Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-01-08

and the construction of more durable
surfaces on portions of the roads al
ready improved with .owtype sur
faces.
Meanwhile the unaided efforts Of the
States are expected to result In the mi
tial improvement ~ practically all Of
he remaining sections Of the 5000
mile system.
With the initial Improvement com
pletod however. the fea. job begins
that Of lettering the surface and other
Wise improving The service afforded by
the roads intially surfaced with tran
eitoi'y materials i'm order tn get the
traffic through" This policy cf the
road builders is identical with that of
the railroad builders ri the last cen
tury. In ordnr 10 spread the benefits
Of road improvement as widely az pos
sible with the money available for the
purpose n large mileage has heen
.nitiaily improved bv merely grading
or surfacinc with transitoty materials.
This has been done wherever the pres.
ent traffic could be reasonably accom-
motiatcd bv such relatively ineXpen
siee improvements.
1t In invariably found. Thomas H.
Public Roads points out. that such
"firss-aid' improvements are followed
Immediately by increases in traffic.
The closing up Of the uumproxcd gaps
i'm the system accctcrates the traffic
incrcasf ON the enti:e system. The
response IL the Federal and State high
way authorities tn this heightened de-
mand IL an increase in the mileage Of
su-caIied stage construction, which in
ciudcs the construction of more dufa.
HE surfaces and in many cases the
widening OF the roads as earlier built.
$500 Miles Last Year.
In tho last fiscal year more than
s.3o0 miles ef The Feder.t.-s.id system
were initially improved with Federal
assistance. On much Of this mileage
the traffic bad already reached such
proportions as 10 require durable sur.
facing, and such surfaces were con.
structed at once, including 1.0n3 miles
ar concrete. 80 miles OF brink. isn
miles Of btinmineus concrete and sheet
asphalt and 4s3 miles of hltuminouS
macadam. The remaining mirage Of
more lightly travelled roads was inn
proved either with q transitary sur
face Or waterbound maradam. gravel
or sand-clay. or simply by grading and
draining the existing earth road.
This, however. represents only n
part at the Improvement effected dur
ing the year. AZ the same time. .371
miles Of reads previously improved
were Ieftercd by stage construction.
This advanced Improvement included
the construction uf gravel surfaces on
aa0 miles of rtad previously graded
and drained, the laying III concrete
pavement un Isl miles prey iouSls sur
faced with a less durable material and
tile construction uf lesser mileage of
other durable tvl4rS at surface where
the capacity If the existing surface
hal hesai exceeded hs The aiitc. As
the initial Improvement III the entire
system draws near IL cumntet ion, In.
size Of this stage As.on$iruction pro.
gram will be increased and the pro.
cess OF gradual uphuilding of the Sys-
tenn IN the condition that will uIti.
mately he required by the greater
traffic Of the future will occupy the
hest efforts Ut the ruad builders Of the
country for many years 10 come.
Bureau Plays Rig Part.
Highway research liz of inestiulah le
value in the good reads program and
this again emphasizes the important
place that the Bureau NJ Public Eoads
In Washington In taking in tho entire
development of transportation. Equal.
ing. Ii not tFanscending. i'm value the
services directly rendered In the con.
struetion of rnads. the researches of
the Washington bureau have made
available tn engineers more exart
knowledge at the fundamentals 81
highway design and economies uf
special Importance are tho studies OF
the magnitude and effects af The i'm.
pact at heavy motor trucks upon high.
way surfaces and the possibility of re.
ductng the intensity uf the impact
forces by changes In the spring, wheel
ami tire equipment of vehicles and by
refinements in the surface finish uf
reads
OF fundamental Importance also are
the studies ~ sotls with resmc, To
their ability To support the loatis at
vehicles transmitted tn them hy rave,
inents and read surfaces of Various
types, and the highway t,ansper, sur.
seNs conducted in u number at states
and complete IA several during the
past year. These SURVEYS. by devotion.
ing exact information with regard Ia
the volume ut traffic Using AT. sire.
ttons Of The highway system of
state provide a basis for scientific
administration IT highway eansttt,s.
ton impossible without such knowl,
edge,
Extending the methods OF scientific
study ta the anatsais uf ruad building
operations. the hureaa has l,een ahiy
to develop certain dennie rtinclrles
concerning the adjustment ut lahnr
and equipment aud thu utilization af
hath IN the performance ut various
processes which,. when annlied Nv Inv
own engineers and by contractors
nave eHeeted material reductions In
cast. amounting IN suule eaAes tn 50
per cent ~ mute,
The results NJ these and aflutlar
Investigations, disseminated IN nuhll
cations az tho department and hv AL
htosses before hudles Ut enslneets ami
contractors, are eagerly sonsht h>
f"aa builders In the United states and
thtahkhant The Wo.ld, and widely an.
hiied have II multiplied effect OF tee
inendnus Vatns,
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