Rubber Auto Bumpers

JUNE, 1930 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS Page Seventeen

Explaining the Central Highway Association's position of being unable to support the amendment until the central system is assured, J. W. Strode told the convention his association would be able to influence 65 per cent of the state voters and that the latter would be equally insistent with his association in demanding something in return for the money they would spend on the highways used exclusively by the other 35 per cent of the voters.

He said that since adoption of the resolution at the Phoenix caucus the situation insofar as his organization was concerned was made more grave by receipt of word from the chief of the Bureau of Public Roads definitely refusing to include the Showlow-Springerville link of 37 miles in the federal aid system. Inclusion of this link was one of the Central Association's conditions, the other being removal of the condition of a free bridge on the Wickenburg-Ehrenberg route.

The figures set forth at the beginning of this article show that Route 180, with seven per cent of the mileage of the state, received 27 per cent of the construction monies and 22 per cent of the total monies. State route 74 from Ehrenberg east, had nine and one-half miles graded, drained and gravel-surfaced and four bridges constructed upon it last year.

It is a matter of record since the large expenditures for construction on Route 180, or the central highway, have been made, traffic is automatically diverting itself over this route and the traffic on route 80 has shown a decrease.

The route from Springerville to Rice under present construction apparently is not a feasible through highway, on account of adverse alignment and grades and the exceptionally high altiutde, and there is now a survey crew in the field seeking a new and better location from Globe to Showlow.

There is no intention on the part of the Arizona Highway Department to neglect any part of the system. This is shown clearly by the figures already presented.

The expressed fear of some of the members of the Central Highway Asso-ciation that their new roads, or the Globe-Springreville and the Wickenburg-Ehrenberg highways, will not re-ceive equal consideration is not borne out by past records and figures. These two highways are the last major addi-tion to the state system, and not pre-viously having been a part of the sys-tem could not possibly have received construction work by the state. They are now a part of the system and will be constructed as rapidly as the finances will permit.

ciation that their new roads, or the Globe-Springreville and the Wicken-burg-Ehrenberg highways, will not re-ceive equal consideration is not borne out by past records and figures. These two highways are the last major addi-tion to the state system, and not pre-viously having been a part of the sys-tem could not possibly have received construction work by the state. They are now a part of the system and will be constructed as rapidly as the financ-es will permit.

The proposed Finance Bill, now being promoted by the Arizona Good Roads Association, if passed will increase the finances to the state highways, which would very materially increase the speed of the construction of these two routes. Likewise the proposed measure plac-es these two routes upon the primary system of the state, upon the same parity with the other primary routes, and makes their equal consideration with the other main routes of the state system mandatory by the act, instead of being only discretionary with the Commission, as under the present law.

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