14 



MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



ON THE HOME STRETCH IN WAYNE. 



"We are entering the home stretch," says 

 County Road Commissioner John S. Hagger- 

 ty, of a good season's work. The last bit 

 of concrete has been placed on Michigan ave- 

 nue road completing a stretch not quite ZYz 

 miles long, and the road is open to public 

 travel. This was the largest and most trying 

 job of work which we built this year. We 

 were up against all manner of obstacles in 

 the getting of material to keep us going, 

 strikes, breakdowns at the material plants, 

 car shortages and a late spring. But in spite 

 cf all obstacles we succeeded in finishing the 

 road within seven days of the time estimated 

 upon last fall. 



"This road is built in one course of a 1-2-4 

 mix of Portland cement, washed sand and peb- 

 bles, 7 inches deep and 18 feet wide. When 

 we took over the road as a county road we 

 found that at its widest point it was not wider 

 than 20 feet from the car tracks, and from 

 thence down to as low as 15 feet. We have 

 widened the road to a uniform width of 24 

 feet, which has added very materially to the 

 cost, and to the time in which it took to com- 

 plete the road. With the 1J4 miles of brick 

 pavement which we built last year, this gives 

 us a stretch of about 3J4 miles long, redeem- 

 ing one of the worst pieces of road in the 

 State of Michigan. 



"Michigan avenue road is the longest stretch 

 of roadway through Wayne county and goes 

 through a number of populous and thrifty 

 villages. There is about liyi miles yet to do 

 before the county line is reached, and along 

 by the River Rouge, when we reach it, will 

 be one of the most expensive bits of construc- 

 tion that we will have to contend with any- 

 where, high water having washed the road 

 out, and it will be necessary to build retaining 

 walls, probably 25 feet high, for a goodly dist- 

 ance. 



"The concreting on Grand River road is 

 also finished, a distance of 8,525 feet, giving us 

 close to four miles of macadam and concrete 

 on this road. There is an intervening stretch 

 between Greenfield and Redford townships of 

 about 1J4 miles which the Board will attempt 

 to complete this fall, providing they can get. 

 early action on next year's appropriation. The 

 survey has already been made, the tile drains 

 are on the ground, and the ditches are being 

 prepared at the present tirne; and with fair 

 weather this fall this road will be connected 

 up with the road being built by Redford town- 

 ship thus completing another one of our 

 main highways to the county line when Red- 

 ford finishes its part. 



"The crew on Michigan avenue has moved 

 to River road where the grading has been 

 finished to the village of Trenton, and the 

 work of placing the concrete has started. 



"Gratiot road is all tiled and ditched on the 

 stretch that will be built this year, and the 

 surveys are being made to finish this road 

 to the county line next spring. If we can keep 

 the material men, with whom we have con- 

 tracts, up to the scratch, an effort will be 

 made to finish Gratiot road this fall, as well 

 as Grand River road. The Van Dyke crew 

 will be moved to Gratiot in a short time, good 

 progress being made on Van Dyke. 



OPPOSES BIG BOND ISSUE. 



State Highway Commissioner Ely is direct- 

 ly opposed to the proposed move to bond 

 Wayne county for several hundred thousand 

 dollars, to finance the immediate construction 

 of i ver 100 miles of road. Mr. Ely says: 

 "Wayne county certainly needs good roads 

 anil apparently many of the good road boost- 

 ers have suddenly become aware of the fact 

 with such force that they want to dp the job 

 in a minute. The great automobile industries 

 ;,inl the fact that Detroit would be the hub 

 .if auto travel if the county roads were better 

 is certainly an argument for more improve- 

 ment in this direction. The expenditure of 

 $50,000 cr a bit more each year, would I be- 

 lieve be far more satisfactory and a more 



"ALT-HEIDELBERG" 



Cafe and Restaurant 



Strictly First-Class 



JOSEPH H. LUME, Prop. 



25 Broadway 

 Tel. Main 455. Detroit, Mich. 



successful means of giving Wayne county the 

 roads she needs and at the same time not 

 addng any debts.' 



OUGHT TO HAVE A RUNAWAY. 



John S. Haggerty, candidate for County 

 Road Commissioner on the Republican ticket, 

 and who was elected for part of a term only 

 at the last general election, can boast of the 

 largest political sign ever shown by any can- 

 didate for office in Wayne county. It con- 

 sists of concrete, stone and brick, is 30 miles 

 long, and is very much in evidence to every 

 traveler on Wayne County's leading highways. 

 Mr. Haggerty is receiving so many com- 

 mendatory letters and offers of support that 

 it begins to look as though his election will 

 be almost unanimous. 



While the office of County Road Commis- 

 sioner may appear to many as one of minor 

 importance, this is far from being the case. 

 Hundreds of thousands of dollars are at the 

 disposal (jf the Commission, much of which 

 would be wasted by a man with less know- 

 ledge and experience. The Board of County 

 Road Commissioners, under Mr. Haggerty's 

 guidance and direction, run the business of 

 improving Wayne County's highways on a 

 large factcry plan; in fact, it is a model 

 department, one that is giving the taxpayers 

 value received for every dollar expended. 



SOME GOOD ROADS. 



J. H. Brown, City Assessors G. J. Ashley 

 and J. W. Freeman of Battle Creek, and F. B. 

 Garratt, of Pennfield, took a trip to Jackson 

 in Mr. Brown's touring car recently. With 

 the exception of two or three miles of abomin- 

 ably poor and sandy roads in Emmett town- 



ship east of Battle Creek the roads were found 

 in fine condition. The State Highway com- 

 missioner has informed Mr. Brown that Lans- 

 ing has tested the same kind of a road drag 

 that Battle Creek has been urged to give a 

 trial. Mt. Hope avenue, from Logan street 

 west, in Lansing, was full of bumps and holes 

 made by the auto testers of the Lansing auto- 

 mobile factories. The road drag was put on 

 this street and it is now comparatively level 

 and hard as a rock. This is a common dirt 

 road and the cheap two-horse drag with one 

 man keeps it like a macadamized road bed, 

 and at almost no expense. The same kind of 

 drag was tested for a few hours recently in 

 Battle Creek on one of its notoriously bumpy 

 and bad streets and then laid aside. There 

 are thousands of these drags in use on city 

 streets and country roads. Continuous work 

 must be properly done with the drag until 

 the road bed is scraped smooth and all bumps 

 and holes eliminated, and the nthe drag must 

 be used frequently to maintain the desired 

 surface condition. 





SENTENCED FOR STARTING FIRES. 



Axel Nordgren, who lives on a farm near 

 Carney. Menominee county, has been sentenc- 

 ed to serve thirty days for starting a brush 

 fire during the dry spell. He made the trip 

 to Menominee to begin serving time, unaccom- 

 panied by any officer, and hung around the 

 city until the noon hour waiting for the 

 deputy sheriff to arrive and take him to the 

 county jail. It is also reported that August 

 Johnson, another farmer, was arrested for 

 the same offense, and paid a fine and costs ag- 

 gregating $81.50. 



