ECONOMIC SURVEYS OF COUNTY HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT. 73 



the county convict forces built roads without engineering advice or 

 assistance, but the benefits resulting from the employment of a com- 

 petent engineer have become so apparent m the county that no 

 work is now done by the convict forces without first calling upon the 

 engmeer to sui'vey and lay out the work to be done. 



Ten main market roads radiating from Meridian hke the spokes 

 from the hub of a wheel (see PI. XXXI) and one branch to a main 

 road, aggTegatmg 51 f miles, were macadamized, and in Beat 1 the 

 distances from the ends of the macadam portions to the beat line 

 were surfaced with sand-clay, the total of this latter type in Beats 1 

 and 5 aggregating 45 miles. The improved roads, therefore, comprise 

 a total of 96.75 miles, or about 12 per cent of the total of 800 miles in 

 the county. The roads were graded 22 to 24 feet wide in fiUs and 

 28 to 30 feet wide in cuts, ^vith 4-foot shoulders and 3-foot ditches. 

 The macadam surfaces were from 14 to 16 feet wide and 6 inches 

 thick consohdated. The sand-clay treatment usually extended from 

 ditch to ditch. Natural sand-clay mixtures were principally used 

 for this construction. The material for the macadam construction 

 consisted of novacuhte imported by rail from Tamms, III., a distance 

 of 300 nfiles. The stone cost SI. 10 per ton of 2,160 pounds, f. o. b. 

 Meridian. The gravel used was shipped in by rail from luka, Miss. , and 

 cost SI per ton f. o. b. Meridian, of which 30 cents was for material 

 and 70 cents for freight. The weight was from 2,700 to 3,000 pounds 

 per cubic yard. The average cost of constructing the roads, exclu- 

 sive of bridges, was about S6,500 per mile for macadam and $2,000 

 per mile for sand-clay. The general average for the entire mileage 

 was about $4,666 per mile. Most of the bridges were built of wood 

 at a cost of about $3 per running foot. 



For the ordinary road work of the county the convicts, averaging 

 from 65 to 70, are regularly employed. These are divided into three 

 camps and are used for grading and the buildhig of sand-clay roads 

 in the outlying districts, and for general maintenance work on aU 

 county roads. The cost of feeding, clothing, guarding, and medical 

 attention, and the cost of teams and equipment, are paid out of the 

 general funds, of the county. The total cost of maintaining the three 

 camps is about $38,600 per annum, and during the past 5 years they 

 have constructed about 50 miles of sand-clay roads. This work was 

 principally that of extension from bond-built roads to the county fine. 

 All road and bridge work in this county, amounting to more than $50, 

 except that which is done by the convicts, must be done by contract. 

 Very httle work has been done, however, except by convicts and 

 under the bond issues. The remarkable difference between a good 

 and bad road is shown in Plate XXXII. 



