Modern highways in Maryland / by Raymond D. Blakeslee.

MODERN HIGHWAYS IN MARYLAND

A Thesis Prepared for the
PHI MU HONORARY ENGINEERING FRATERNITY

by
Raymond D. Blake 3 lee

January 1929.

^he advancement in the art of road building h(

"been a measure of the development of the aryland.

The progress of Maryland road a is divided into tvo

Ln divisions, the Turnpike Era, and the era following the es-

^hment of the Jommission in 1908. The devel-

ent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad brought about the

end of the "Mrnpike Br . rat 1R50, "From this time to the es-

ent of the State Roads Commission but little work was

the highways in Maryland*

The history of the growth and decline of the Turnpike

73ra has been fully developed in a previous thesis entitled,

^he "'istory of ^urnpike Roads in Maryland -—

by H. . Sashell.

so I will not dwell on this subject.

In 1 - passed by the General Assembly of

■yland, which authorized a Commission to see that a pro;
invesl ion waa made of the conditions of the roads in the
State, and of the best means of improving, constructing, pi
Lntaining the same.

It was not until th ' ission waa es-

tablished in 190ft, that the State began to build and maintain
modern hi ys. The history of the State loads Coi

has been fully covered i thesis entitled,

Development of t] 'ommission of Bferyland

by J.H.Bittner.

In 1910 the Assembly placed in the hands of the

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Commission the control of all state road building. The Commis-
sion held public hearings in order to aeertain which roads
the people desired to have improved as the beginning of fhe
program, "he result, was that 1200 miles extending the length
and breadth of the state were finally selected to be the nuc-
leus of the State Highway System.

At this point an efficient engineering force became
an absolute necessity if the Commission was to carry out the
new and enlarged plan of road construction and maintanence,
and with chi ic thoroughness they made their plans
to develope the necessary skill,

' 3LAX ■ iOBLEM

The Act of 1908 by the Assembly authorized a boi
issue of $5,000, 000, known as the State F ^und.and the Act
of 1910 made an additionFl 1 an of 31,000,000. '7ith this fin-
ancial backing the Commission was ready to put the new plan
into operation. It v:pb decided to look into the condition of
the turnpikes in order to determine their value in case of
possible ^ition as rt of the St^te road system. It
was, however, then and later determined that the C -ion was
not to proceed indiscriminately with the purchase of 'npikes,
but only to squire ! here they were needed a? a part of
State main artery system, ^he Commission recognized the des-
irability of abolishing the toll roads, but realized that if
system of modern roads was to be built, that its

11 or even *t of the exist-

ing turnpik

The ] the obile ~ i ^n 1910 pre

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for a fund Lly for tl intanence of

an oads. "he portion applicable to the -s

ble to the ' Bion, while th« rtion

: .cable to the State Aid ble on the certif-

ication of the to the counties on s "or expen-

ditures which h' I n actually made in repairs on State Aid

18.

1910-1911.
methods and types of construction were of
•iety and generally of e,inc] Ing,

Lng,sand-c1 it ion, shell 3
vel 1 1, brick, stone" block, sheet asphalt pavements, and
some large concrete bridges.

'ern and higher types of surf' ' were requir
by ens traffic conditions, including the % in the
use of notor opts and trucks on the roads. m hese conditi
re met by usin her s1 9 . c one true t ion, such

use of pitch in or on the surfacing, the
installation of pan \ ers to prev-

of stone in the place of shells, ^he roads were built by con-

lly 14-feet to 16-feet wide,
Tn addition to the forer the s of o >ne
bridges " Lmilar structures existing or former es

' . Many of these were impor' luable both phy-

sically and hist Lly, b 1 llowed to become

srously ov * 3 : r.

