TRAFFIC CHANGES QUALITY OF HIGHWAYS

NOVEMBER, 1931 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS Traffic Changes Quality of Highways

When is a highway really good or really bad?

Only a few years ago our dirt and surfaced roads in Arizona were considered the best of that type, that could be found in the United States. The information which backs up this statement was brought to us by tourists from all parts of the country. Their conclusion was arrived at through comparison. It was thought that a tourist knew a good road when he had driven over it.

Dirt roads, although very pleasing to travel part of the year, become nightmares during very wet or very dry seasons. The dirt road has rapidly given way to the natural surfaced road. Natural surfacing placed upon our highways has made them nothing short of famous as a traveler's facility, and has been no small factor in selling our state to our neighbors, near and far.

Natural Surfacing Only Temporary

Only a few years ago, traffic was light. Heavy bus and truck lines were uncommon. High speed was not even thought of except by race drivers and although records were made they were much lower than the average speed which touring cars of today easily can make. The traffic of yesterday did not ravage the highways like that of today. The lighter and slower traffic of yesterday did not create continuous fogs of dust and grind the surface of the roadway to the shape of a wash board like the heavy high speed traffic of the present day. Traffic has become so fast and so great that the proper maintenance of a natural surfaced road is impossible.

The Next Stage

Areas adjacent to some of our larger cities are improved with high class pavement such as cement and asphaltic concrete types. They are a great success but the problem of improving the main cross-state highways involves immense sums of money and would prove burdensome to a sparcely inhabited state like Arizona if the so-called permanent types of pavement were used.

Increased traffic of the present day kind has proven conclusively that the use of natural surfacing is only a means of habilitating traffic and can be considered as only a temporary stage of construction and is preparatory to a higher type of surfacing.

Oil Surfacing Successful

Arizona now has several hundred miles of oil surfaced highways. The Highway Department did not start a large program of oil roads to begin with but felt its way cautiously by constructing short stretches under different conditions in order to determine the best ways and means of building a good road under all conditions. We have had some failures but it must be said that to date none of these roads have been deserted nor have they given way to other types of construction.

The Phoenix-Prescott Highway, a distance of 112 miles, is paved and oil sufraced for half the distance and is of natural surfacing for the remainder of the distance. The comparison of these two types is very marked. The distance now paved and oil surfaced is an average good highway and is pleasing to ride over. The remaining distance which is of natural surfacing was pointed out as being typically a wonderful natural roadway until the oil surfacing program came along and now this wonderful natural road is a despised section and the question is often asked, "Why don't you oil surface that bad road?" It is true that the old road is not what it used to be, but after all it is largely a matter of comparison. I mention the Phoenix-Prescott highway because of its popularity with a large section of the state and we are all familiar with it, "The Hassayampa Trail."

Improper Comparison

Those of us who have to travel The Hassayampa Trail, and do travel it often as a necessity or convenience, think that the later improved section is just about what it ought to be and the natural section is more or less terrible, but the people who travel from state to state observing the roads under both good and bad conditions do not stand back to comment favorably on the condition of (Continued on Page 21)