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Show SOARING PRICES MAY CHECK PAVING PLAiMS Governor Bamberger States That Cost of Work Is Prohibitive. Delegations From Utah and Boxelder Counties Meet Road Commission. - Laro delegations from Utah aud Box-eldor Box-eldor counties, including men of statewide state-wide and even nation-wide prominence, were present at the meeting of the state road commission yesterday to inquire about details as to paving contracts about to be let bv the state. "I may as well toll you gentlemen," announced Governor Bamberger, in one of 1ms talks during the afternoon, "that if prices continue to go up there will be no paving doue at ail. I am say-inr say-inr this because I want you to be prepared pre-pared fur such an eventuality. "Tne state appropriated money in larjjo sums to get thc returning soldiers work. And then the prices for the work jumpcyl so high as to be prohibitive. prohibi-tive. On top of that como such demands de-mands as those of the strikers at Park City for a six-hour day and $5.50 a day pay. Prices Called Prohibitive. "A year or two ago tho state could count on good hard-surface pavement for H,00U or $22,000 a mile.":- Now our estimates have to be over $28,000. The prices are simply prohibitive." Tho stato has about 2,000,000 yet to f.peud on hard-surface roads. tome of the work on which the state recently asked bids ran as high as $29,000 a mile for reinforced concrete pavement. The piece of pavement between be-tween American Fork and Pleasant Grove is of similar specifications aud whs put in by Strange & Maguirc a short time ago at 22,043. The governor iutimatcd later in the day that the state could try doing the work "without le'tting any contracts if the contractors continue to bold up their prices, but that would probably cut down tbe amount of work that could be done. And the statement in the meeting was that the paving -work might have to cease entirely. Thc governor's statement camo during dur-ing a long mcctiDg wheu the numbers preaeut were so large that the gathering gather-ing had to be adjourned from the regular regu-lar offices of tho state road commission commis-sion and held in the board room at the capitol. Vtah county was the first to be heard. It was represented bjJoseph Tfecce of Payson, Mayor Lo Boy Dixon, IT. F. Thomas, Jesse M. Harmon, Jesse Knight. V. O. Creer, T. N. Taylor, W. At. Kovlancc, H. G. Merritt and Scott P. Stewart of Provo: L. A. Hatch, Henrv Sabin. W. C. Christ ensen, Chris Nelson, George E. Hanks, C. W. Jorpen-sen Jorpen-sen and James P. Christenseu of Salem and others. t Utah County Presents Case. Tho Vtah county delegation reported that the people "of that section are much aroused over tho fact that the state road commission is advertising for a crushed rock base with a bitulithie or a Topeka mix top on the Provo bench, as well as for a concrete base with similar alternate surfacing. They declared that the road from Pleasant Grove to American Fork had proved itself very popular with the residents of Vtah county, and that f5 per cent of the people wanted that sort of road. TIic appeared to think that if t.bc state road commission insisted, a cement base with bituminous topping might be accepted, ac-cepted, but thev declared that a crushed rock base, would cause a storm of protest. pro-test. Tboy were assured by Governor Bamberger Bam-berger that the intention of the commission, com-mission, which had given tho matter vcrv serious attention, was only rhat uso might be made of the large amounts of rock that had already been used on thc roadway in question for a crushed rock base, and that the commission wir-hed to eet comparative figures on both varieties of pavement before letting let-ting the contract. The delegation requested re-quested further that a hearing be granted grant-ed them again beforo a crushed rock base were permitted, even at tho expense ex-pense of delaying thc work. Delay Is .Suggested. Tn fact. part, of the opinion was that if thc state's finauces would not now permit, it would be a good thing to let the work go over a few years, rather thau to put in a bitulithie surfacing sur-facing on a crushed rock base. The pavement objected to is similar to that on Capitol hill, part of which has been down eight years; and similar also to work recently done by thc state on Thirtv-third South street. It "was pointed out by members of the commission that even if reinforced concrete is to be used entirely tbe bituminous bi-tuminous surfacing would have to be put on later. George F. McGonagle, state engineer, answered numerous questions ques-tions as to the relative merits of different dif-ferent classes of pavement, and pointed to Vtah experience showing that, bituminous bitu-minous surfacing on concrete foundations founda-tions has given good satisfaction in this climate. The Sale.m delegation entered a strong protest against the p imposed route for tbe state road through their city, which has been fixed at present so as to avoid railroad crossings. The effect of their talk was lessened somewhat when it was pointed out that the legislature chauged the route from Benjamin to Salem, when it was understood that thev wouid be content with a road which would not cross the tracks of the railroad. rail-road. Yesterday they asserted that if tiie road oid not conic into the city thev would prefer that construction be delayed even for several years, if necessary, nec-essary, in order that their town might be kept on the line. Will Visit Salem. The commission appointed Commissioners Commis-sioners McGonagle, Joseph Kirie aud Harden Benniou a committee to visit Salem to investigate the matter further. I'.oxelder couutv w'as represented by J. . Peters, John S. Pierce, V.. M. Tv-pou, Tv-pou, J. Francis Merrill, It. B. Fishburn, M. . Kv.ins. A. K. rapener, .1. W. Tewis, G. G. Sweeten, Brigham Wright, V. K. Hadlov, Charles McClure, Albert E. Holmgren. P. .. ll.-inscn, J. A. Knegrus, liy Peterson, W. It. V;.n Flee!, J. J. Shumwi'.v, . F.. David and others. They .T-ked particularly about the state bard-surfecjng in Boxelder countv, which has not yet been advertised, and said that Brigham City was laying plans and Koine ahead on the assumption that the state would assist in-carrying the road through that city. Thev were assured that the state, with the assistance of the county, would pave from the cud of the hard-surfacing at the Boxelder-Weber Hue to Sixth North street in Brigham City, a distance dis-tance of about eleven miles, although onlv nine miles had been provided for in the program. The cost of nine miles had been estimated at ,28.00O a mile, or $2"2,000, aud the question of raising rais-ing thc additional money brought up the matter of high prices for pavo-mcut. pavo-mcut. Boxelder Makes Suggestion. Boxolder county showed dissatisfaction dissatisfac-tion with tho route of the state highway high-way up Boxelder canyon from Brigham City to Mantua and so into Cache county, saying that" the road would bo closed several months in the year, although al-though it was easy to maintain on the Boxolder site when it was open. They suggested a route following tho line of the Oregon Short Line into Cache valley. That, however, they were told, was a matter for tho legislature to determine. de-termine. The Boxelder delegation also wanted to rent some state equipment for. use on county roads, aud this may bo arranged. ar-ranged. Kivalry developed between the Ma-lad Ma-lad valley route for the Yellowstone park highwav and that through Cache valley, which was declared to be the longer of the two. The state commission signed the cooperative co-operative .agreement with the forestry service for the survey of the Salitia-Kmery Salitia-Kmery county road, and hnd thc written writ-ten assurance from L. F. Kneipp, district dis-trict fnrester, that an appropriation additional ad-ditional to the $7uu0 allowed for the survey might ho made later this, year fur coristructiou wurit. |