The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1922-06-01
THEY LIVED A THOUSAND
YEARS IN -FOUR

The state government of Illinois,
thru it's department of public roads,
is living a thousand years in four.
1t is making an experiment in road
building that will reveal more of the
truth about what is best in roads
and road building than has been
learned before in the history Of the
world, and all of it is being recorded
for comparison and study.
What has been learned about road
building in the past has generally
been strung out over long periods,
and excepting in very recent years,
has been mostly casual or accidental
and very little of comparison and
close study has been made, and
when it was, the conditions and
events were so far removed from one
another it had little value, and little
application was made Of it.
Five years ago the State of
Illinois voted to sell bonds to the
amount of sixty million dollars to
match similar amount offered by
the federal government to be used
for road building. The state admin
istration was unable to decide be-
tween conflicting theories as to what
is the best type of road, and to de-
eide on various differences Of weight
or thickness of the different types,
and decided to do some experiment.
ing and testing to settle those ques-
lions before expanding the 100 mil
lion dollars.
They selected site where they
could build circuit comprising all
the different kinds of roads advo-
Gated by the engineers and theorists,
and built 200 feet of every kind of
road they were willing to consider,
and 200 feet of every different thick
ness of that type. Altogether it
made circuit about two miles
around, and there were sixty diff
ferent sections for comparison.
When the road construction was
commenced, naturally they had an
advocate for every section, and
every item of cost and every theory
of construction was taken into con-
sideration. While the work was be-
ing seasoned, the study of conditions
continued in minute detail and
everything was recorded as to each
section. When it was ready for use
it was kept under observation by the
whole circuit of engineers and other
observers and records made Of
everything.
In March, 1922, they came to the
period of final test, and this was
done and is being done by the use
of a fleet of fifteen motor trucks OPP
Grating on it day and night under all
kinds of weather conditions. At
first the trucks were loaded with a
ton and half per wheel, and went
around the track a thousand times,
with close observations made all the
time on every section to determine
the effect of that kind of wear. The
highest speed at which the trucks
was operated was twenty miles an
hour and the lowest speed was
twelve miles.
After the first heat of thousand
trips, more weight was put on the
trucks and they went around an
other thousand times, going day and
night under electric lights and a
corps of observers always on the job
noting the wear and breaking down
on each section and recording it..
The tests are to be continued until
the load reaches the limit of four
tons to each wheel, and and in con-
nection with the wear, there is the
daily problem of repairs that have
to be made, and this recorded and
added to the cost bill for each Sec
ton according to it's needs.
No such test has ever been made
before in the history of the world.
And if it had, no such fleet of ma
chimes ever existed for making the
test of value to the age in which it
was done. This is an age of motor
vehicles and when roads ARE built
to carry them, they will carry every