothly functioning organization,
built up through preceding years, so
that more attention can be devoted to
| perfecting the highway system.
Maintenance has been given high
place among the duties Of the en-
commission. To keep the highways in
! condition for safe and rapid transport
| has been the aim, and all state roads
are maintained very carefully under
! the patrol system. But instead of
| following the usual practice of hav-
| ment, Maryland has placed RESPONSE
bility for this work upon the seven
| district engineers who have charge
{; Of all construction.
Excellent Results Obtained.
| This plan was adopted in the belief
| that great deal of lost motion would
be prevented and real efficiency
! roads also had to maintain them. The
plan has given excellent results in
practice.
! In 1921 It's miles Of road were put
under contract and Ill miles were
completed. Maryland is now building
! gravel under light traffic and concrete
on routes carrying medium or heavy
| traffic. Only a very small amount Of
penetration macadam was constructed
last year, and that only on the resur-
facing of old stone roads, whereas
some years ago that type was used
very extensively as new construction
Excessive maintenance costs have led
| to its discontinuance as, standard
road surface.
Maryland's trunk-line system of
state roads had its beginning in 1908.
when the legislature authorized the
building of such a system and ap-
proved bond assure of $4,000, 900 for
| that purpose. Additional issues have
been authorized from time to time, un-
i til the total from this source has
! reached $24,470,000. Funds for main
license revenues, and in 1921 amounted
| to $1,600.00O. For the construction Of
a system of lateral roads the legisla-
| ture makes appropriations which are
| to be matched by the counties. and at
| the same time provides for the con-
| tinuation Of the post road plan with
state appropriation sufficient to
match federal aid. These two funds
are approximately equal, and aggre-
gate $3,200,000 annually. The state
roads commission has authority over
the construction and maintenance of
both the state system Of main high
ways and the lateral roads built un-
der the state-aid plan. The total
trunk line system now consists of
1850 miles, and every mile Is Inn
miles had been completed at the close
of 1921.
Some Dangerously Narrow.
On many of the main highways
built before motor traffic was Of great
importance the surfaced roadway Is
excessively crowded and dangerously
narrow. These roads must be wild
ened soon, and a very satisfactory So
luton has been reached through the
building of three-foot concrete
shoulder along each side of the four
teen-foot bituminous macadam sur
face. This provides twenty-fop
roadway. To eliminate some Of the
crown, the macadam surface. is built
up along the sides until the crown
roughly equals that of the concrete.
which is one-Quarter inch per foot Of
width.
Concrete shoulders confine the mac
adam and make possible its mainte-
nance at a reasonable cost, whereas
otherwise, particularly with a sandy
SOIL, it breaks down very rapidly
along the edges under heavy traffic.
The light color of the concrete adds
much to the safety Of night driving,
and its non-skid surface is a boon in
wet weather. During 1921 ten miles
Of this shoulder work was completed.
Six miles Of the total were on the
National pike, east of Frederick,
where there is now an eight-mile
stretch that has been widened in this