OIL SURFACING FEATURES WORK IN SOUTHERN DISTRICT

Oil Surfacing Features Work in Southern District DISTRICT NO. 4

W. R. Hutchins, District Engineer This report covers a general description of the district with expenditures for the year July 1, 1930, to June 30, 1931, as to the several phases of work performed. The amounts shown opposite the construction projects do not mean a total for the project, but the amount expended for the year 1930-1931.

The edge of District No. 4, or where the several highways intersect the boundaries of District No. 4, are as follows: End of the pavement (3 miles south of Chandler); Gila Bend; Florence Junction; Nogales; Bowie Junction (where Safford-Bowie Highway intersects the Douglas-Safford Highway); Douglas; Rodeo (Arizona-New Mexico state line approximately 5 miles east of Rodeo).

The district by routes is as follows: Federal route (entirely separate from Federal Aid route) No. 80 extends from Florence Junction through Florence, Tucson, Vail, Benson, Tombstone, Bisbee, Douglas, Rodeo (the Arizona-New Mexico state line aproximately 5 miles east of Rodeo). Federal route (entirely separate from Federal Aid route) No. 89 from Nogales to Tucson (merging with Federal Route No. 80 to Phoenix, then north through Prescott, Flagstaff, Fredonia to Salt Lake City.) State Route No. 87 from end of pavement 3 miles south of Chandler through 4 mile post or Casa Grande Junction, Florence Junction near Casa Grande Ruins, Coolidge to Picacho connecting here with State Route No. 84. State Route No. 84 from Gila Bend, through Casa Grande, Eloy, Picacho, Red Rock to Tucson. State Route No. 187 from 4 mile post near Sacaton to Casa Grande. State Route 287 from Florence to connection with State Route No. 87 near Coolidge. State Route No. 83 from Vail to Sonoita. State Route No. 82 from Nogales through Sonoita, Fairbanks to Tombstone. State Route No. 81 from Douglas through Pearce, Cochise, Wilcox to Safford, Bowie Junction.

The total mileage in District No. 4 is 667.0 miles.

Maintenance

Total expenditure upon maintenance of 667 miles of highway, Federal Aid and state highways, which is divided into nine maintenance sections under nine maintenance foremen, amounted to a total for the year July, 1930, to July, 1931, of $398,293.37.

The above maintenance includes continual blading of the gravel surface sections, mostly with motor grader equipment. The blading of the shoulders to bring the material which has been knocked down by cars, etc., or which has been washed down by rains, back to the road surface, is usually done with a grader pulled either by a large truck or small caterpillar. The continual hauling of new surfacing material onto places where the surfacing has either been worn through or washed away, is done with small trucks.

The patching, re-laying, etc., of the oiled sections is done usually by hauling stock-piled material in small trucks, or hauling new material and oil for building up the worn-out sections. The relaying is done with motor blade equipMaintenance or grader, scarifier and caterpillar. The paved sections are kept up as to the shoulder material and the cutting of the expansion joints that have become tight and filling the joints with new asphalt.

The Douglas-Rodeo, 50 miles, was seal coated with emulsified oil and cut back asphalt at a cost of approximately $525 per mile, which is included in the above total cost.

Betterment

Betterments consist of changes and improvements of the highway that are too great to be handled by the regular maintenance crews and which require special appropriations in the budget. In District 4 during the past fiscal year the following betterment work was completed: Flood protection work between Tucson and Tombstone, $1,056.96; widening fills between Bisbee and Douglas, $9,962.23; rebuilding 3 wooden cattle guards between Douglas and Rodeo, $2,979.90; flood protection Vekal Wash between Gila Bend and Casa Grande, $1,359.15; culvert and pavement repair, Tucson 9 miles south, $2,191.30; dykes at Sahuarita, $3,043.52; fencing of right of way, TucsonContinental, $657.55; Berm protection, Sacaton-Picacho, $2,000; flood protection, 3 miles north of Florence, $1,000; flood protection, Gila Bend-Casa Grande, $951; grade raise, Casa Grande-Gila Bend, $1,037.69; flood situation survey, Casa Grande-Picacho, $824.02; widening dip, Florence Junction-Tucson, $806.63; flood protection, 15 miles north Nogales, $1,332; widening and draining, Nogales, 5 miles east, $2,947.07; hill improvement, Nogales-Tombstone, $500.

All betterment was done by state forces; the larger jobs have a foreman in charge with a combined timekeeper and cost accountant; the smaller jobs were done by the maintenance foreman with extra men on the payroll.

Construction

All construction projects in the district were contracted with the exception of the Casa Grande-Picacho 7 per cent, which is now being partly constructed by state forces, but will be completed by contract. Federal Aid projects let to contract during the year were: Grading, bridges and culverts and oil surfacing with 3 inch oil cake, Douglas to Rodeo school, 35.39 miles, $270,604.23; grading, bridges and culverts and surfacing, not completed, Benson-Vail high-

(Turn to Page Eleven)