Mike Niehaus, age 10, of Portland, Ore., for his question:

WHY WERE THE ANCIENT ROMANS SUCH GOOD ROAD BUILDERS?

The world's first roads undoubtedly followed the trails and paths made by animals. The animals developed the

'trails to move from feeding grounds to watering holes and man came along and followed the paths to hunt for animals. Soon man was making his own trails to find food and fuel. Later, explorers followed these same trails as they investigated new frontiers.

One of the first established roads was probably built in the Near East soon after the wheel was invented. Historians say it must have been about 3500 B.C. and it connected villages and towns on trade routes.

Also early in man's history came a system of roads called the Old Silk Trade Route. Running more than 6,000 miles, the road connected China with Rome and the pre¬Christian European countries. This ancient route was used by merchants to carry Chinese silks across Turkestan, India and Persia.

Egyptians, Carthaginians and Etruscans built roads but it took the ancient Romans to show the world how great road ¬builders performed.

The ancient Romans seemed to have a natural ability in the art of engineering and mechanics. Their roads were all laid on solid bases and then the surfaces were paved with flat stones. They introduced the idea that roads should slope slightly away from the center toward both sides to drain off any water that might collect. This engineering touch gave the roadways a crown.

The Romans then built ditches along the sides of their roads which were used to carry water away.

The ancient Romans built more than 50,000 miles of roads in their empire, some of them still in use. In the early days the roads were built mainly to move soldiers from one part of the empire to another.

During the Middle Ages, most of the roads were simply clearings since most travel was done on horseback. Later, as more wagons were used, the roads improved somewhat but they always seemed to be in bad condition.

A Scotchman named John Loudon McAdam began building roads in England during the early 1800s. He developed a surface covering which is still used and bears his name: macadam.

The first extensive hard surfaced road completed in North America was a road called the Lancaster Turnpike. It was built in 1795 and ran 62 miles in Pennsylvania. The surface was covered with hand broken stones and gravel.

It wasn't until 1900 that road building took a giant step forward, and the cause for the boom was the ever growing use of the automobile.