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With Detroit being the
birthplace of the automobile, who better than Wayne County to
give birth to the modern road?
Most people are not aware that
the modern era of road construction began right here in Wayne
County. In fact, much of the road-related technology we take
for granted today was invented by the Wayne County Road Commission.
For example:
| The
first mile of concrete road,
1909. When the Wayne County
Road Commission paved Woodward Avenue in 1909 from
McNichols to Seven Mile, it was the first time a
road was paved with concrete. While not as durable
as the bricks that had been used, concrete was easy
to lay and considerably less expensive. Nearly 90
years later, concrete remains the industry standard. |
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The
first center line painter,
1911. In it's early incarnation,
this innovation was little more than a paint brush
strapped an arm on the back of a truck. Later versions
were refined, such as one that dribbled paint onto
a painting wheel that rolled along, marking the line
as the truck slowly moved along. |
| The
first snow plow, 1912. Like
the centerline painter, this innovation seemed less
than impressive at first - a board fastened to the
front bumper of a truck. The idea, however, was refined
and the world's first snow plow was born. |
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The
first modern road maintenance facility & testing
lab, 1910. The County's
Wayne Yard on Michigan Avenue was the first road
maintenance facility and included a testing lab for
the concrete road building industry it created. The
old complex will be demolished this year to make
way for a new, $4 million state-of-the-art engineering
facility. |
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first superhighway, 1942. The
Davison is America's first limited access, below-grade
superhighway built as part of the war effort. In
fact, the freeway even lured German engineers to
view the design, which reportedly helped inspire
the world-famous Autobahn. [County road employees
were not surprised recently when reconstruction began
this spring on the aged freeway and the contractor
needed to use dynamite to break out areas of the
pavement. This is particularly impressive since the
Davison, in all its 52 years, never received a major
surface improvement.] |
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Cars
and roads in America also share an important link: Henry Ford
was one of Wayne County's first Road Commissioners and is often
credited with spearheading the "Good Roads" movement
of the early 1900's that led to the creation of Michigan's
Road Commissions.
Perhaps the largest industry
spawned by the advent of the automobile, road construction
has been a huge employer for the nation. In fact, Over the
next three years, more than $1.9 billion will be spent in Southeast
Michigan on road construction, most of which is performed by
private companies.
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Wayne County
Road Commission
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