The Lexington advertiser., 1930-01-02
HIGHWAY FACTS
BY JOHN C. SATTERFIELD,
Secretary Highway Committee

That the benefits of paved highways
should be rapidly extended to as many
sections of the state as is economically
possible, is the principle which has been
followed in the paving program recon-
mended by the Legislative Highway
Committee in its suggest budget. This
budget was prepared in collaboration
with Hon. E. w. James, Chief of the
Division of Design of the U. S. Bureau
Of Public Roads.
In order that these benefits may be
distributed to many and not confined
to few that the highways may only
be improved in conformity with their
earning capacity, and that the hundreds
of miles of gravel highways now on in
terstate and intercounty routes may be
salvaged rather than lost, the commit
tee is recommending that much interme-
diate type pavement be built along with
the high type pavement.
The great clouds of dust which hang
over Mississippi's through highways dur
ing the summer and the chuck holes
which appear in the highways in the
winter cause the greatest discomfort to
the automobile traveller. A dustless,
smooth surface strong enough to uphold
the traffic which passes over it, must
be supplied to give the relief needed
Other Southern states, as we'll as
states all over the nation, have found
that intermediate type surfacing answers
this need. 1t is true that heavy traffic
demands high type surface, and interme-
diate surface on heavy traffic roads
ln. J.
was used to give relief as stage con-
struction. But the hundreds of miles
of highway with less than thousand
vehicles per day may be made smooth
and dustless rapidly and with compar-
atively low cost by the use of interme-
diate type pavement.
U. S. Highway Number One, running
through North Carolina from Washing
ton d. c. to Florida, is about one-third
intermediate type surface from Raleigh,
N. c., south to the state line. Many of
the chief routes of Tennessee and Vir-
ginia are composed largely of this sur
face. Tennessee Highway Number One
leading from Memphis to Nashville to
Knoxville to Bristol on the route to
Washington, d. c., is largely interme-
diate type surface and from Nashville
east is nearly all bituminous intermed-
late surface. The highway from Bristol
to Richmond, Virginia, which carries
large portion of Virginia's through traf-
fic, is about three-fourths intermediate
surface.
In order to be sure that Mississippis
traffic needs during the future may be
fully taken care of, the committee had
reduced the generally recognized traf-
fic count of 1900 per day, calling for
high type surface to a count of 1000 per
day. Then there had been provided in
the suggested budget more than twice
as much additional high type pavement
to be built in five years than the pres
ent traffic requires, and more than four
times as much to be built in 1910.
After providing this liberal amount of
high type pavements to insure Missis-
sppi's preparedness for future traffic
increases, the committee is recommend
ing that the remainder of the paving be
done through intermediate type surface.
Many of Mississippi's highways are
now ready for the paying of intermediate
type pavement without any appreciable
grading or realignment The addition
of some gravel where the old has worn
thin together with placing of the sur
face itself will give highways which
have proved so satisfactory in other
states, This will mean that the present
gravel base will be salvaged to almost
its full value and thousands of dollars
thereby saved.
Not only can intermediate pavement
be constructed much more rapidly and
utilize the present gravel roads, but
the cost will be much less than high
type pavement. Acting in conformity
with advice from national and state
highway officials, the committee has es-
timated the total cost of high type pave
ment, including necessary grading,
drainage and bridge structure, to be
$1,000 ner mile for Mississippi, and the
average total cost of intermediate type
pavement to be $4,000. Highway Off
cials of several other states advised
that a lower estimate on intermediate
type pavement might be safely used,
but the committee desired to be well
within the limit