OFFICE OF T'UBLIC ROAD INQUIRIES. 2 SI 



cooi3erated to the fullest extent possible in. the construction of vari- 

 ous kinds of roads in Virginia, Louisiana, Tennessee, South Carolina, 

 Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, 

 Texas, Michigan, and the District of Columbia, and reports on the 

 important work in some of the States are here given. 



VIRGINIA. 



During July and August there was an opportunity to direct the 

 construction of a sample road at Hot Springs, Va., where practically 

 all the expense was borne by the Hot Springs Company and the Chesa- 

 peake and Ohio Railroad. The road imj)roved was a half mile in 

 lengtli and 8 inches in depth on the average and 13 feet in width. It 

 was constructed of native blue limestone of good quality found near 

 the road. Three sizes of stone were used, namely: For the founda- 

 tion course, from 2 to 3 inches in size; for the second course, l|-inch 

 stone, and for the surface, three-quarter-inch stone, with dust. The 

 foundation course was placed witli a spreading cart to the depth of 

 about 5 inches, and it was then thoroughly rolled and covered with 

 screenings and stone dust, after which it was rolled again until the 

 interstices were filled and the surface was hard and smooth. The 

 second course was then spread on and similarly treated, water being 

 apjjlied with a sprinkling cart as the rolling progressed, and enough 

 fine stone and screenings added to make the surface perfectly smooth 

 and impervious to water. The exact cost of this road was not 

 obtained, but with a similar plant and under like conditions, it was 

 estimated that good roads 10 feet in width can l)e built in that section 

 of Virginia for about 12,200 per mile. This road, both during its 

 building and since its completion, has been visited by many promi- 

 nent people, all of whom have been seeminglj' pleased with the char- 

 acter of construction. It has stood the wear and tear of traffic and 

 weather remarkably well, and this sample road has led to the con- 

 struction of several miles of high-class macadam roads in the vicinity, 



LOUISIANA. 



About the middle of September we assisted the North Louisiana 

 experiment station at Calhoun in the construction and improvement 

 of some earth roads. Aside from clay and gravel, Louisiana is not 

 well supplied with road material. The experiment in that State, there- 

 fore, consisted in demonstrating the way in which the local materials 

 could be most economically and efficiently utilized. With the aid of 

 a disk jjIow, a steel road machine, and an ordinary farm roller, sections 

 of earth and clay roads were graded, rounded up, treated with sand, 

 and rolled. Sloping ditches or gutters were made on each side of the 

 roadway and modern culverts were built at low places to carry the 

 water away after the showers and in wet weather. 



One day during the construction was set apart as "Good roads day," 

 every parish in the State except those in the j^ellow-fever district being- 

 represented. An able address on the "Importance of good roads in 

 Louisiana" was delivered by Governor M. J. Foster. Mr. Charles T. 

 Harrison, the road expert in charge of the work, also addressed the 

 meeting on "The practical side of the road question," and showed the 

 delegates the use of the road machine. This work, and especially 

 the use of the roller in connection with the road machine, was a reve- 

 lation to many of the visitors. The expert was plied A^ith questions 



