Show IMPROVED HIGHWAYS ARE NOT LUXURIES tr br the ih united states department of I 1 although the exact state of road improvement pro in III tile the united states tit nt the resent present time la Is not known it is id estimated by the department of agriculture that the total lul mileage leago of surfaced roads tit lit the end of 1024 1924 was between 4 and miles indication tire that miles of surfaced roads of various types have been built during ench each year since 1121 1921 exact figures a na 9 to how tills this mileage lins has been divided by types or states are not ot available A considerable part of thu tho work moreover lias has consisted of resurfacing it therefore cannot bo be 11 assumed that the net rol nill leago pago of surfaced roads tins has been increased during the last three years by the total albut of it the now new construction the tha last complete survey suney of tile rond ron d improvement pro situation wito wag ellade in 1021 when tile alio total surfaced mileage was reckoned at nille miles 4 new construction st and resurfacing since 1021 1 have proceeded tit nt n rule rato which Is boiler beiler cleved cd to justify tile estimate that thu tho net gain since then la Is well above tu WO nilles in announcing cheso filets tho the d department 1 I part parti ment nent draws attention to certain wrong ideas that tire anro current about road improvement improved roads it says buys are not luxuries lr alio move 1 input of every vehicle cle over a road thero la Is n certain cost coat which la Is less lesa if the road ile bo improved than if it ile ba left led in III a banto of nature logically therefore tho the only limit that should bo be placed on oil expenditure for road improvement proven pro tent Is the amount that cun can ila be saved in vehicular operating costs coata this amount nino of course upon nion tile lie number of vehicles using the rond road it la Is pointed out that the alio country loses more inore in increased cost of operating vehicles by not improving roads than it costs to lo improve them thein in III other words it pays for improved roads whether it tins lins them or not und and it pays less leaa by having them than by not having bluing thein another co common ninion error says the department part ment la Is that nil all rond roads should ile be liard hard surfaced hard surfacing with concrete brick lil cl asphalt stone or wood blocks Is tin nn expensive process when its cost la 19 grouter greater than the saving re nc from froin ilia improvement hard surfacing Is not advisable it la Is possible to make grunt great improvements in roads roada without hard surfacing them thein and these improvements are quite effective 0 in reducing the cost of travel when vehicles cles using a road are comparatively ively few tin but graded and drained road can be made mid maintained in satisfactory condition by drugging dragging tit nt very low cost if tile traffic la Is so great that tin nn roa road d cannot bo be maintained in continuous good condition surfacing with stone sand clay or gravel grael although more costly than grading will generally lie bo compensated by tile greater saving in the cost of operating vehicles over lt it similarly when tile grafl c Is greater than a gravel road will carry a bituminous macadam surface can bo be economically applied it Is not necessary to use ono one of the hard surfaced types until the traffic becomes very dense all roads should bo be improved says tile the department to the maximum degree that the traffic on them just justifies liles but no road should bo be improved beyond its earning capacity when this principle Is it observed the required annual expenditure for any type or road Is within tile the yearly savings in the cost of operating tile the vehicles it liaa has to carry in other words tile the return to the public in the form of economic transportation Is the sole measure of the worth of road improvement to say that nil all roads should be hard surfaced tile department points out la Is merely another way of urging ex expenditures in excess of income |