Evening journal., 1922-10-26

.
building are Improving daily and the
, Delaware Highway Department Is
blazing a virgin trail so far as many
details Of construction are concern
ed. The mix" as the engineers
love to call the concrete mixture
is one-two-four mix, that is. one
part cement, two parts sand and
four parts rock After the road
has been graded as accurately az
possible by hand a machine sub
grader is used which levels up the
road base to a scientific nicely. On
this base the mix is poured at the
rate of from 400 feet to as high
as 100 feet a day. Just back OF the
discharglng mixer are workmen who
level off the sticky mass with shovels
as evenly as can be between the con
lning iron rails. Back Of the la
borers come the workmen who OPP
crate a heavy iron screed. This fur
Their levels up the road. gives II CON
tour and squeezes out the excess wa
ter. Then workmen with a saw
like motion extract still more wa
ter with a heavy leather belt on q
wood frame. Still other men with
a long strip OF cloth give a further
finish TO the surface and remove
any possible rough places. At the
end OF days work mud banks are
erected in square sections on the
! newly-laid concrete and within these
! banks water is poured to form pools.
For fourteen days these pools are
| kept on the concrete surface to
make sure that the road will dry
/ out uniformly. After the pool stage
| is completed the road Is still kept
closed for fourteen days before II is
opened to traffic.
There is rigid inspection OF the
contractors work at every stage
with a State highway inspector con-
stantly on the job. And they do
not hesitate to condemn unsatisneo-
tory work very quickly.
The one long break in the DUPONT
State Highway is between St.
Georges and Odessa. stretch OF
about six miles which Is TO be built
during the 1929 season.
From Mt. Pleasant to Boyd's Cor
ner there is state-aid road which
has been In use for two years. now
in excellent condition. From Odss-
sa south one travels over new
road with a new location. This road
has been finished since the first OF
July this year, and considerable NIL
was required to pass over the
Appoquinimink marsh. Tho con-
crete bridge over this stream with
the queer Indian named proved
quite an engineering feat and the
foundations rest on concrete piles
that are driven In places to a depth
OF 60 feet. The bridge itself is al
most model of concrete construo-
ton.
At Pine Tree lateral branches Off |
to Townsend, all complete with the |
exception OF the portion OF the work |
in the town itself. which Is con-
structed but has not yet dried out. |
This Pine Tree road has been in use |
for two years and is two miles in
length.
From Pine Tree to the end OF the !
road north of Smyrna the new main !
highway has been in use for over
a year. There remains to be COM
pleted around Smyrna a three-mile
stretch which will follow a new To-
cation east Of the town and will be
done next year Between Pine Tree
and Smyrna one has the best OPP
pOrtunity to witness the difference
between locations OF modern roads
and old-time roads. The new high
way with its straight tangents cross
es the old Kings highway in no
fewer than ten places. The new
road proves in most practical fash
ion that a straight line is the short
est distance between two points.
From north OF Smyrna a new
lateral stretches east to walkers
school. This Is a 16-foot road three
miles in length and is practically
save for the work on the
shoulders. This road will be Of in
estimable value to the farmers liv-
ing In that section as the old road
was In very poor condition.
From Smyrna south to Dover one
travels over the first concrete road
built by the State Highway Depart :
ment after its organization in 1918. /
rhe road is still in excellent con-
iition proving the thoroughness OF I
original construction. Along this ,
'oad one can see trucks and wag- /
lns hauling tomatoes and apples in ,
Dads three tiers deep. Loads Of q
arge size are now hauled with Z
speed and ease where formerly a
lighter loads were hours reaching 5
he nearby town markets. 7
Branching from the Smyrna 7
Dover highway Is a lateral four and
,ne-half miles In length and reach 1
ng from Cheswold to Leipsic. This !
Dad, too. is a wonderful boon to a !
'ich farming section and provides a I
hort haul to a railroad market. 1
Running west and southwest from /
Dover is one of the most important I
aterals in the whole State. the road {
O Marydel, Nd. This road is thir- I
cen miles long and two and one t
lalf miles of it follows new loca- !
ion. 1t IS completed with the ex- r
eption OF a one and one-half mile
zap in the center. This road should '
pen up much new trade for Dover. y
Just south Of Dover there branch q
IS off the west fork which runs &
traight to the Maryland line at Del a
mar. Between Dover and Camden c
construction is going on upon a ~ $
nile stretch to Camden. This con-
ract will be completed before the Il
present season is over Just north I
II Camden is short piece of road s
where the department will expert q
nent with saving the present maca- \
lam by building concrete shoulders Il
nd resurfacing it with amiesite. i
Through Camden for distance of Il
200 feet new 16-foot concrete n
DAD has been completed this year. 4