Show HISTORY OF THE STATE ROAD I 1 1909 1939 dy by V H RICHARDS RIC HAnDS statistical engineer introduction As aa tho the passing years accumulate by decades since the motor vehicle and tho the good roads movement I 1 began their profound transformation in our dally daily lives and in tile the use and administration of our highways it becomes become a increasingly advantageous vant ageous to weave the record of tho the laws and tho the im improvement of tho thi highways into a connected history in tho the state road C om missions eleventh biennial alto report covering the fiscal years 1029 1929 1039 1939 there was included I 1 a history of the two decades of state road building which followed tho the cre creation aaion of the commission by tho the legislature ol of 1909 due to the many expressions of interest in that publication and of its value as a work ol of reference it Is desirable to bring the history down to date from the standpoint of thirty years activity tho the first legislative enactment carrying an appropriation ap for or state participation and supervision in the improvement of the highways was adopted in 1009 the th 0 law chapter cha I 1 laws lawa of 1909 in effect april 17 created a state road commission and established a state road building fund to be used by the commission for or highway construction st in compera cooperation tion with the several counties on a system of state highways to ba designated by the commission state interest in highway improvement pro and the desire to remove existing detects defects in highway administration was expressed in tho the governors message of that year wherein on the subject of roads it was waa urged A uniform system of construction with a means ot 0 f raising special road fin ances in the various counties should be provided what Is done should be along the lines of stability and thoroughness having in view a permanency which unfortunately has been overlooked in many instances heretofore provision should be made requiring competency in those to whom Is given t the a work of improvement there to la no occasion tor for me to dwell upon the advantages of such improvements prove ments to the people of the state and I 1 heartily recommend your prompt and most earnest consideration olde ration of this important subject in 1909 there were outside ot of the six populous counties in the north central portion of the state slate very tow few miles ot of roads which could be classed as improved even with allowance for conditions ot of thirty years ago in nearly all other areas within the state duo due to the sparse population and limited means adequate improvement of 0 the highways was a practicable impossibility in the counties along the states borders there were on the east cast west and south no interstate connect eions other than mere trails and this condition continued due to logal legal restrictions in methods of financing tor for ten years or more I 1 after the creation of the state road commission I 1 the agency responsible tor for oil all rural roads prior to the creation I 1 of the state road commission was in each county a three member board of county amiss boners toners con county n ty highway revenues were derived from a limited levy on assessed property and nd a poll tax road bonds financed from the property I 1 tax were Is saable upon approval of property owners subject to a constitutional debt limitation or of t two percent of assessed assesse assessed d valuation I 1 in addition to local income i somo some assistance was derived from the state through incidental ap p particularly a r t I 1 c u I 1 a r I 1 y tor for bridges in various counties the comments in the message above quoted are probably based upon instances atances tn ot of inadequacy Q of plans and supervision where state funds were involved I 1 particularly indicative of the necessity tor for good highways in the states transportation system Is the fact that in its twenty nine counties thirteen county beatt are not reached by railroads and nine counties havo have no railroads within their borders state administrative agency under the terms of the statute the tha first highway department was 1 leaded by a commission of five members conal sting of the governor of the state as chairman the state engineer the state treasurer and one member from each of tho the faculties of the state university and the state agricultural college selected by the governing boards of those institutions under a revision of the statute ata tute in 1917 an amendment provided tor for a rye five member commission consisting of the governor ot of the stats state he secretary ot of state the state auditor the attorney general and the state engineer all members of tho the two foregoing forms forma of 0 the commission served without additional compensation in 1921 the 0 ox x type of commission was abandoned and this th a board as then constituted and continuing to the pro present sent time with a brief exception noted below consisted ot of three members appointed at large by the governor In vernor the term of ollice office Is six years except that th the first t K ait poin tees were to servo serve tor for two tour and six years respectively sn sequent to i december 1 1921 appointments are made with the consent of the senate semite the governor appoints one ot of the members of 0 the commission as its chairman not more than two members may be affiliated with the same political party the members ot of the commission received beginning in 1921 an annual salary of increased to in 1939 and it la is required that a member shall 1 I 1 I 1 t devote e v 0 e all his time to the duties pr prescribed c r lb e I 1 by law for the office bince of 0 commissioner and not servo in oth other r public capacity the