| Show 1 i I Impatient Motorists Blamed j For iFor Condition of Utah Roads I I JI By Dan Valentine I i t Strangely enough h man many of the f who complain about the I states estates bad highways and place the I blame on the large overland trucks for forthe forthe forthe have only themselves themselves' to blame the the condition of the ro roads ds R. R A A. Gillis state road maintenance nance engineer sa says s 's that Utah's highways hig would b be in much better j Editors Editor's note This Is th the tho I second fir of three articles articles' hiving giving a comprehensive picture of the pro problems b e m created on Utah's highways r condition today if Utah residents hadn't been so anxious to have free dust roads a couple of decades I ago He points out that originally al- al most every main highway in Utah was a dirt road These dirt roads toads were fine Cine when automobiles were still a novelty and there were few cars on the roads he hc said But nut as soon as automobiles a became more plentiful ful the public cried for better roads and they wanted them overnight Under the pressure aUthe all aU the highway department could do was to place gravel ra over the original original original inal road dirt-road bed beds However the gravel was unsatisfactory It was rough 8 and nd as the stream of cars increased the dust created a problem lem against The public protested the ra g-ra gravel vel toads loads and demanded dust free dust free roads Again the they wanted them in a hurry So the highway department covered the gravel roads with willi oil not having the time lime to enforce the I roadbeds and make them stronger cr to withstand withstand with with- stand the added heavy traffic Almost every Utah road has this layer of dirt gravel and oil as a base We haven't the mone money to thoroughly repair the roads so sowe sowe sowe we do the next best thing thing we we give them spotty repair jobs fobs But getting back to the heavy truck problem Mr Gillis doesn't believe the big overland trucks do too much harm to Utah's road except in the spring of the year II In the spring he explains I when the frost is seeping out of the roadbeds it is dangerous dang and detrimental to t the h c e highways to allow heavy t truck truck-s r I U c ks k's to ride our roads The softening of the roadbeds roadbeds road road- beds make the roads weak However state officials official dont don't know enow what to do about bout this problem lem Jem cm which confronts them each spring The state highway commission commission commission com com- mission has the right rig to curtail traffic on any state highway but butts butt's its it's a hard thing to do It is impractical im im- practical to stop truck traffic for several weeks each spring to allow the he roadbeds to settle after aftel the thaw haw It would hamper commerce and would bring a wave of protests from irate D. D F. F Larsen in charge of the testing laboratory of the state highway commission probably knows more about the physical make up of state highways than any my other person i iri M Utah He says the answer to the problem fern lem em is not a matter of further regulations on overland trucks but rather to spend more money on highways and build them better Speaking as a materials engineer engineer engineer engi engi- neer Mr Larsen says th tha paradoxically paradoxically paradoxically para para- a small truck truck truck-or or even evena a passenger automobile can automobile can do more damage to a highway surface sur- sur face ace than a large truck II All states including including- Utah base their heir weight load limits on the truck ruck axles he said when actually actually actu actu- ally the load limits should be based on the springs and the tire area of the trucks A large truck with a properly distributed weight load and boasting boast boast- ing ng adequate springs and large tires Ires to cushion the impact on the highway will do far less damage to o the road surface than a small tru truck k with inadequate springs and small tires Trucks Cushion Load Lond LondHe He said that as a general rule the large trucks are designed to cushion the impact of their great weight ht on the highway However he add added there mere is a trend rend in the trucking industry for larger arger trucks and heavier loads That means we will have to construct construct construct con con- all Utah highways hig in the future with the idea that they will lave have to bear greater and greater loads oads with the coming years He said Utah's liberal weight ht limits for overland trucks are all allright allright allright right at the present time But they hey may not be right rig for the future future fu fu- fu ture turc he added We will have to tolan plan lan for tougher highways and we will have t to appropriate sufficient money to build these roads correctly correctly cor cor- or Utah will always have havea a highway problem and it wont won't be the fault of the large trucks Cite Bond Need Several state highway officials stated that the immediate answer to the highway hwa problem is not additional additional additional ad ad- weight ht limitations on trucks rucks but a bond issue earmarked for a concentrated road building program ram in the state The Utah road building program started back in 1915 on a large scale The first boost to a plan planor for or modern roads was given in 1917 when the voters approved a bond issue for road construction The road-building road program was part of a plan to give work to returned veterans from World War Var I. I Many road experts' experts believe belie that thata a bond issue for roads at this time would help solve the road problem But this huge bond issue probably will not be brought before the public public public-or or even considered consid consid- ered until ered-until until the program can be used as part of a plan to solve the unemployment problems among World War Var II veterans when when and and the if-the f the next depression hits Tomorrows Tomorrow's article will deal dal with the enforcement of Utah's truck weight regulations ns on overland trucks coming Into the state tate |
