Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 213, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 September 1919 — Plan to Make Safe Grade Crossings and Curves for Vehicles and Occupants [ARTICLE]

Plan to Make Safe Grade Crossings and Curves for Vehicles and Occupants

To abolish the danger of grade crossings without abolishing the crossing, is the object of the road commissioner of one of the Southern states. He suggests a strip of road running for about 100 yards alongside the railway track and joined to the highway by a broad curve, well banked, so that a driver, on approaching the tracks and suddenly becoming aware of an oncoming train, could swerve to the right And avoid a smash. Another road Improvement has been put into effect in some parts of California where the roads climb steep hills in long zlz-zags. At the sharp angles where the zig-zags meet, large circles of road have been cut, outside the angle, so that a car comIng down the mountains at high speed can swing around the circle and proceed on Its downward path without the danger of making a sharp turn. A car coming up the mountain makes a similar swing around and thus avoids the strain on Its steering gear Involved in making a turn at an acute angle when its engine is already strained to the uttermost.