"he use of bituminoi to bind together mac-

Is tones, sand and shells ; "?ely t Ln the con-

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Ctoss - Sec//o/y$ of 7yp/ca/ /?o&<fs

Cress ~5ecf/o/? of Sancf- C/ajr ffoad

Cross -Sect/or? of Gravei /?oad

*7*mcA Method*

\ Sr«rm/,

Cress -Sme&pff of Grave/ ffoocf

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ruction of roads. The we of concrete as ? base for t:

in conte ed by engineers, e the use of con-

crete for surfacing itself hrd not been satisfactory, owing to

its tendency to craclc t and the Ity in remedy! e de-
fects. T3 rk of the ' n in its us ' ' ous

s in both construction and ittracted uch

attention fro er states, rnd even fror d.

ce and ecoi:
'ficient nenoe cannot be over es J road ad-

I m, and Ls is especially true in the case id-
em T"

The system c nence put into o y the

■sion in 1911 was the patrol system. This
stretch of road to each patrolman, and he is responsible for
the ti.pkeep of his section, 1+ " lu1 to n?ke minor repairs
such as filling ruts, holes, ; the gutters. I
cle^r, the bru cut, and report" 11 large repairs

is system gives Commission f f n ideal agency thro hfch
to accumulate data of the c ster necessary for road desj
on a thorough engineerin Is.

In 1912 the e ' te departments o^ construction and
maintrnence were consolidated into one, and the State was di-
vided into eight geo^rr-pnical sections, e ' ;nt
Engineer.

3 cost of maintaining macadam, gravel, s

tion 0' r r.ore substan-
1 type of construction, namely, concrete. Hie first concrete
roads -were construe . time of

concrete Town until today it is the 'ely uned n
erial.

In concrete construction the roarl-bet- be •■ iar-
ed carefully, and the su le should he scurately
nicely, because concrete is nolithic substance, which, when
set, ci J changed except by removing, toi id uneven
subgrad are found to be costly to the co. 'tors. Co-
const in is the best type of road, because j
life - nence. By long life "rom 1

years. 'Vh'en it reaches the point where it no Ion be ec-
onc .be resurfaced with some fo

uminous pavement to
life, thereby conserve ire initial i nent.

As the cosl •. freight

since 1908, t] Lssion soughl to
off sot this V ion in selecting ty

• short enin 1 tion, e'. t-

id hy saving on the design.
by the ea Lshmeni ,in 191 ,

1 surveys, pirns, estj , test borings,
he te a o P ro .

. for all - , and

s e .

1914-1915
• ' I ' ? i ng 1 9 12
• ' 314 , in tion (

voluneof cr , the number P residencies

-Z>u-

Cross - SecS/o/fj of 7/^/ca/ ffattt/s

cor/?, S^mmMur _ , , ^

0ms~5ccdk*t of PVa/er-lovsic/ /^faca^sb/rf

Cross- 5ec-//&f? of SAee-r 1 /fs/>/fo/-/~

zo'-o".

fhrft S£ **tJ U kt ~

Cross " See /r d f? of Ccacrerte-

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o eleven. lividii
int Her units, e- Engineer \ to handle

to "better advants ;er anount of work in "ivision.

ry increase in traffic of all Icinds,
greater proportion of concrete and inous ro.
iis ye- n in my year pr vious. C s included for the
tine, the ■ ' the , 'hereby increasini ir
cost "by been previ

. nee.

The first ] ' ;e rebuilt by the n - i s

old timber b:- nover Street in Baltimore, which
1 been in use since I in 1914

steel an forced - '"eet Ion

a of 45 -feet, and -foot ros . It h c-nti lever
spans with a Rail-type, " I over the channel.

bri as not only an engineer!". sterpiece, bui
•chitectually perfect .

' under wi i ne
bridges were built durin ime servi

nence
establis] ly on several heavily trevele

:en in ces, bu^

it the period of its

of 6 or 7 -men i, to ] " ca-

tion to the other was so t the repairs ulating

hich '
re occur'

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In ■ o" "b- I

leeid-
ed to introduce the combined nd patrol systems, ^his
pi-

time. of perfect maintanenoe is th

construction and maintanenoe LI be under the same direc
e difference bet" lyland in

