Road Building In Retrospect

A RECORD volume of new highway construction and of road expenditures for all purposes is reported for 1928. The programs of 48 state highway departments encompassed nearly 30,000 miles of construction. Analyzing the figures reported by 46 states, an estimated 7,763 miles of heretofore unimproved or non-existent roads were brought to standard grade; 12,366 miles were surfaced with sand, sand clay, gravel or macadam; and 8,800 miles were hard surfaced. Corresponding figures for 1927 were 7,571 miles graded, 12,580 miles gravel surfaced, and 5,293 miles hard surfaced. The recent trend therefore is toward a larger mileage of hard pavements and a slight ly smaller mileage of light-traffic surfaces, construction of less costly surfaces, being concentrated more on local roads.

Of the Nation's 3,000,000 miles of roads, some 300,000 miles are state highways. Of these 163,000 miles or 54 per cent were reported surfaced a year ago today. Adding to this the improvements made during the past year, the status of our state highways at the present writing is collectively about as follows: Certain eastern states have surfaced every mile and are now interested chiefly in widening, rebuilding or relocating The wheat-belt states have concentrated on grading and draining a large mileage, following up with gravel type surfacing. Perhaps the most significant trend in type of construction, however, is the adoption of ten western states in the past three years, of surface-mix oiled gravel. Approximately 2,000 miles is now in service, and interest in this type is spreading eastward.

Each year state maintenance organizations cover a larger mileage. Nearly 250,000 miles of state roads are now regularly patrolled by state employees. The state highways not so maintained are concentrated in a few states.

Snow removal service in 36 states was extended to 111,645 miles during the winter of 1927-28, as compared to 90,000 miles the year before. In 17 states all road clearing was supervised by the state departments, while in 15 states counties co-operated and in 4 states the localities had sole charge.

The year 1928 saw the many trans-

By H. J. McKEEVER. in The Highway Magazine

Transportation gaps closed or their closure started. Few years have seen in progress so many large bridge projects, from the Mt. Hope-Bristol syspension span in Rhode Island to the Marble Canyon bridge in Arizona, each filling an urgent need. Kentucky launched a 30,000,000 bridge program to eliminate ferries and private toll structures. Alabama a smaller like program. The question of how many toll bridges should be added to the hundreds now in service, and of their ownership, by the way, is one of the principal economic highway questions of today.

REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES

The national road bill in 1928 was $1,300,000,000, exclusive of city street expenditures which swell the total near the two-billion mark. The states' share was $756,000,000. Gasoline taxes, averaging 3.1 cents a gallon, produced $140,653,000 the first half and approximately $300,000,000 for the entire year. License fees, while not sharing the increased preference enjoyed by the gas tax, produced about $325,000,000. About 60 per cent of these two direct forms of taxation went to the state, the rest be ing returned to local authorities.

Recent state highway work included federal aid projects totaling 8,184 miles, completed during the 1927-28 fiscal year. These improvements cost 205 million dollars of which 88 million or 43 per cent was the government share. In dividual states used federal funds in proportions varying from 2.7 per cent to 58 per cent. From July, 1916, to Nov. 30, 1928, 73,715 miles of federal aid projects were completed at a cost of $271,700,000.

Bond issues voted by states at the November election totaled 240 milion dollars, Iowa voting 100 million, Missouri 75 million, Louisiana 30 million and West Virginia 35 million. At the same election Kansas amended its constitution to permit state highway control and financing, California raised its license fees. Delaware promoted its state highway engineer to the governorship!

IMPROVEMENT OF LOCAL ROADS

County and township funds aggregating an estimated $552,000,000 found their way into loca roads. A greater mileage of local roads than ever before was given the benefit of regular maintenance. A record amount of drainage,culvert extension, widening and straightening, graveling and other light surfacing, and near iarge cities--paving, was completed.

Mileage figures are uncertain, as complete reports are not available. A survey by the U. S. Bureau of Public Roads shows that the beginning of 1926 there were 2,712,262 miles of local roads primarily serving the villages, farmers and ranchers-reaching the roots of our civilization. Some 387,000 miles or 14.3 per cent had been surfaced and 598,803 or 22.1 per cent graded. The vast remainder-1,726,459 miles or 63.6 per cent remained as the greatest single phase of "unfinished business' before the road industry.

So it still remains. However, local efforts have begun to improve, and 1926 and succeeding years have each seen a decrease in the aimless, dragging and patching that used to absorb so many millions of local tax money. Probably no less than 100,000 miles of county, township and parish roads were graded and drained or surfaced during 1928. This accomplishment took about onehalf of all local road funds, and, together with more efficient and systematic maintenance, definitely and markedly raised the general level of farm road conditions--a natural accompaniment to the "comeback" of agriculture, the widespread attention given the findings of the Low Cost Roads Investigation of the Highway Research Board, and the recent organization of the 3070 counties into a national highway group.

USE OF HIGHWAYS

Highways from the lowest side roads to the superhighways have become more problems of traffic than of construction. 1928 saw officials looking more and more into their use. Traffic has doubled in five years and will do so again in another ten. Questions of safety, regulation, traffic flow, and economic use are now uppermost. Interest is aroused which will undoubtedly lead to regional traffic surveys and other basic data collection by many states and counties.