The Old Pike. Thomas B. Searight
your obedient servant,
RICH’D DELAFIELD,
Captain of Engineers.
Brig. Gen. Charles Gratiot,
Chief Engineer.
Cumberland, July 24, 1834.
Sir: I have just finished comparing the numerous offers for work to be done on the 16 miles of road immediately west of this place. There is great competition among very excellent and responsible men of the country, as well as from the railroad and canal below us.
The offers for the bridge render its construction with stone next to impracticable, under the law, to finish the road with $300,000. They are as follows: $22,000, $21,930, $23,323, $22,680, $24,000.
To construct the abutments I have offers at $3.80 cents per perch; that would, with the superstructure of wood, make the whole cost not to exceed $6,500 to $7,000. We cannot with propriety expend so large a sum for a stone bridge, with such limited means. I strongly recommend a wooden superstructure if compatible with existing laws under which we act, and beg to be advised as requested in my letter of yesterday.
Respectfully, your obedient servant,
RICH’D DELAFIELD,
Captain of Engineers.
Brig. Gen. Charles Gratiot,
Chief Engineer.
Engineer Department.
Washington, July 29, 1834.
Sir: It has just been determined by the War Department that the substitution of wood for stone, in the superstructures of the bridges on the new piece of road around Wills hill would be deemed by the State of Maryland a substantial compliance with the requirements of her law giving assent to the change from the old to the present location of that part of the road. You will, therefore, build the abutments of those bridges in a good and durable manner, of the best stone to be had in your immediate neighborhood, and make the superstructure of wood. These last, when completed, must be well covered, and painted in the best manner. This is communicated in answer to your two letters of the 23d and 24th instant, on the subject, which are at hand.
I am, &c.,
C. GRATIOT.
Capt. R. Delafield,
Corps of Engineers. Cumberland, Md.
COPY OF INSTRUCTIONS SENT BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE CUMBERLAND ROAD, EAST OF THE OHIO, TO EACH OF HIS ASSISTANTS ON THE LINE OF THE ROAD.
Wheeling, May 29, 1834.
Sir: In conducting the operations for repairing the section of the road under your supervision, during the present season, two very important alterations will be made in the system of last year.
The first is to retain, in all cases, the old bed or pavement, breaking down with sledges the prominent or projecting pieces into the ruts and holes, and smoothing the grade with quarry chips, or stone broken on the face of the road with sledge-hammers, slightly covering the bed so prepared with the earth from the ditches, observing to put no more earth than is barely sufficient to prevent the metal coming in contact with the large stone of the bed.
Where there is no stone in the old bed, restore the grade with the best and hardest material to be found in the vicinity, making it a point to have stone to fill the large holes. This formation of the bed for the metal on top of the old bed will enable large and sufficient ditches to be formed for carrying off the water. The most particular attention must be given to these ditches, as upon them depends the preservation of the road.
All the earth taken from the ditches, side roads, and slopes, not required to make good the grade and side roads, must be thrown down the hill side, and on no account whatever upon the slope of a side hill cutting, from whence it soon washes back into the ditches. The minimum size of the ditches should not be less than three feet wide on top, one foot deep, and one foot wide in the bottom; the whole depth to be below the bed of the road. Rock and peculiar side slopes can alone prevent this being practiced.
The side slopes must be cut to a slope of 45, with berms, as a minimum; and as low as 60 wherever it is practicable.
Wherever earth is required for a filling to make good the side roads, require that it be taken from some near side slope or other point that will improve such part of the road. The minimum side road is to be five feet; wherever the natural ground will permit, cause it to be increased to admit of summer roads, placing the ditches outside of such increased side road.
The second alteration is, to have the whole work done by contract, instead of job work and day labor, as was practiced last year.
To effect this, the greatest precaution is necessary to specify what work has to be done on each chain of four rods of the road, the particular grade for such portion, the depth and size of the ditches, the side roads and slopes, and from whence the required earth is to be taken to restore the grade, and where the surplus earth is to be taken from the ditches, drains, side slopes, &c.
In the delivery of stone for the metal, the contract must provide that the stone be delivered and broken on the side roads in rectangular piles or strings of such dimensions as you require on the several parts of the road, and the measurement made of the cubic contents of the stone thus prepared; from which measurement you will ascertain the number of perches, by previously having a mass, containing five perches of stone, as it comes from the quarry, as compactly piled as can be without the use of a hammer, taking large and small indiscriminately. Have this mass broken to the size of four ounces; ascertain the cubic contents of the bulk it shall produce, the fifth part of which you will take as a perch, and the unit of measurement for paying for the number of perches to be delivered.
The metal is to be thrown on the road at such favorable periods as you shall designate, after it has been measured, and not until the contractor has prepared the required quantity for half a mile at a time.
You will require the contractor to commence the grade at one end of the piece he is to repair, and continue regularly through, not permitting him to seek the parts requiring least work to execute first; and when delivering stone, to commence the delivery at a point giving a mean distance for hauling from the quarry; a mean rate of payment is then equitable, otherwise it would not be.
The work on your section may be divided into two distinct classes: the one, where nothing has as yet been done; and the other, the part graded and stone prepared for the metal during the past season.
On the first class, you will make contracts to grade, deliver, and put on three perches of limestone where the old bed remains firm, and four perches where the old bed has disappeared, requiring the grade to be finished by the 15th of October; and if the metal is all prepared by that date, to be put on by the 1st of November, the contractor continuing to rake the road, change the travel, and preserve the whole work in order, until the succeeding 1st of April. Should the contractor, however, not be able to prepare the metal to put it on the road by the 1st of November, then he is to preserve the grade of the road in order until the first favorable state of the weather after the 15th of March ensuing, when he is to put on the metal, raking and smoothing the surface for twenty days after the whole metal shall have been put on the road.
You will observe that the contract is to call for preserving the road in either case during the winter; in one case, by adding metal, raking, &c., and in the other, by breaking with a sledge stone to fill the ruts, covering such stone in the spring lightly before putting on the metal.
The second class of work is the unfinished part of last year’s operations, upon which there will be time to put three and a half additional perches per rod on such parts as were covered last year, and four perches per rod on such as had none, requiring that it be put on by the 1st of November, and be preserved, raked, &c., until the succeeding 1st of April, during the winter filling ruts made by travel with additional metal, to be prepared and ready at convenient points on the road.
For the culverts you will make a contract with one person for all that may be necessary on half your section, and with a second person