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. Where no turn is shown, straight away is understood. Other information and natural or artificial features that may prove interesting or helpful will suggest themselves for record as the survey proceeds. Of course the mileage of each route as measured by the odometer or speedometer from fixed and known points on the map will be taken. By tabulating and mapping the information recorded it will be possible to get at the comparative merits of alternative routes.
A few simple surveying instruments will be useful in the work of reconnoitering. A steel 100-foot tape, a hand level and inclinometer, a pedometer, a pocket compass, a small aneroid barometer in mountainous countries, a pioneer ax for blazing, and a small spade may be mentioned.
After the reconnaissance, hearings should be held, usually at county seats, notice of such hearings having been given ahead of time. At these hearings the maps are shown and a statement made relative to the procedure. After which an invitation for suggestions and constructive criticism and even complaints is given. From these people who are locally interested in the roads many valuable suggestions will be received, and if they cannot be followed the reasons therefor may be stated. The people will thus know the investigation and the location of the road have been fairly made and that any suggestions that cannot be settled offhand will be duly considered before final location.
The final location will usually be arrived at or at least influenced by the following considerations: Alignment and distance, population served, grades, amount and character of haulage, other kinds of transportation available, character of soil (sand, clay, gumbo, loam), structures, bridges, railroad grade crossings and their possible avoidance, discovery of entirely new routes, topography, geological formation, and other natural features and numerous local conditions, including availability and freight charges of road materials. These are not intended to be in the order of importance, for no two roads may have the same determining factors. The character of the road surface to be used in construction may greatly affect the location. For example it does not pay to use steep grades with hard smooth pavements. But steeper grades may be used with earth and gravel roads without material loss in efficiency.
It will seldom be necessary to resort to preliminary or complete survey to lay out the plan. Sometimes further viewing of alternative roads may be desirable and many times compromises will have to be made. A traffic census on the several routes would be extremely valuable for it would determine to which class, agricultural, commercial, or recreational, the road belongs, and also the character of the traffic and what type of construction is best suited. Especially where there are alternative roads, as is usually the case in midwestern states where the roads were established along the section lines of the U. S. land survey, it is very difficult to determine which is the important highway without a traffic census. It must be remembered, however, in this connection that the improvement of a road will often draw to it much traffic from an equally short competing line. It is quite likely that if 10 per cent of all roads, provided they are properly selected, should be well improved they would carry 90 per cent of all traffic.