The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1937-01-01
PROGRESSIVE IMPROVEMENT OF
LOW COST ROADS

A program calling for progressive
improvement and sterilization of
low-cost roads throughout the State
was announced by DR.. H. e. Tabler,
Chairman of the State Roads Com
mission. Under the plan adopted by
the Commission, it is expected that
the State not only will be able to
build smoother, safer, all-weather
surfaces, but that the maintenance
costs will be reduced considerably.
One of the important steps in the
development of each project by stag
es is the construction of stabilized
wearing surface by scientific methods
of road soil sterilization. The
United States Bureau of Public
Roads has been developing this pro-
cess and the State Roads engineers
are following the procedure recon-
mended.
"Road soil sterilization is destined
to replace the old haphazard, costly
methods of maintaining gravel and
dirt roadways and pavement should
ers,' said DR.. Tabler.
A road soil survey has been COM
pleted on more than 100 road pro-
iects and numerous deposits of road
building materials through the State.
Laboratory tests of these soils have
provided data through which the
Commission hopes to better the un-
paved surfaces on Maryland roads.
Materials from local pits are being
used where possible to obtain proper
proportions of gravel sand and clay.
twenty-five sections of roads and
pavement shoulders in various Sec
lions of the State are being condi-
toned in this manner and treated
with a special binder to maintain
this condition in trafic-bound sur
faces.
Important improvements have also
been announced by DR.. Tabler in the
widening and drainage of low-cost
feeder and service roads, and it is
felt that hundreds of miles of high
ways will be saved by such methods
"It is we'll known that almost any
type of soil, when dry and we'll COM
pacted, is capable of carrying enor,
nous loads" said the announcement
But it is equally obvious that these
soils, when saturated with water
lose their stability to such an extent
that vehicles sink into them instead
of being supported. Therefore, IL
order to protect the existing roads
from further destruction, they must
be kept as free as possible from the
influences of rain and melting snow
1.-THE placing Of a hard surface
over the travelled portion of the road
does not necessarily provide the an
swer, for if water is permitted to
stand along the edge of the pave
ment, it will soak into the subgrade
and destroy the supporting value OF
the material under the surfacing
with the inevitable result that failure
occurs"
BY providing a shoulder from to
10 feet in width, with side bitches OF
sufficient depth to keep the free wa
ter below the average frost line, the
operation of the State grading equip
ment is expected to save hundreds OF
miles of existing highways.
The State Roads Commission has
been urging rural property owners to
provide additional widths for right
of way of feeder and service roads
so that these permanent improve
ments can be made.
GAS we see it," said the announce
ment, there is no present need for
a high type-surfaced road where the
average daily traffic is only about
fifty vehicles a day. The need on
these roads is to have ample drain
age facilities 80 that the water will
be kept away form the travelled area.
For this purpose we need to grade
80 feet between bitches.
DR.. Tabler reports that many prop
erty owners are offering the addi-
! tional rights of way in order to OBJ
tain 365-day-a-year, smooth-surfaced