Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1922-04-19
Orleans County Road Meeting.

OuG OIL Inc IuOSC SUCCESSFUL duu
largest attended meetings of road
commissioners, selectmen, patrolmen,
etc., ever held in Orleans county took
place at Newport Wednesday, when
about SIS gathered at School hall in
conference with State Highway Com
/ missioner r. w. Dix and C.. M
Brooks of the State highway depart
lment, relative to the plans for high
way maintenance and Improvement
lduring the coming season. The meet
ling opened at 10 o'clock, A. B. Cob
leigh, presiding. Commissioner Dix
took up some of the highway laws
and explained how they operated.
The construction and maintenance of
the highway was the general sub
ject of his remarks. Referring to
relating to bridges, the speaker said
that the state highway department.
stands ready to furnish an engineer
and plans upon request of the town
for building, rebuilding or repair
ing bridges. The town can get state
aid, also, for construction of a new
bridge, or rebuilding a bridge, but
not for repair work. The state can
pay one-third of the cost of each
bridge, up to the limit of $4,000. This
fund is not available, however, for
bridges of more than four feet in
span. The approach to a bridge is
classed as bridge construction.
Referring to Section 4543 of the
General Laws, Commissioner Dix ex-
planned the law regarding placing
guards and ratings in dangerous
places. The speaker said that there
were too many narrow bridges in the
State where weeds and grass had
grown up and obscured the approach
making them veritable death traps.
Suitable guard rails would solve the
problem in this case.
/ The commissioner said that appli-
cations for State aid on bridges
should be put in before the construc-
ton work on the bridge was started,
or there might be difficulties in secur-
ing it. There is at present a good
balance in the bridge fund, but if the
funds continue to be used as now
seems likely, they will be pretty well
exhausted by the end of the season.
A rule has been established that no
application will be approved for
bridge construction which is received
at the State office after August Is
in any year. In this way, it is hoped
cold weather comes, as building
bridges during cold weather is much
more expensive. Only in emergen-
cies will this rule be altered. No
State aid is available for bridges
other than those on State selected
roads. Commissioner Dix called at
tention to the law requiring that COW
cred bridges shall have openings cut
in them SO that the view of the road
will be clear for both approaches to
the bridge.
The speaker explained the law re-
garding the five per cent State high
way tax. This tax is paid into the
State treasury by the towns and is
/ then re-apportioned among them for
road work. The commissioner urged
that selections of location for road
work be made without personal con-
sideratfons entering in. He urged
new road work be done to connect up
pieces of road already completed in
lorder to have continued stretches SO
far as possible, also that those pieces
of road be selected for Improvement
(which hold up traffic early in the
spring and late in the fall, and that
further the r. f. d. routes be given
Especial consideration in these selec-
tions, as well as routes which have
the heaviest travel.
Mr.. Dix recommended fine gravel,
that from which the larger stones had
been removed, as a surface material
for road building. He said that this
will increase the first cost of con-
struction, but will save money later
on. A drag cannot be operated eff
fectively on a road filled with big
stones. The roadway below the sur
face Of three or four inches should be
of the best material available in the
bQ road ic hoiDcr
built. The speaker recommended
/ the use of larger culverts. The US
ual size has been from eight to 10
inches in diameter. This is large
ienough if they are kept open all the
! time, but that is hard thing to do,
SO it is better to have the culverts
from IL to IA inches. Sub-grades
require rolling with heavy roller in
order to have them thoroughly COM
! pact with a firm, smooth surface.
Thorough drainage is another i'm
iportant point. bitches are often not
wide Or deep enough. Under drain
age should be given particular care,
also.
! Commissioner Dix took up the mat
/ ter of contract work and spoke of
prices of gravel and other matters
with reference to the making OF con-
fLEdCGSs liz POlllCCu OoC CIA1C COOAAO1iAJ
does not mean retrenchment so mucl
as it does getting dollars value for
every dollar expended. Other mat
tiers touched upon were taking good
care of equipment, making detours
in cases where necessary, that all de-
tour information should be sent to
the State Office, that bulletins may be
sent out announcing them.
c. H. Brooks, deputy highway COM
missioner, took up the matter of un-
selected highways, patrol work and
resurfacing. He said that about the
same amount of money would be
available for unsolicited highways
this year as last. He emphasized the
need of getting the water entirely
away from the road in all patrol
work.
At 1915 the meeting closed and
during the noon hour, those assembled
were the guests of the Newport
Chamber of Commerce at a dinner
served by the Ladies Social Union at
the Congregational church. The din
ner was served with promptness and
all enioyed a most hearty meal. The