MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



13 



:tructed l)i th in the neighborhood of large 

 towns and in the open country, it may be use- 

 ful to try (if it does not interfere with the 

 general interests) to provide a sufficient road 

 width for the construction of a light railway 

 outside of the rr.adway. 



The alignment, the gradients and the design 

 p the cross section will, according to the re- 

 quirements, be determined in such a manner 

 a- to preserve all the facilities and necessary 

 : \ lor every kind of traffic. 



It is desirable that the suplementary costs 



should be borne by the concession holder or 



iructor of the light railway, as far as 



the part of the road reserved for the rail track 



ncerned. 



II.- The laying i,f sunken rails in metaled 

 roadways always obstructs the road, and there 

 results a marked increase in cost of the main- 

 tenance of the roads. It is desirable that this 

 od should be avoided as much as possible. 



The laying of rails for tramways adjacent 

 to the paving in paved roads, makes the re- 

 pair i f the paving very difficult. It is neces- 

 sary i" diminish that nuisance, as far as possi- 

 ble, by appropriate methods. 



III. When the railway is placed by the side 



of the road it is preferable, where the width of 



the road permits, to construct it on a special 



track, inaccessible for wheel traffic, and super- 



ited in order to allow greater safety. 



It is necessary, in all cases, to provide pro- 

 per drainage. 



Jf it is a case of metaled roadways, the con- 

 cessionary or constructor of the railway should 

 be obliged to construct on the outside border 

 f the free roadside, sufficient depots for mater- 

 ials for the repair of the road. The same obli- 

 gations should be, in some cases, extended to 

 paved roads. 



IV. The removal of trees along roadsides 

 should not be tolerated, except in extraordinary 

 cases. 



If the width between the tree rows is insuf- 

 licient for the rail track and to maintain the 

 recognized necesary width for ordinary wheel 

 traffic, the track should be laid on the outside 

 of the trees. 



V. It is desirable that the concessionaries 

 of light railways should be obliged to maintain 

 the area of the road or roadway occupied by 

 the rails or contiguous to same, or pay the 

 costs cf this maintenance. 



The fourth question dealt with the cleaning 

 of public roads; the fifth with paving in cities; 

 ihe sixth the distribution of service pipes in 

 thoroughfares; the seventh with bridges. 



Eighth Question. 



A. With regard to animal drawn vehicles. 



1. Heavily loaded vehicles with narrow tires 

 may cause exceptional damage to roads laid 

 down for ordinary traffic. 



2. It is desirable that trials be made for the 

 purpose of determining the relation which 

 -h' uld exist between the load, the diameter of 

 wheel, and the width of tread, so as to avoid 

 abnormal damage. 



B. With regard to mechanically driven 

 vehicles. 



1. Such automobiles as fall under the head 

 .1 "touring cars cannot cause abnormal dam- 



| age to the roads so Icng as their speed is kept 

 I within limits. 



2. Public Service automobiles cannot cause 

 ppreciable damage to the road provided that 



I the maximum speed does not exceed 2. r > kilome- 

 ! ters per hour; the maximum axle load does not 

 h 4 tons on the heaviest loaded axle and 

 that with wheels of 1 meter diameter the 

 weight does not exceed 150 kg. per centimeter 

 width of tread. 



3. Industrial automobiles need not cause ex- 

 ceptional damage to a well constructed road 

 provided that the load is less than 4^ tons; 

 maximum speed, 20 kilom. per hour. 



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4. Ribbed or grooved iron tires cause abnor- 

 mal damage to the road, no matter what their 

 width c,r what load they support. 



5. Vehicles propelled by mechanical power 

 cannot cause extraordinary damage to the 

 curved p;rtions of roads provided that at 

 these p ints a sufficient superelevation is giv- 

 en and that the curved portion is not ap- 

 proached or traversed at an unreasonable 

 speed. 



WANTS UNIFORM ROAD PLAN. 



"The most potent factor for the future de- 

 velopment and success of the automobile in- 

 dustry and its allied interests in this country 

 is the necessity of uniformity and need of 

 standardization in the construction of new 

 roads as well as the proper maintenance of 

 them,' is the statement made by Joseph W. 

 Jones, the New York automobilist who has 

 returned from a three months absence in 

 Europe, during which he covered about 5,000 

 miles in touring through all of the principal 

 countries on the continent. 



As a special representative of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture of the United States gov- 

 ernment Mr. Jones, who is also a director cf 

 the Touring club of America, was delegated 

 to represent the government at the second 

 International Road Congress held at Brussels. 

 He was most enthusiastic in his praise of the 

 success of the convention, which was attended 

 by the representatives of all the countries in- 

 terested in road improvement. 



"One of the great lessons of the Interna- 

 tional Road Congress," s aid Mr. Jones, "is the 

 absolute necessity for the introduction of a 

 uniform system of road building throughout 

 the United States similar to the systems 

 which have been adopted in France and Great 

 Britain, where the highways decrease in width 

 according to the importance of the traffic. 

 From my observation the roads in this coun- 

 try, especially throughout the south, are too 

 wide and lack the requisite depth of founda- 

 tion necessary to insure permanency. The 

 idea that some highway engineers have of 

 simply laying a foundation of a few inches 

 in depth is all gether wrong, and roads so 

 constructed are expensive to maintain and 

 in st be rebuilt in a short time. I consider 

 that the English roads, although the narrow- 

 est, are best roads over which I toured in 

 Europe, especially as the surface was thor- 

 oughly tarred and covered with a light coat- 

 ing of sand. 



"The Royal Automobile club of Great Bri- 



tain, the Automobile Association of London 

 and the Touring club of France are all ac- 

 tively identified with this good roads move- 

 ment and are conducting exhaustive experi- 

 ments in the construction of an improved 

 type of roadbed and have the co-operation of 

 their respective governments in this splendid 

 work. 



"Through the efforts of the officials of the 

 Touring club of France a splendid new road 

 300 miles in length along the Riviera in south- 

 ern France is now being completed and will 

 be the finest stretch of roadway in the world. 

 The plan adopted provides for the erection of 

 permanent signposts by the government, giv- 

 ing the distances and the names of the cities 

 and towns and villages as well as indicating 

 dangerous turns and crossings. 



"The new roads in Great Britain are as 

 smooth as a billiard table. Although the sur- 

 face had been treated with a thin coating of 

 tar the construction had been so thorough that 

 huge traction engines hauling cars loaded 

 with stone and gravel had no noticeable effect 

 upon them. 



"What is required in America, I believe, is 

 the organization of a road congress similar 

 to that which has been held annually abroad. 

 This congress should comprise all the high- 

 way commissioners and road engineers of the 

 various states and municipalities. I think that 

 Logan Waller Page, director of the office of 

 public roads at Washington, would be agree- 

 able to assisting in the organization and con- 

 duct of such a congress, whereat an inter- 

 change of ideas upon all subjects pertaining 

 to the highways, their construction and main- 

 tenance could be discussed to the advantage 

 of every state, county and city, of which 

 there are many spending millions of dollars 

 each year for the improvement of their high- 

 ways." 



Mr. Jones declares that he found the general 

 automobiling conditions excellent throughout 

 Europe; the automobile agents and dealers 

 were selling cars just as fast as they could 

 be turned out by the manufacturers. Indica- 

 tions f;.r 1911 were most promising not only 

 in the sale of automobiles but the accessories 

 and everything pertaining to them as well. 



Crystal Falls streets will be built of trap 

 rock shipped there from the .Winona mine, 

 Houghton county. There will be over 5,000 

 er.nstntclion. and a more rapid development 

 rf the sentiment which makes better roads 

 necessary to the people. 



