Evening journal., 1922-10-26
DehUare,S
Rank

Nowhere else in the country,
believe. can you match the 26O milei
Of Delaware concrete roads, wher
you take into consideration the es-
sential elements of good concrete
roads, nowhere else will you find q
whole road system averaging SC
highly. And by these essential ele'
ments 1 mean thoroughness Of con
struction, smoothness of surface
alignment, proper width Of right OF
way, ample shoulders and constant
attention paid TO maintenance
This is the latest testimony paid
TO Delaware's State Highway system
by an admitted expert after a two
days trip covering practically 800
miles, during which nearly every
State hard surface road was ira
versed at least In part. The trip was
made with c. d. Buck, chief engineer
OF the State Highway Department
and the man speaking is one whose
profession makes II his business TO
visit highways constantly, and whose
travels have taken him from coast
TO coast and from the Gulf TO the
Canadian border.
But two things stand out pre-
eminently" he continued, "first. the
continuity Of your road system, and,
secondly, a sufficiently wide right of
way to take care OF any increase in
traffic that we can foresee for years
10 come. You simply must have
travelled over all these Delaware
roads TO believe all the good things
we have heard about them"
AS for the continuity of the system
when one looks at a map of the
State on which the concrete roads
are sketched and sees them stretch
ing week by week into sections of
the State where there have not been
even any hard surface roads OF any
description. one can compare the
picture only TO a diagram of tn
human nerve system reaching Out
TO direct the movements Of the body
and making 1t truly an organic
whole. For the legs there are the
two forks extending respectively
from selbyville to Dover, and from
Delmar to Dover. Between Dover
and Wilmington there branch out
important laterals, such as the new
1s-nile extension to Marydel, Nd, |
and make up a more or less com |
piete spinal cord system. From VII |
nnington there rad'ate importan' |
trunk highways that are in a sense
the head, the Philadelphia pike, the
Concord pike. the Kennett pike, the
Lincoln Highway and the dupont
State Highway south. And just as
according to our physiology the
nerve paths as they furrow more
deeply from practice and habit, CO.
ordinate and direct more accurately
the movements of the human body,
80 do these improved highways knit
into a more compact mass the whole |
commonwealth, TO the end that II
functions truly as an economic and |
political entity.
Everywhere the State Highway
Department has made provision for
an adequate right of way. From
Selbyville extending north right to
the Kent county line the right Of
way IS 200 feet wide. This was the
Section acquired by the DUPONT
Boulevard Corporation. Throughout
the length of Kent and New Castle
counties there is enough right OF
way for any conceivable necessary
increase in the width of the high
way itself. North of Wilmington the
Department, as quickly as
4 can at reasonable cost. is WIDEN
Ing the right of way to so feet, an
ucipating the day when a forty-foot
will be needed TO accommo-
date the rapidly increasing traffic on
the main highway to Philadelphia.
One other feature of the Delaware
concrete roads is the. long straight
way stretches. straight as the sur
veyor's compass can make them
North of Georgetown through the
famous Glendale swamp is a twelve
nile tangent straight as an arrow.
rangents of two. three and four
niles are common all over the sys-
EN-. Comfort in travel shortening
II distances, and avoidance Of acct
tents are only three of many ad-
yantages of straight tangents.
It will be a surprise to many
TO know that they have
$50 miles of ideally constructed con-
,rete roads. It will be, perhaps.
matter of greater surprise to many
persons to know that more than 70
miles Of this total have been con-
,tructed during 1922. With the main
north and south highways practi-
,ally completed at the beginning of ,,
he present construction season one
building has taken place. The answer ,
5 on the more important laterals /,
he east and west roads that are so :
yalued by the residents of the less
visited sections of the :
state. But all these laterals are !
,uiit with a definite aim in mind
hat OF linking up all the improved .
highways of the State in one con-
lected whole. The layman may best
indertand this years achievement in
when It is pointed out ,
hat the mileage OF concrete added
u 1922 would stretch from Will ]
nington south 10 Milford.
And remember that all the roads {
DolSen Of are concrete roads. The (
notto OF the concrete people is "Con- {
rete for Permanence." And after
ne has visited the lower reaches Of {
he dupont State Highway. from I
south. and realizes that
his portion Of the boulevard has I
cen in continuous use for eight I
ears. he sees that the motto Of the l
oncrete people IS being proven true (
lroughout the Diamond State. J
fter eight years use this concrete ,
lad is for every practical use as i
voo1 &C roxr Vrba. fftffa xraar .,