Norwich bulletin., 1922-04-01

traffic will warrant a certain amount Of
money expended to save maintenance an@ |
the Interruption of traffic. For instance, a |
density of traffic such as is between
Greenwich and the New York line on the
Post roads warrants a high type of pave
nent like a sheet asphalt on a concrete
base, or a 10 lEch thick concrete roau
OF prick pavement laid on concrete base.
1t would warrant a road IS feet wide, or
wider, while a road, say between here
and Preston City. carries a traffic which
certainly would not call for anything bet
ter than good gravel or native stone
road 1G feet or IS feet wide. The amount
of traffic which will be developed, the
class of traffic, that whether it is heavy
trucking or pleasure vehicles the season
the road is used, all enter into the type
of pavement selected. Please note that 1t
is the amount of traffic that will be de-
veloped When the construction of the
Norwich Westerly road was contenplas-
ed q traffic census in December showed
no auros passing for several days, and
only an average of three teams per day
Last August one Sunday afternoon over
100 autos passed in an hour. On the
New London-H Hartford turnpike the viii
ter of 1919 even the mail man did not use
the ;cad for two weeks. Next summer
We expect the through traffic from Hart
west of those points running down to the
beaches to be run up well over a thou
sand automobiles in day. THUS the type
of road selected conforms to the trat
| fhc which we expect will be developed,
and to the amount Of money available.
The same is true of the width of roads.
A road Is feet wide accommodates two
lines of traffic conveniently. Our trunk
| lines are generally bull Is feet wide,
though on more important routes they
are built 90, "a and 27 feet wide and
! wider. A road 10 miles long and 1S feet
wide can be built for the same price as
| road miles long and 20 feet wide. That
extra II per cent. in length helps out in
getting distance for the same money. a
road 20 feet wide is nicer to drive over
J than one Is feet wide, but frankly. the
| traffic in eastern Connecticut, with the
| possible exception Of one or two roads
| does not as yet warrant the expenditure
| OF the money fjr the wider rad
The question of why we don't built our
roads without stopping traffic is also
question of money. There is no physica.
| reason why we cannot built concrete
roads in twc sections We have done so,
and do SO wherever traffic is very dense
| and no good detour is available.
| blu it costs anywhere from 10
| to 20 per cent. more to build the roads
| that way Grading has to be done twice,
material has to handled is smaller and
] less economical quantities, the work is
| damned together so that labor is crowd
i ed, and SO less efficient. Besides the
| danger of being hit, the distraction of
passing motors tends to slow down the
| laborers. 1t all runs into money, so that
where a tour is available, and traffic not
| too dense, it is more economical to build
| the whole width cf the road at on ire
| This is especially true in btu. LJu,
macadam or gravel road which /; shap-
| ell ty the passage of a steam roller an(.
/, the cohesion of The road is obtained b!
| the locking together Of the broken stcne
| aggregate.
The question of detours is always a
hard one. Generally the public is pref
tv good about not trying 70 get past WHEN
a re ad Is closed. hut we all hate detours,
| for obvious reasons ami most of Us are
willing to take a chance; result-trouble
for all concerned.
We are making a special effort this
coming year in eastern Connecticut to have
the. signs mean what they say. II the
signs say, Roads absolutely closed we
ilnean you cannot get through, AMI il sou
get part way through and arr turned
back. please don't blame this department
If yol can get through. and we expect "a
| Pass at your OWN risk"
We do not expect to close the Hartford
New Lordel road to traffic again. We
hcQe to build the concrete in two sections
and let traffic pass We hope 20 have this
read complete by July.
The road between here and Westerly
has two sections now under construction
Tina first section is from Fox Hill TO twc
miles south, the second section fr3n
ANcrth Stonington to two miles south Of
THAT point
We expect to close the upper sector
this coming Monday and hope to have i
complete by June 1st The detour will
be by Poquetanuck, and although loG5
er will take no more out of your tire!
than going over the sharp stones ready
for the asi2hait-
The section below North Stoningtoi
will not be closed to traffic yet, but will
have to be closed for about six week
sometime between the first of June an,
the middle of July, when we hope to hav
road complete There is very good DE
tour there. and it can be split in hal
which will help in length of time the
road has to be closed.
, The road between Bozrahyllle an
| Colchester will have to be closed part c
the time when the bridges are being pu
| ! in. Detours about as bad as the preser
road, and adding about mile to the dis
lance are available when necessary. TIL
road will not be closed any more than
is at present for some time.
The Shore road between Mantle an
Blackhall will be closed off and on VI
: | til July 1 when we hope to have tha
road completed. The road to Providenc
I via Danielson and East Killingly will /
: closed all summer. The best road
r Providence all summer will be via Pu