Nearly 200 years ago innovative Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam perfected a road-construction method that would come to bear his name.
Macadam road surfaces were made from several layers of small stones compacted and bound together by dust. Sometimes a course of even finer stones topped off the project and made for a smoother surface.
Rock roads are still a feature in rural areas and come about in a similar process. But roads that are expected to carry more traffic are hard-surfaced, asphalt or concrete.
Six blocks of State Street south of Madison Avenue were redone last week. The original surface was milled away and new layers of asphalt were added by Se-Kan Asphalt Services.
For years Iola has kept pace with street needs. In a four-year cycle all city streets are improved with the chip-and-seal process, which entails hot oil and small-diameter rock being laid over the original surface. That Iola leaders have been faithful in keeping to the schedule is a perk most folks take for granted. In Humboldt, it’s another matter.
For whatever reasons, Humboldt has been lax in keeping its streets up to snuff, a condition that causes City Administrator Cole Herder, two years on the job, more than a little consternation. No improvements of consequence have been done in the neighborhoods for a decade or so, and a sales tax issue several years ago to address the issue failed to excite voters.
Herder, Mayor Nobby Davis and council members are well aware of the problem and mean to do what they can to rectify it.
An inherent problem is absence of curbs and gutters, which permit streets to expand and break apart on the edges. Some streets have little more than a single driving lane that is intact.
The most recent step in the direction of better streets has been the city’s purchase of several pieces of equipment that will help local crews upgrade streets.
More is needed.
Herder, during completion of a course in city management, laid out plans for a comprehensive street improvement program. Citizens should embrace whatever is needed to make the proposal fly.
Waiting will only add to cost and cause streets to deteriorate even more.
— Bob Johnson
