﻿INTRODUCTION 
  

  

  Good 
  Roads 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  

  

  The 
  present 
  condition 
  of 
  the 
  highways 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  is 
  about 
  the 
  same 
  

   as 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  roads 
  of 
  England 
  at 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  this 
  century, 
  when 
  

   they 
  were 
  so 
  bad 
  and 
  the 
  toll 
  rates 
  were 
  so 
  high 
  that 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  their 
  

   improvement 
  forced 
  itself 
  upon 
  the 
  attention 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  public. 
  From 
  

   the 
  investigations 
  which 
  ensued 
  under 
  the 
  supervision 
  of 
  prominent 
  

   engineers, 
  certain 
  rules 
  for 
  road 
  building 
  were 
  formulated, 
  the 
  adoption 
  of 
  

   which 
  led 
  to 
  the 
  construction 
  of 
  the 
  fine 
  highways 
  for 
  which 
  Great 
  

   Britain 
  has 
  so 
  long 
  been 
  famous. 
  

  

  At 
  that 
  time 
  there 
  were 
  no 
  railroads 
  in 
  England 
  and 
  all 
  produce 
  was 
  

   transported 
  by 
  wagon 
  or 
  canal 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  road 
  improvement 
  

   was 
  one 
  of 
  great 
  commercial 
  importance. 
  The 
  necessities 
  of 
  the 
  occa- 
  

   sion 
  brought 
  to 
  the 
  front 
  in 
  Great 
  Britain 
  many 
  road 
  engineers, 
  most 
  

   prominent 
  among 
  whom 
  were 
  Macadam 
  and 
  Telford, 
  advocates 
  of 
  two 
  

   different 
  systems 
  of 
  road 
  building, 
  which 
  are 
  now 
  used 
  variably, 
  accord- 
  

   ing 
  to 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  the 
  ground 
  where 
  the 
  road 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  built. 
  Road 
  

   building 
  under 
  state 
  supervision 
  has 
  long 
  been 
  a 
  feature 
  of 
  European 
  

   government 
  and 
  the 
  time 
  has 
  now 
  come 
  when 
  it 
  must 
  be 
  recognized 
  as 
  

   a 
  necessary 
  function 
  of 
  government 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  

  

  The 
  important 
  reasons 
  for 
  road 
  improvement 
  throughout 
  our 
  country 
  

   are 
  three 
  : 
  ist 
  the 
  desirability 
  of 
  reducing 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  hauHng; 
  2nd 
  the 
  

   importance 
  of 
  making 
  most 
  of 
  our 
  roads 
  fit 
  for 
  pleasure 
  driving, 
  thereby 
  

   attracting 
  to 
  the 
  rural 
  districts 
  in 
  summer, 
  thousands 
  of 
  people 
  who 
  

   create 
  a 
  local 
  market 
  for 
  various 
  farm 
  products 
  ; 
  3rd 
  the 
  economic 
  princi- 
  

   ple 
  of 
  preventing 
  the 
  great 
  waste 
  of 
  labor 
  which 
  is 
  now 
  fruitlessly 
  

   expended 
  in 
  making 
  bad 
  roads. 
  

  

  The 
  state 
  of 
  Massachusetts, 
  which 
  in 
  our 
  own 
  country 
  leads 
  in 
  syste- 
  

   matic 
  road 
  building, 
  has 
  a 
  highly 
  organized 
  highway 
  commission, 
  which 
  

   has 
  been 
  at 
  work 
  since 
  1894. 
  Under 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  this 
  commission 
  

   the 
  important 
  highways 
  of 
  the 
  state 
  have 
  been 
  measured 
  on 
  the 
  new 
  

   topographic 
  map 
  and 
  their 
  total 
  length 
  determined 
  to 
  be 
  20,500 
  miles, 
  

   exclusive 
  of 
  minor 
  cross 
  roads. 
  The 
  commission 
  has 
  projected 
  the 
  

   construction 
  of 
  a 
  network 
  of 
  state 
  roads 
  amounting 
  to 
  10 
  % 
  of 
  the 
  

   whole, 
  connecting 
  the 
  more 
  important 
  points 
  throughout 
  the 
  state. 
  At 
  

  

  