':ence is continuous and precise.
TH
One of the difficulties experience^ 1 in the use
broken stone roads, Lc crushed the stone,

thereby weakening the surface. In 1915 the Co ion resorted
to they cp.7 *

entirely origin 1. The practice of u~ -inch chips
ed f and 1-inch chi] *e used. uantity of
a usee' increased this year,

re rolled in for the first time. Oi] then
l/2-gallon to the square yard, roll' id the
oil to the acted dust settler. It \

fount" this not only settled the n-

1 thic o the surface of the road. "' I expense
of 1 " ' oilir o be justified b

superior wearing bu Lned, and by

a could be used to c?re of heavier !

ount of work done dur ' le
previous year, the number of res?' es in 'e re-

►n to ei . he en "
leted appro 3ly 1 -stem,

- -

.
16-1919

:ie period from 1916 to 191? •" ievelc
^.ent in the 1 of construction, and of ence

is, nice all o + her problems of mi intanence
id construction had been bro traffic, especii 11

• traffic, dur' he years 1917 to 1919. Several of the
in highways suffered most, due to J ' ] unt

of to 'fie. ""he ro -ire too lj d too

•row, being only 14 -.feet wide, and the traffic too great in
the number of vehicles, and heavy tonnage, "his ,t< th
the fret that frost had entered the subgrade for several fe - ,
cause" i lures . toe repair work was so lar

of the maintanence costs went ^or these repairs, "bis,
a measure, gives an idea of the ' 'ectly due to inr -

fie during the Tar period. This ea >erience brought a-
bout the fact that the roads must be widened and reinforced,
due to the demands of the traffic. " T i J view,

the r ' ere widened from a st ' 14-feet 1 cto

-feet, and increased in thickness fror 1 7 and '-inches
to "-inches respect ivly. Concrete shoulders v;ere built
along old " feet to the

of the red, and placed elevatioi bo re r1 '
excessive crown, and ] he addition n ext,--
he edge o^ the concrete. This latter tr
beei d with ver; jessful results. It is furttoer ve

ctical, ver ' ery economical t the

co" r is :ly built unde - fie,

• the ion of furttoe

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old road, oint where the lrtter

. It reduces exc isive crown 1 consi

- j y "

to "better distribul ". and j >f tra-

vel. The Ls convenient in th io to

use the ro^ ' ; le under construction, with n

- ' . T "' " '^her r ■ 1

self costs litMe less than one -half the n+ neces to
cor ' i a ne

ndable bi :> it takes ■ Iv e of c : n al-
exi sting, c ore h^s been large expen

It, 1-inch of binde-
l-l/2-incheB of 1 laced on ol

Some of the." re local ' " ind lection tl

traffic, and whi] ,

to keep in re>"ir. The she It
res

there ■ snt on this or over three years.

in, concrete ro ds whicl have been si

the sr-xne tj e " Ldej Ltion
of cobble shoulders in a no story ?>nd economical

All Lethod t reviewed are rather ingenious, because
they rre bo"h sal story and economical ways of * ■ re
of ever incre! and 'oblems by util-

izing existing construction.

The malntanence throughout th cj rried on

by th r : foI .erever the

of such extent as to require the r. -tions vary

in lengh

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helpera . "Tie size of

lied "by he e auni o P -ork I

Ldenin * curve n

and the removal Xvert walls on x he inside of curves pre
necessary improvements v?hich were begun in 1919.

During this period it was found nee - to revise
the a rd plans for culverts ts, to take care of

the increased tonnage • they were forced to crrry. With
th: Lea and the fr ?notor liner;. was foui

it of i of these trucks when loadedj
he loads fo ■ Ly bridges were ned.

r all culverts and hor. culverts, having an opening of
3-feet or less, the clear width between the he' In-

5 to 28-feet, which on nil box, slab, ;irder brid
fro i"eet s;: - "<-ns, the - lis or

fepets ■ J4-feet. lard "box culvert? 3 5x5-fe
slab bridges with clear spans of 6 to 16-feet;
br " - 5] 1 "ns of IP to 33-f eet were re^esi

jected, ■
3 get ost ecor 1 pro] ' ns of con-
crete J eel possible.

bridge of over 32-foot span was required,
the "ds provided ^or double or le spans, with the
necessary piers, an'' pro-

