Smyrna times., 1924-11-26
DELAWARE STATE HIGHWAYS
COST UPWARDS OF S4,5OO,0OO
TWO YEARS ACHIEVEMENT IN
ROAD BUILDING PORTRAYED
40 Miles Concrete Highway-ShOws
Economical COnstructiOn.-Over-
head Expenses Are Low

The annual report Of C. D. Buck,
chief engineer for the State Highway
COmm ssiOn, which is in course of
preparation for the consideration of
the next General Assembly, will pre-
sent a wonderful record of ahcieve-
ment in road building in Delaware.
1t seems pretty safe to predict at this
time that no commonwealth in the
United States will be able to show
any more economical record of road
construction, and it is doubtful if any
have even approached the figures
which Mr. Bucks report will indicate.
In the past two years there have been
10 miles of highway constructed at
a cost of four and one-half millions
of dollars. When all the facts and
figures are considered by road-build-
ing experts, there will be certain de-
tails of a technical nature stand out
that will be most surprising. To be-
gin with, Mr.. Buck has reduced the
cost of overhead in the work to about
per cent. Most states are happy if
they can retain this overhead at from
five to ten per cent. This all means
that there is more money to spend on
roads through this economy, and
which is only possible because of a
careful watch maintained upon all ex-
penses and a staff of engineers and
inspectors and State highway police
that enables the Delaware Highway
Commission to build and maintain
roads at a minimum of cost
'NO Politics Allowed"
The cost for building roads in this
State, it is believed, is lower than the
bids offered by contractors in most
other states, because these cOntrac-
tors have a very high respect for Mr..
Buck, his engineers and inspectors.
They know they must deal entirely on
the proposition as business men and
eliminating anything that has the
least appearance of politics or pull
/ There is none and never will be any
politics in roads built by Mr.. Buck,
according to his public expression on
the subject, and his record bears this
statement out. Only competent con-
tractors as a result, have bid for the
roads in Delaware. In his three and
! one-half years as chief engineer there
! has been but one concern that failed
to make its contract good. Fortunate
| ly the roads built show the result of
this competition from the cOuntry's
best road builders. "My engineers
have co-operated faithfully and loyal
ly with me and the department" +"
said Mr.. Buck when asked about the
two years program of road building.
"They have done their work we'll and
the State, as a result, has highways
they can be proud Of"
Railroad Cooperation Helped
The Pennsylvania Railroad this
year co-operated with the highway
department splendidly. The cars of
supplies were not sidetracked, which
enabled the contractors to lose no
time or money in their receipt, and
this has been a big feature of the
successful work of the past two years.
There were many things which the
State engineers have discovered in
road building in these two years and
the benefits have accrued to the State
in finer and more durable roads. One
instance of how Delaware roads are
being built came recently. One of
the inspectors brought to Mr.. Buck 5
office a chip from a corner of a road,
the contract of which specified that
the concrete was to be five inches in
thickness. The chip showed that in
stead of five inches it was almost six
inches thick. SO in this instance the
State got the benefit of an extra inch
of cement. eve never make a pro
test" said Mr.. Buck, "when we get
more than is specified in the contract
but any attempt to build roads under
the specified thickness for cement is
always attended to promptly" This
situation when compared with that il
another state, near Delaware, where
highways built at various times in the
past fifteen years have failed to come
up to full specifications, is anOthe
tribute to the men who are inspecting
the work during the building of high
ways. The roads built in the past tw,
years for which Delaware expende
the four and one-half millions of dol
lars are as follows:
=, 1928 Contracts
Smyrna-Armstrong's Corner, 3.5S
Boyd's COrner-St. Georges, BAG
Odessa-BOyd's Corner, 2.89; Dove
(north and south connections), 1.9C
Marsh Road, 3.42 miles; Bear-Stat
Road, 2.75; Townsend-C -COldwell, ABE
Maryland line (Elkton) -Glasgow,21 II
Kih<wood-Tybout's Corner, 4.58. Har
ly-Pearson's, 3.77 miles; KentOI
Smyrna, 5.58; Harrington-Burrsvill
9.O7; Viola-Canterbury, 0.74; Hou!
ton-CK2, O.83; Kenton- Cheswold, AZ;
Leipsic-Smyna, 6.29; Hollandsvill
FELTON,, 5.81; Clayton (Town of, 0.6
Harbeson-Sunshine School, 4.43 mile