exception above noted in tho the law proscribing prescribing nn an appointive commission was an enactment ot of 1933 ro repealed pealed in 1935 requiring one ona of tho the three members ot of the commission om mission to be one ot of the elective officer s in the executive department part ment mant of 0 the state government to serve ox ex and without additional dit ional salary for the present law governing tho the composition ot of the road corn com mission see chapter 46 laws of 1939 following la Is the personnel ot of members ot of the road commission during consecutive organizations since its ita inception with dates ot of accession and retirement years yeara ot of member service first ex commission Comm lulon william spry governor 1909 1009 1912 caleb tanner state En engineer 1909 1912 2 david mattson Matl Bon state treasurer 1905 1912 richard chard R lyman from st SL 1909 1912 J W WJ jensen enson from agri aarl college colleg 1909 1812 1012 second ex officio commission william spry governor 1913 1618 1918 W 0 beers been state engineer 1918 1918 1916 jesse jere D jewkes state treasurer 1918 1916 richard richar II 11 lyman from st ani william peterson Pet erBOn from agri col 1912 1913 1910 1916 third ex officio commission simon Bamber bamberger ser governor 1917 1920 1020 harden dennion Denn lon leoy of state 1917 1920 dan D B shields shield attorney gen benl 1917 1920 joseph hirle state auditor 1017 1020 1920 geo gem P F mcgonagle state eng 2911 1020 appointive commission M N 0 P Pou laon 1921 may 1922 lero D casto caito 1921 may alay 1922 ir irs it Browni nir 1921 2921 may 1022 preston 0 peterson 1922 to date henry W lunt 1922 1928 1926 henry 11 blood 1922 1932 1032 W J porker parker 1926 october 1938 1935 joseph chez atty atly leal 1933 june 1935 edward E july 1935 1937 1931 W D hammonds octo 1935 to date george abbott april 1937 to date I 1 served as chairman until may 1922 when the tha first appointive commission resigned sinned re served as aa chairman 1022 1026 s S served er v ed us as chairman 4 S served c arved as chairman less 1933 october 1937 1037 I 1 served as chairman october 1935 1937 served as chairman april 1937 to date data designation of state roads roada the law of 1909 authorized the selection ot of a system ot of state Stata roads roada by the road commission not more than one road was to be designated in a county in the same general direction action and roads and streets in id cities cities ot of the first and second class 1 mini minimum murn populations ot of and respectively in 1909 were excluded until 1915 1916 this 1 early concept in state highway laws lawn ot of extension of the highway system through cities and towns Is an adaptation ot of the law relative ito to designation ot of roads by the county commissioners which permitted urban extensions tho the work ot of d designation 1 1 was facilitated in the fi first r st instance by the rond road maps ot of each county which the law ro re quiren the county commissioners to furnish these maps mapa were nil all received by the spring ot of 1910 and tho the commission then proceeded with its ita selection ot of routes and pro grain ot of construction washington county was the first to furnish the required map and the road from st george westerly to shem was waa the first section ot of state highway designated january 10 1910 opposition developed in numerous nume roua instances In as aa to choice of routes and until 1912 no route bad been designated signa ted in any direction entirely across the state it was waa the intention to link together all the county seats but this proposed system and also the directness of route were sacrificed in the early years in order to provide remote farm areas with access to railroads designation Des by the commission continued until 1919 with extension ot of routes filling in of gaps and selection of laterals literals late rals when a total ot of some miles amiles had been designated the statute was amended in that year to provide for the designation of state roads by the legislature principally tor for tho the reason that it was desired to expend the proceeds of a bond issue mainly on a trunk line system ot of roads some miles ot of local roads that had previously been selected by the commission were omitted from the system designated by the legislature chapter 57 laws ot of 1919 the power was reserved to the commission to designate additional state roads where cooperation with the federal government was involved this reservation included federal ald aid projects which have or may hereafter be approved by the state road commission on the theory that certain roads on the commissions federal aid post road map tor for 1918 delineating a five year program commission file n B 34 were thus designated as state roads within the intent ot of the statute the legislatures list ot roads was incomplete and omitted from the express terms 0 of the law an extensive mileage of state roads this detect defect in the law continued until 1927 when for the first time nil all existing state roads were included in the law and numbered consecutively by route numbers however each legislative session since 1919 except those ot of 1929 and 1937 has haa made some changes and additions in the highways designated as state roads in 1931 a distinction was made as to primary and secondary state roads but this law was repeated repealed in 1935 since the legislature adopted no measure tor for state aid to local governments until 1937 it has extensively used beginning in the depression year of 1931 tho the alternative procedure of adding to the system a large mileage ot of local roads in 1930 there were miles ot of designated state high highways and at the close ot of 1939 there were miles i 1 to B be continued 4 |