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Show UTAH C1EIT 1 THE BUILDING Of IE PUBLICROADS Editor Standard: Certain parties, for reasons not very well defined, have taken it upon themselves to discourage tho use of concrete a strictly Utah product for road building purposes, and, seem to bo favoring, instead, a certain cer-tain out-of-stato patented type of bituminous bi-tuminous construction (generally constructed con-structed on a foundation of loose crushed rock an oboslcto practice and considered Inefficient by such states as California, Washington, Pennsylvania, Pennsylva-nia, New York, etc.) Realizing that somo of these men, although small in number, car exert a tremendous influence in-fluence against our product when speaking to public gatherings, jve are taking the liberty of requesting that you judge the concrete road, upon absolutely ab-solutely its own merits and by your personal observation and inspection, rather than by word of mouth remarks with which you may have come in contact. con-tact. In Utah there are the equivalent of approximately 60 miles of concrete roads, 1G feet wide. The first one built was on B street, Salt Lake City, eight years ago. Of the concrete highways in this state, there are about 16 miles between Salt Lake and Ogden; SJ miles between Salt Lake and Midvale Junction (a large part of this is double tracked) ; 3 nriles between State street and Garfield, along old Fourteenth South street.'and 2 miles between Ogden Og-den and Brigham City. The remainder of the yardage is distributed among the towns of Salt Lake, Ogden, Logan, Provo, Park City and Ephraim. In determining the ability of a particular par-ticular type of road material to successfully suc-cessfully withstand heavy traffic conditions, con-ditions, we would suggest that you not confine your observations to those city streets where traffic is generally of Ihc low speed order and where the natural soil foundation, on account of ideal drainage facilities and solid formation, for-mation, is of the very best quality. Rather observe the long level stretches of main country highways connecting important centers of population, popu-lation, constructed upon only average natural soil formation, and over which large numbers of heavily laden motor trucks and automobiles travel at maximum max-imum speeds. Under such conditions will be found the real test of any road building material. Note how long the pavement you are investigating has been in service, observe carefully its present condition and appearance; find out how much the road cost. Weigh the results of these observations observa-tions carefully and Impartially and per mit them, in preference to any other factors, to be your guide in accurately judging the road in question. The concrete roads of Utah have been under test in the manner just described. de-scribed. They will bear your closest inspection and scrutiny. You will find that they have most efficiently and satisfactorily served tho needs of the communities In which, they have been bullL Tho U. S. government in Bulletin No. 136 of tho department of agriculture, agricul-ture, strongly endorses concrete roads by this statement: "If the road surface sur-face is built with the proper mix of concrete and carefully placed, it apparently ap-parently should last indefinitely and not rut." The government undoubtedly undoubted-ly possesses sufficient reasons for making such a direct statement in favor of this type of road way. But the government is doing more than endorsing endors-ing concrete roads; it is using them, as many miles are being, and have been constructed In the great ship yards and cantonments' throughout the country where heavy traffic conditions condi-tions exist. The above facts can easily eas-ily be corroborated by addressing Logan Log-an Waller Page, director of the office of public roads, Washington, D. C. Hundreds of miles of concrete roads have been built in each of the states of New York, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, California, Iowa, Washington, Washing-ton, Ohio, etc. Tulare county, California, Cali-fornia, alono, has recently decided to construct 175 miles. Vermillion county, coun-ty, Illinois, has under construction 107 miles of hard surface roads, of which 144 miles are to be of concrete. Pennsylvania announces that during 191S it will concentrate efforts on the construction of 3300 miles of permanent perma-nent highways, in nil of which cement concreto will enter either as a base or wearing surface. . The states of Connecticut, Con-necticut, Ohio, Indiana, Washington, California, and a large number of the southern states are also planning extensive ex-tensive road building activities for 1918, in which concrete will largely figure in ono form or other. Concrete for'road building purposes is not new. It is not a novelty nor an experiment, as evidenced by the fact that up to date thero have been built in the United States the equivalent of a road over 10,000 miles long and 16 feet wide. The first one built at Bellefontaiue, Ohio, 25 years ago, is still in existence and giving service. We invite your corroboration of every ev-ery statement appearing in this letter and respectfully solicit your earnest consideration of this strictly Utah product. Very truly yours, (Signed) PORTLAND CEMENT ASSN. By Win. F. Long. |