Show COST OF ROADS AND BRIDGES construction expenditures have in creased nearly fourfold in the pat past twelve year I 1 prepared by tho the united states deitt I 1 bont of agriculture iturea for tho the construction ol of ronda roads and bridges in the united states sinks have increased nearly fourfold iu in the past twelve years while ll it greater and binl greater proportion of tile expended have come to bo be paid out uli under santu supervision at tile baine bialo there has hag been a 11 marked in tho proportion of 0 contributions to rond road building in tile funn form ot of statute labor these facts are brought out b by y statistics re recently vently complied compiled by thu tho office of public floada ond antl engineering of the lie united stoics slates department of 0 ng ag tho the total length of public roads in III tile united states stales outside out tile of 0 incorporated towns and cities dna about 2 wiles r c january 1 li 1010 of tills this about 27 brilles or pep cent wore were improved Improve tl with sonio form forin of oc surfacing the mileage of 0 surfaced roads 1 i 1 liven been increasing tit nt tho the rato of about miles it year and tit lit 1015 approximately one it t of blila Inc renso was rondo made under tile tho supervision of state highway departments in III addition these departments supervised the maintenance of nearly miles of and trunk line roads tile increase tit in expenditures for road and bridge work in tile tho united states lins bas been from approximately iSSO per year benr in 1001 to about in 1010 1015 tin nil increase of 0 more that linn 2 0 per cent the expends turo of state funds fluids during tills this saine period increased from about fl to more than in addition moi moro 0 o than 2 TOWO 0 of local fundy was spent under state supervision in III 1010 1015 bringing tile tho total road anti UX expenditures tures managed by tho alio states to tills this amount is t greater than the total expenditures for roads and bridges arnn till nil sources in 1001 the growth crowth in importance ot of tho state highway departments lies hns been rapid rapail tile first arst of these choso agen agencies cles was created in 1801 in NL new w jer jersey e y find now sonio somo form ot of highway department exists in ill every state except Indin nn hollih carolina Caroll nn anti texas their inception these laid expended to january 1 I 1010 1910 an aagre gato of it in ill state funds tor for rond road and bridge construction innon tennace tenn ten tince nce and administration they hael constructed over miles of roads in operation cooperation co with the states moro than of these roads surfaced the falling oft off in the value of road work performed by statute and convict labor was from in 1004 ero when tho the total road expenditures w acro to about in 1015 when the total expenditures had grown to 1 tills this wits was it reduction from froin 25 per cent ot of the total in we the former year to less les s than ba bev cent of the total in 1015 an increase in tile tho use of better and more expensive types of roads also la Is shown by tile recently compiled statistics es tills this development lias has been duo due in largo large part to the great luc increase rense in automobile traffic trall le it Is estimated that there tire lire now approximately two anti and a halt half million automobiles in use on the roads of the country or one car for every trillo of road tills this present motor radio Is in excess of traffic of nil 1111 sorts forts 12 years ngo ago tile cash road and bridge expends tures turca of tile united states averaged only 28 per mile of rural roads in 1004 in 1015 this average had grown to per mile now new jersey led till nil other kotlier states both in im 1001 and in fit 1015 with arid per mile respectively nevada mado made the least expenditure in both years per mile lu in 1001 1004 1 and 17 per mile in 1015 1915 |