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Show IMPROVE ROADS IN ILLINOIS Expected That State Will Spend Nearly $200,000,000 for Better High-ways High-ways in Next Few Years, (By H. A. JEFFH1KS, Membe: ot Illinois Good Roads Association ) Illinois has been one of the last states to take up seriously the problem prob-lem of improving its roads, bu. now It is going into it with a determination to make big advancement in a short time. A commission of Illinois road entbusiasts has been touring the states, inspecting roads and investigating investi-gating the methods of road building. It is expected that the state will spend in the next few years nearly $200,000,-000 $200,000,-000 for good roads, and necessarily our people want to get the best roads possible. The question of whether there shall be macadam roads, brick roads or concrete con-crete roads is one to be determined. Many of the new roads are of macadam mac-adam construction, and there has been a lot of sentiment for the brick highways. high-ways. Concrete roads have been objected ob-jected to largely because of the great cost of construction. It costs $14,000 a mile for an 18-foot concrete road, and this initial outlay is so great that it ordinarily scares any community. The advantage of the concrete road, however, lies in the small cost ol maintenance. The expense of keeping up a concrete con-crete road, it is said, is less than $30 a year per mile, with the experience of New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey Jer-sey and Pennsylvania shows that It costs $S00 a mile to maintain macadam mac-adam and brick roads. It makes no difference what kind ot construction, so long as we get improved im-proved roads, and we can well afford later on to change the style of road if we get a first-class highway across the continent, which, I believe, will be accomplished in the next ten years. |