MICHIGAN 



ROADS 



FORESTS 



DETROIT, MICH., JUNE, 1910. 



Michigan State Good Roads Association 



P. T. COLGROVE, Hastings. President. N. P. HULL, Diamondale. Vice-President. 



THOMAS SATTLER. Jackson, Secretary and Treasurer. 



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

 H. S. EARLE, Detroit. P. T. COLGROVE, Hastings. W. W. TODD, Jackson. 



MICHIGAN SHOULD DEMAND BETTER 

 ROADS. 



"With Michigan the automobile center of 

 the world, there should be a greater demand 

 for pood roads in this state than in any ether 

 part of the country: yet this is a point on 

 which the entire state is far behind the ma- 

 jority of the middle western states," says Ly- 

 nus Wolcott. of the Gene:ee county board of 

 road commissi< ners. "The commissioners of 

 this county feel that if they could get some 

 of the automobile manufacturers to take a 

 greater part in the campaign for good roads, 

 it would be a matter of a very short time 

 before Michigan would rank as well as any 

 of the states in this matter." 



Mr. \Y Icctt. together with George H. Sel- 

 lars. of Flint township, and Wilbur Becker. 

 of Fentnn. the other members of the county 

 board, has jrst returned from a trip through 

 Marion county, O., where the commissioners 

 went to inspect the system in effect there, with 

 n view t adopting some < f the methods here. 



"Out "f 1.100 miles of public highways in 

 Marion county." says Mr. \V'ri tt. "there are 

 between 600 and 700 miles of macadam road, 

 and. in the township of Greencamp there is 

 but a single mile and a half that is net ma- 

 cadam. The reason that their roads are so 

 much better than ours is because the law 

 there is different. Whenever 10 freeholders 

 on any road there petition the board to have 

 their road macadamized and submit the pro- 

 files, the board goes ahead and builds the road. 



"The entire expense is borne by the prop- 

 erty holders along the right of way. but <~nce 

 built the maintenance falls entirely on the 

 county. But the fact that the reck necessary 

 to the construction is always to be had along 

 the right of way makes the expense of road 

 building there much less than it is here." 



Grant Dunning has surveyed the line of the 

 proposed state reward road, in Livingston 

 county, commencing at the top of the hill just 

 north of Hutchings mill and running north 

 two miles to the Staley corners on the road 

 from Howell to Oak Grove. At no place will 

 there be a grade of over four per cent. In 

 sandy places a foundation cf clay will be made, 

 where clay can be secured readily. The high- 

 way commissioner, John Lockwood is in 

 charge. 



INTERESTING ROAD FIGURES. 



County Surveyor Wm. H. Trussell of Isa- 

 bella county, has prepared figures showing the 

 cost of improving the highways in every town- 

 ship in the county. He figures that there ar 

 about 82 miles of road in each township, which 

 could be graded and graveled for a little more 

 than Sl.OOO a mile. With the state reward 

 of $500 per mile the farmers would only be 

 called upon to pay a tax of 24 cents per acre 



per year for five years and the trick would 

 be turned. 



To illustrate his point he says: 



In Verncn township the road repair fund in 

 1909 was $2.25 on a forty acres Highway im- 

 provement fund, $2,67, a total road fund 

 amounting to $4.92 on each forty acres. Pre- 

 suming the average of money expended on 

 highway to be $3 per 40 acres, then each forty 

 acres in Vernon township has expended en 

 the public roads in said township for the past 

 30 years, $90.09. Each section of land has 

 paid on roads within the limit of the town- 

 ship $1.440.00 or $51,840.00 in the township. 

 And the township can boast of but two miles 

 of decently good roads. 



Fact No. 2: In Isabella township, sections 

 11 and 23, repair fund $2.25. and $3.75 high- 

 way improvement fund, a total of $6 per for- 

 ty acres, 1909 tax. Forty acres paid $96 a 

 section, paying in $1,526 in 30 years. The 

 trwnship paying in cash money $55,296.00 on 

 the public roads of Isabella township. Their 

 good roads are counted in miles by the fing- 

 ers of a man's hand. 



