Evening star., 1924-09-14
SEEK NEW SURFACE
IN ROAD BUILDING
Research Council Wants Ma
terial to Effect Big Saving
on Secondary Highways.

on Secondary Highways.
slvlng up to $4,000 a mile on 80
per cent of tae highways to be inn
provd in the United States is the goal
which the advisory board of highway
research of thH National Research
Council hopes WI be attained in the
near future. The executive commit
tee Of the adviso>y board met here
last Thursday. The fourth annual
meeting of the full board will be held
December 4 and 5.
When it is stated that 81, 900. 000. 900
is spent annually by the Nation on it's
roads. the saving of $4,000 a mile
on thousands of miles of highways
will be seen to be an enormous
economy in the use Of taxpayers
money The saving will be made, it
is expected. by discovering some
kind of surfacing which will carry
secondary traffic at a cost, including
road foundation work of approx
mately $4,000 a mile. Concrete or
asphalt roads cost $4,000 a mile for
much of this traffic at present, so
that the difference will be $23, 900 if
the discovery is made.
Road engineers explain ttat high
ways surfaced with gravel will carry
$40 to 600 vehicles daily, bat begin
to show ruts when that number is ex-
ceeded. Then, as rule, the con-
structlon of concrete or asphalt roads
capable of unlimited use is under
taken. although traffic on 80 per cent
of the roads. will not go beyond 1000
vehlcles daily. Hence, what is wanted
1s a surface that will carry up to
1000 vehicles and will be interme-
date in cost between the gravel road
at about $4,000 mile and the con-
crete road at $35,00O a mile Engi-
neers hope research Will show that
this intermediate road will cost about
$4,000 a mile.
Big Engineering Problcm>
I consider this one of the fore
most. if not the foremost, problems
to be solved in highway engineer
ing, said Charles NJ. Upham. director
or the advisory board on highway re-
search. at big office in the National
Academy of Sciences building.
Mr.. Upham was in the city to at
tend the meeting of the board. The |
once is in charge of S. S. Steinberg,
assistant director and also professor
or civil. engineering in the University |
or Maryland. Other members of the +!
BOARD present were A. n. johnson, |
dean, college of engineering, Tiniver-
slty of Maryland, chairman; Alfred !
D. Finn, American Society Of Civil |
- Engineers, vice chairman; Thomas H |
Macdonald. chief of Bureau OF Public |
Roads. United States Department of |
Agriculture; 7. r, Agg engineering |
DIVISION. Iowa State College; II. c. |
Dickinson, United States Bureau Of |
standards; A. J. Brosseau, Mack |
Trucks. Inc
Mr.. rpham, who is directing the |
expenditure of s76.OOO,O00 in road !
building for the State of North Car |
a CT
operation the National Research |
council is receiving from the United
states bureau of Public Roads and
others in it's efforts to promote more
eHcient highway construction
Forty-one States Participate.
Forty-one States now are affiliated
with the advisory board while |
score or more of national associations
OF engineers, contractors dealers |
manufacturers and similar organlza- Il
tons are associated in the task of /
preparing comprehensive national
program for highway research, CO.
ordinating the work of existing or
ganizations and distributing informa.
tion gained in research. The Corps
OF Engineers of the United States
Army, the Bureau of Standards, the
National Safety Council, National
Automobile Chamber of Commerce
anu otner groups are likewise CO.
operating.
The advisory board has adopted a
slogan: The practical application OF
highway research. 1t is possible |
that a saving of from 20 to rs per |
cent in road costs will be attained
This saving, of course, will include
the savings made by steering back
ward States away from construction
which other States have found ex-
CeSSively expensive
For instance, some States are Just 1
beginning to launch big road build
ing projects, involving millions of
dollars. Local politicians and local
dealers have pet plans and materials
they would like to Sell to these
States. By simply showing the
States the losses from unscientitic
methods in other localities it is be-
lieved much misdirected construc-
tion will be blocked. AS much as
s200,000.000 year may be the total
saving for the Nation from the fore
going causes as we'll as from i'm
proved methods and materials. Il
Saving of Labor.
An example of the growing eff
cheney in road building is found in
the fact that in 1915 it was not un-
common to see so men employed
around mixer, whereas today, with
pclleI IldCHlHeTy ana QlreCtlOn, 10
men are doing the same work, or
more work.
A specific problem on which the
experts Of thes advisory board now
are working is that of reinforced
concrete roads Research will not
stop until it is finally determined
whether roads are better with the
steel reinforcement or without it, or II
with any other reinforcement. and
how such roads stand up under diff
ferent traffic loads and in different
parts of the country. The United
States Bureau of Public Roads has
granted leave to c. A. Hogentogier,
. one of it's experts, to conduct for
hthe board a fact-finding survey on
tthe value of reinforced concrete
apaving.
The States now have diverse
3ne thods of construction. A stand
fardized procedure, yet flexible enough
70 suit peculiar local needs, is the
I'm of the advisory board. States
kNtl be shown how to build roads
with the idea of developing them
Jas traffic expands. This means that
\ the foundational work will be OF a |
character to support any kind of sur
face ultimately required. An $1,000
road may serve the traffic for a |
while, then $4,000 or $4,000 might
resurface it for traffic up to 1,5OU or
1900 vehicles daily and finally q II