England.[1] A modification of this system was adopted by Thomas Telford about this time, which substituted a layer, or foundation, of irregular broken stone, set up on edge on the subgrade. Nine inches was the maximum dimension of these fragments. The rough surface thus made was smoothed down by going over it and breaking off the tops of the blocks with small hammers and packing the pieces thus obtained between the large blocks. This surface was then rolled as before. Telford built the celebrated Holyhead road, extending from Holyhead through North Wales to Shrewsbury—a road that served as a model at the board of inquiry appointed by Parliament in 1823. Each system had its partisans, and to-day the best features of both methods have been adopted under different conditions, dependent upon the character of the ground over which the road passes.
In 1892 the State of Massachusetts appointed a commission to investigate and report upon the character of the highways of the State, and to point out the trend that legislation should take in the matter of framing laws appropriating a yearly sum of money for the construction of State roads, and defining the powers of the Highway Commission to be appointed under the same act. This commission made its first report in 1893, and, on June 20, 1894, the Legislature appropriated the sum of three hundred thousand dollars for this purpose, to be used at the discretion of the Highway Commissioners the ensuing year. This commission appoints its own chief engineer, who has ultimate authority with the commission in the settlement of all questions that arise in connection with the work.
The laws enacted at this time do not place the initiation of State roads directly in the hands of the commission, but make the commissioners the tribunal to which all petitions made by towns, cities, or counties of the State are referred for action. It is a part of the policy of the commission not to allow a random construction of isolated stretches of road, but to make all ways constructed fit into a general scheme that shall have for its object a system of thoroughfares traversing the State that shall benefit the greatest number of municipalities and the State as a whole.
The method of procedure, as defined by the statute of 1894, is as follows: The selectmen of any town, the aldermen of any city, or the county commissioners must first file a petition with the Highway Commissioners, accompanied by a plan and profile of the road. Plans are then prepared by the chief engineer and submitted to the commission for its approval. It is a part of the set-
- ↑ Although one of the earliest pieces of work on a large scale that was ever attempted, the report of the board of inquiry, referred to above, showed that similar roads had been built in Sweden previous to 1823.