, In • not practical to c<

struct a brj the etrei or

m-

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innovation
L-on in the c ir pirn

for modern . ;e

of or vehicle 3 enforc It,

■■te recently had to ore thai
the reconstruction and ' ir? of

, which p.t thj 3 1700 mile

total mil by ex - ln°ded

been in Lee 7 to 10 ye- ■••■■,
polj c
ly saf ' tal inver- s ""he

gfeoss ,

lowed elsewher< .
trol ere 1 y to sto ska

overloaded, were s< t.
tread runnj heel over i s loot]

•te on whi 3Sion of 1 track is

Lite paper; of width is J he maxj

allowable for solid tires. Since the -

11, Chair 1 Chief Engineer o^ i 1

■port r - ere has not b in-
gle ro .

le in ]

-
ence the int e •

ly the

-1: -
the i, bui proved it. in •

ryl- sion leport
19 Q to 1923 "

Fot only will the widenin ie the

ence, but wil] actually save many liv hilars

go in wrecJ 'iles.
e necessity for widening exin is, the

3ion feel LI ite to, rather reflection upon,
the system under which id 'a r lave be^n built.
building the roads wide enough to care for the traffic expect-
1 o come in the imme future, instead of traffic expect-
ed to oo Lthin, say, 15 or 20 years, the interest on
ditures is saved and the roads can be wider."
becomes necessary; et no greater exjiense j^er mile
than to have c lally cor bed to the greater , and
the interest on the additional capital c is save- .

Ml 7. TS

"Tie service roads are rendering to the

people o bo those who u?e the roads, if much

greater t ever anticipated, so
ence not. tl few years ago have been

the proper I efficient use of . The rei oval of

sno" ' is certainly a service absolutely need-

ed today, but undre- ' years ago. The proper
of the 1 ya for direction tanoes is obviously es-
sential to the use of the hi "s, but certainly even five
years ago this could not have been considered Function

nence, J. ' curves, b-

the su- Lndical the positic

-1' ™

ke on curves and ;'t the top . e-

shing of telephone poles obstructior .-el

re a "■ he th:' 'he users of the ro

demand.

the policy t ' ' * on
to the ordinary nrintrnence, special i ould be given

'ed to tie road a

scidents to . e scheme int-
ite stripe, tde, d he center line of

ro? " I! vere curves, ond top of hills,

roved to be effective, as the traffic is thi ned
its ripht-of- 1 within it ■ ccidi re

avoided.

tvii service to the publj
n looke L into t] matter of - ;h-

3. And j 21 the Commission entered into a contrs ad
complete^ 1 the erection o
the entire State m,

'"her^ alized a pressing m

o the ~t ion and ' ns,

so the Commission erected fl- La 11

p points, "hese are maintained out expense to the

n by the advertising i-ried or.
'"hese proved e etory and this practice wag con-

nued. ""he I )0-foot safe - ' to in des-

igns 11 verticle c . stmictioi the v ch
. telephone pole-, culverts, roc 7 - re

increi "xeir visibj

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im 3 nt of safety,

"'he first instance of expensive const •■; to abol-
ish dangerous f r of
•a Curve on the Washington-] ^ulev^rd, b.y the

sost of $ 17,00C. ,no
expense is spared to elirain . 1_ ie elenen* of danger froin the

"hen safe i nd bes 1 « t i f u 1 .
During this period one large brj en.

"Tie Severn River Bridge constructed of reinforce^ concrete
on a timber pile foundation. ■ nf or cedent ruet-

ural nenhers to eliminate the use of falne-

. he length is lP50-feet, 24 spans of each,
!Ule span of 75-feet v r ith a 15-foot rise -foot

T » S

It is easily seen that Haryland, since the " " ;
ment of the ion in 1908, h*

strides in the construction maintanence of a modern high-
em. The Commission ' made the roads modern, ecorr-
'e, until nov she has a most modern and efficient
rivalled, but not excelled, by that of any
■ te of the T'nion,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Reports of the State Roads Commission of Maryland (1908-1923)
Engineering News-Record - Vol. II - 1922

Vol. I - 1921

Vol. 1 - 1920

Vol. II - 1920