Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 September 1917 — BRICK ROADS ARE MOST DURABLE [ARTICLE]

BRICK ROADS ARE MOST DURABLE

Much More Economical Than Concrete or Tarvia NEW YORK STATE ADMITS THIS _J Brick Is the Best and Cheapest Material Thus Far Found for Constructing Permanent Highways. Alfter having taken, an automobile trip clear across the, state of Indiana, across the state of Ohio, through a part of Pennsylvania and practically clear across the state of New York, in which we drove over all kinds of roads—• crushed rock, rock bound macadam or tarvia, concrete, brick laid on concrete base, gravel and some dirt —the writer is more firmly convinced than ever that the only real permanent road making material so far discovered and that which is t>he most economical in the long run is brick laid on a concrete foundation or bed. There are some concrete roadways in Indiana and there is also some brick, quite a little tarvia and considerable gravel and crushed stone. Ohio has a much greater mileage of- brick and concrete than Indiana and is forging to the front rapidly

in this respect. Bui Xew . Yark state has probably dope srose toward improving its main roxte ♦han any other state in the Ux.i-:a. and one ean travel from one eae?. of the state to the other over roads built under supervision of the New York State Highway that are simply a dream, :aj wafle the people there will te.i yeti t-i----there Jias been a great tei. “graft"’ in building these roate and possibly there has in fact we have sometimes heard suth things intimated regarding our ovt etene and gravel roads —l~ey have got something to show for fib-ear BMHsey, in part, at least, that is the envy of the people of ether stales who travel over their stale roauftsL Apparently New York has mei out tarvia, concrete and brick in the several years it has beew boilding its so-called state toads, ani every intelligent man there w3Il tell you that brick laid on a coocre-ee base is far ahead of ye< i tried. One will find hundreds of stiles of brick roads in New York state and they are laid so evenly that one would almost imagiae be was driving over a concrete sidewalk. Bo smooth are they, , They are standing the wear and the weather. | and there is no expense for ■ upkeep whatever. These roads extend through the valleys, over the hills and along the hillsides, and apparently everywhere they are standing the test. For most part they are apparently twenty feet wide and most of them have a concrete gutter on each side. They have hut little crown, perhaps two aaei.es. One is unable to give any definite idea as to their cost per miSe because of the heavy expense >f grading in the construction of these roads, something that would be eliminated almost entirely aa a practically level country like our own. -

The concrete roads—and eae will find several huhdred miles of them in New York state, built under the satae supervistea and by. state aid- —are all right when new. and it may be that the later constructed roads will “stand ®p" better than those built a few ‘years ago—but many of those i&at nave been built a few years we fttaad had scaled off badly in pLaoes. and in some few instances we noted where attempts had bee® made to repair them by spreading larrui and fine crushed rock over the damaged surfaces. There are also hundreds of mites of tarvia roads in New York state, roads built of crushed rock with, heavy applications of tarvia c-a the top layers. This sort •®f road is also generally about twenty feet "Wide and as it is kept in repair it makes a very good road. However, it is an endless source o* expense, and unless it is .gave® constant attention soon berocnes fall of holes and ope of the worst sort of roads imaginable. <We s-traek several miles of such rood just west of Fremont, Ohio. It had apparently been a fine road when first completed but had not been given regular care and the tzmj crust had broken through and the road was a mass of holes fro» the size of one’s fist to that of a peek measure and some of fitens Several inches in depth. )

In New Yew state eat* few xLiles of tarvia road hak a mam in elkirse of it who is constantly eanploryed. He drives one horse hitcheS to a light lumber wagon and a !iz fastened to the front end off his wagon bears the words “Patrol No. —He carries a tarvia, a large dipper and zort of a wagon box filled with fine crashed stone. When he comes .to '2 place in the roadway where the crust has broken through he pours some tarvia in the hole and ffiHb it with crushed . sl«»e- or' ricgversa. In' this way m©sr off. the tarvia roads there are kept is fine repair and are almost as sntoofth as asphalt. Perhaps on:-*- each year or two the road is eoEEjletely

covered with a new coat of tarvia ever which . fine crushed rock i< thinly scattered. These state roads, as previously stated, are built under the supervision of the New York State iHighway mission; and all dangerous places are guarded by heavy posts to which are spiked 2x6 or 2xß plank, all of which 'are painted, white. Dangerous curves are preceded by. warning signs informing 1 the driver of what is ahead, like this:- “Danger! Sharp curve 500 feet ahead”; “Danger! Narrow bridge .ahead’’;. “Danger! Bad turn ahead, strand claxon,” and many other warning signs so that one need pot get in bad if he will but heed the warnings placed on posts at a safe distance from the dangerous ’.corner. Practically every crossroad is provided With guide posts so that one cannot go estray if he will but “read the printed directions," These fine roads have cost money, vit is true, but we do not believe a man can be found who would be willing to have them taken away and the comparatively small sum they have cost him be returned to him. They have made it possible for the people residing on or adjacent to these roads to bid defiance to the weather and get out in any and all seasons of the [year. They have made farm life more enjoyable and more endurable. while a farm lying along one of these roads will sell for much more than it would before the road was built or much more than farms lying off a state road. In fact, the advance in value of the farms along state roads will more than pay the cost* of all additional taxes [ assessed against the farm for the ■’ construction. They enable the cream, milk and other produce buyers to come right to the farmer’s door in their auto trucks and take his product at a good price without any trouble or loss of time on his part of hauling it to ' market.

Many new roads branching oft from, the trunk lines have been ordered and a great many of them have been built, but new constrac■ion has been light the past two years by reason of scarcity of labor and in many instances no bids have been received at all. It is hoped to pash construction after the war is over. While the auto trucks and the tourists- will wear out the tarvia roads, the brick is immune to their travel, hence we agree with the permanent highway experts that brick is the only material suitable for ear trunk lines of travel, and speed the day when we have such a road running north and south the entire length of Jasper county, built under state supervision with national, state, county and township aid.