The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-04-24
FACILITIES INCREASED
FOR CARE OF ROADS
IN STATE THIS YEAR

INDIANAPOLIS, April "a. = Aug
mented facilities for maintaining roads
in the state highway system this year
with view OF giving users the best
possible service and to keep highways
open to traffic under the most trying
conditions, are rapidly being whipped
into shape, Lawrence Lyons, director
of the state highway commission, SAID
today.
Four new division superintendent
and one district engineer have been
added, making thirty-one superintend-
ents and six district engineers engag-
ed in the maintenance department.
District headquarters at Columbus will
be moved to Charlottesville with z. Z.
Newsom, formerly at Columbus, In
charge All district engineers en-
ployed for highway maintenance have
had four years college training Ia
civil engineering, Mr.. Lyons said.
There are approximately $500 miles
in the state system at this time, and
of this mileage 240 miles are of earth,
$500 miles of gravel and stone, and
400 miles of brick, concrete, bitumin-
Gus macadam and surface treated ma
cadam. The patrol system worked TO
splendid advantage this winter, Mr..
Lyons said, and by regularly dragging
the heavily travelled roads three and
four times each week, and less heavily
travelled roads at least once a week,
there were only few places 1mpass-
able at short periods. The mainten-
ance department now has at its dis
posal two hundred road graders and
four hundred motor trucks. On May
4. the commission will receive pro-
posals for various kinds of mainten-
ance equipment.
Rains Damaging
Due to unprecedented rains In the
past six weeks and abnormal flood
conditions prevalent in lowlands of the
state, all roads with the exception OF
rigid types, were subjected to IN
usual deteriorating conditions. The
commission has received complaints
from some citizens inclined to think
that road improvements are RESPONSE
BILE for high water flooding their prop
critics, according to Mr. Lyons. An in
vestigation was conducted by A. II
Hinkle, chief maintenance engineer
He said he found that in most cases
the trouble is in cities where new ad
ditions have been added and that dur
ing building and construction the nat
ural drainage courses were closed. Un
precedented rainfall cannot be takeT
care of by inferior drainage, but in
no instance is any highway construc
ton or maintenance responsible fol
the inundation of private property
highway officials say.
This springs flood also has taker
toll from state highways and bridges
Half a dozen smaller bridges, some or
important lines of travel, have beer
swept away. A few can be reclaim
ed. but in most cases, new structures
, must replace them. In the south par
of the state, 72-foot span steel truss
bridge washed 200 feet down Syca
more creek, which rose Is feet in {
few hours. This bridge was foul
miles from Martinsville on the Mar
tinsville-Brooklyn road. A detour ha
been arranged around the Bluff Road
A bridge two miles south of Milton
in Wayne county, on the Milton-Con
nersville highway, swept down stream
also structure east of Bainbridge OF
the Danville-Rockville road Severa
points along concrete state highway
in southern Indiana were inundated
for days but have withstood the foot
pressure, according to reports from
district engineers.