REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC 

 ROADS AND RURAL ENGINEERING. 



U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

 Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering, 



Washington, D. C, September 14, 1916. 



Sir : I have the honor to submit herewith the report of the Office 

 of Public Roads and Rural Engineering for the fiscal year ended 

 June 30, 1916. 



Respectfully, 



L. W. Page, Director. 

 Hon. D. F. Houston, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



On July 1, 1915, in accordance with the act of Congress making 

 appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the fiscal year 

 1916 and effecting reorganization of certain branches of the work, 

 the Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering formally took over 

 certain rural engineering and architectural work formerly done in 

 other bureaus of the department. The organization and projects 

 under which the work during the past year was carried on are here 

 briefly set forth. 



ROAD CONSTRUCTION. 



Vernon M. Peikce, Chief. 



The Avork accomplished in the year under the six general projects 



is as follows : 



experimental roads. 



Thirty experimental sections were constructed on the Mount Ver- 

 non and the Russell Roads in Alexandria County, Va. The 20 sec- 

 tions on the Mount Vernon Road have a total length of \\ miles and 

 are as follows: Eight sections of bituminous macadam in which sand- 

 stone, gneiss, trap rock, and granite were each used with an asphalt 

 and with a tar binder; 12 sections of bituminous concrete in which 

 sandstone, gneiss, trap rock, and granite were each used with an 

 asphalt and with a tar binder, and bank-run gravel was used with 4 

 different types of bituminous materials. The 10 sections on the 

 Russell Road have a total length of 1 \ miles and are as follows : Seven 

 experimental sections in which various combinations of bituminous 

 materials were used, 2 sections of bituminous macadam in which 

 screened gravel and 2 types of bituminous material were used, and 

 1 section of surface-treated gravel. A detailed description of these 

 experiments will be found in a special bulletin, " Progress Report of 

 Experiments in Dust Prevention and Road Preservation, 1915'' 

 (Department Bulletin 407), issued by this office. 



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