Fact Xo. ?,: In Union township, highway 

 improvement fund, averaged $6.89 per year for 

 40 years, amounting to $275.60 per 40 acres; 

 a total rf $4.409.60 per section and for the 

 township of Union $158.745.60. And you can 

 count on your fingers all of the good roads 

 in Union township. 



It is fair to say that enough money has been 

 expended on the state road between Mt. Pleas- 

 ant and Clare to build two grand, good stone 

 macadam roads, with 24 foot roadway: and I 

 know and you know that no worse road can 

 be found in the county of Isabella than lies 

 for a distance of two miles south of Rosebush, 

 and there are forty-nine layers of poor reads, 

 one on top of the other. 



The children of Israel under Moses were 

 lost in the wilderness for forty years. The 

 people of Isabella county are worse off than 

 they were, for they had a roadmaker with 

 them. Then they came to a swamp or pond 

 the engineer shook a stick, a big stick, and 

 the mud and water piled upon each side, so 

 they had dry footing. This county needs a 

 road builder, and needs him badly. 



CEMENT PAVEMENT A SUCCESS. 



Four blocks of cement pavement were laid 

 on Chisholm street, Alpena, last year. The 

 work was done by Alpena people, the cement 

 was made in Alpena, from Alpena materials. 

 The gravel, the sand, the labor and everything 

 connected with the work, with the exception 

 of the stamp sand used in the surface of the 

 pavement, was home product. Even the mix- 

 ing machines were made in Alpena. 



As a result Alpena today claims the finest 

 four blocks of pavement in America. It win- 



tered in fine shape, and it has every indication 

 of being as permanent a pavement as it is 

 possible to construct. Those having a techni- 

 cal knowledge of cement construction are 

 very sanguine and confident of its durability. 



As an investment, it is the most economical 

 permanent improvement ever made in Alpena. 

 And, as an advertising asset to the city, its 

 value cannot be estimated in dollars and cents. 



TUSCOLA COUNTY. 



The township of Vassar, Tuscola county, 

 has purchased two acres of first class gravel 

 and proposes to have some of the best roads 

 in the county. The pit is very accessible. A 

 drawback to good roads in Vassar township 

 heretofore has been the inability to secure the 

 proper grade of gravel. 



Several years ago the road leading from 

 Caro to Kurd's Corners, Tuscola, was grav- 

 eled the expense being borne by private sub- 

 scription and it has been a delight to drive 

 over. During the past two years, however, 

 heavy traffic has put it in bad shape and in 

 order to save even a part of the old work it 

 must be repaired this summer. Economy _of 

 good roads can only be obtained by maintain- 

 ing them in good condition and not allowing 

 them to become bad roads. 



Unionville, Tuscola county, is trying the 

 experiment of oiling her streets. 



A. T. Overman has been awarded the con- 

 tract for building the two miles of state road 

 in Elkland township. Tuscola. for $3,970. Mr. 

 Overman has started work on the first mile, 

 east of Cass City. Highway Commissioner 

 Koepfgen has served nctice on Mr._ Mclntyre, 

 the contractor on the state road job of last 

 year, to complete the job at once. 



MARQUETTE COUNTY. 



Marquette county road work is well under 

 way. The commission's principal work and 

 largest outlay the present season will be on 

 the road through the township of Chocolay. 

 undertaken last year, but pursued with little 

 success as far as actual road building went, 

 because of constant breakdowns at the crusher 

 plant. It is the expectation of the commis- 

 sion to complete a macadam highway as far as 

 the foot of the Greengarden. or Kabawgam, 

 hill this season. If this is done a macadam 

 road of over four miles in length will have re- 

 placed one of the worst sand roads to be 

 found in Marquette county, for the stretch be- 

 tween Stiver Creek and Greengarden hill has 

 been the bugbear of farmers. The sand has 

 been heavy the entire distance, and in the dry 

 season it has been impossible to haul anything 

 but the lightest loads over it. Beyond Green- 

 garden the highway is much better, as the soil 

 becomes heavier. 



