The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1936-04-18
State TO TRY.
COTTON FABRIC.
ION HIGHWAYS
Will Be One Of Three to
Test Feasibility As
Road Material
By EARL B. STEELE
United Press Staff Corresponden Mt

NEW ORLEANS, La, April
1S.-(UP)-If 100000 bales of
cotton were made into fabrics and
laid across the, highways, they
would stretch 10000 miles.
And that is eactly what is plan
ned in the cotton-padded road
program. It would require 1O0,-
900 bales. year TO keep pace
with the road-builders.
Cotton men, seeking new uses
for their accommodating crops and
goods, devised the "cotton road"
Experiemts have been so success
full that more than a dozen states
are planning tests this spring and
summer. Three states-New Jer.
sey, North and South Carolina
will build 140 miles of "cotton
roads" II requires about 10 bales
of cotton for q mile stretch OF
road. ..
The u. S. department of agri-
culture has been sold on, the idea
has put up $1,3O0,O00 to buy cot
ton fabrics, enough to pad 1000
miles of experimental roads. 1t
remains to convince state highway
officials, and engineers. The gov.
eminent is furnishing them fab
RIGS free. 49,.
The process is ismple: Overlap
ping strips of coarse cotton cloth
are. spread over the dirt base OF
the road, and the hard surfacing
is. laid onto the cloth. The follow,
ing. advantages are claimed fol-
the cotton reinforcement:
1. 1t prevents premature ravel-
ing, erosion, cracks and other fail
ures Of the top surface;
2. 1t prevents dirt from fore:
ing it's way up through the hard
surface; .s.,.............
8. 1t provides greater riding
comfort;
a. 1t involves no departure
from standard construction meth
DDS; .,
5. The initial cost of the fabric
is more than offset by the, econ
omies in maintenance of the road
The first "cotton road" was laid
in South Carolina in ,1926-a 200
.yard, section on route 2, between
Chaplin and Prosperity. Engineers
were, skeptical as they watched
workmen pour hot asphalt and
sand over the bright cloth. =; In
June; 1885 "a chunk of the road
was taken up and the cotton mem:
brane was. found to be still intact
and unimpaired. - 49,. -, =.
In September, 1885, w. r.
.Beckham and w. H. Mills, South
Carolina highway engineers, re-
ported officially that RESULTS at.
tained (by the cotton eperiment)
are believed to be worthy of con-
isideration. Inspections have are
yealedy that this section. (the cot
ton strip has kept in, better con-
.diti6f and required less patching
than other parts of the same high
way. project" - ~ .
. An experiment was started4near
Cranbury, N. j.; in August, 1894.
A year later state highway off
Gals examined it and. found s:the
cotton membrane had done much
to preserve the. road from: frost
damages. During spring and win
ter, frost causes the worst disln-
tegration of the cheaper. paved
roads in the north" :.,.
The Notion Textile institute,
chief sponsor of the cotton
roadp reported that experiments
already have started in Misslsslp,
ri, Georgia and Texas, and at
least a dozen more states have. as
sured the institute that they are
including Cotton roads, in their
spring building programs.
Tests also have been made with
cotton reinforcement on timber
bridge floors, and army engineers
are planning "cotton runways" at
several government airports.
Sponsors believe the, cotton
road" may some day provide one
of the largest markets outside the
clothing business for the southern
crop: Charles X. Everett, mana
ger. of the Cotton Textile insti,,
tutc's new uses section, estimated
that between 10000 and 10000
miles of hard surfaced roads. are
b,,;lt ovorv wear. and between 40