OCR Text |
Show MnOSAL CAPITAL AFFAIRS Millions in Federal Road Aid Fund and $25,000,000 of the sum is available Immediately, the balance becoming available on January 1, 1022. The federal highway act in general gen-eral way resembles the federal aid act of 1916. Apportionment of the fund to the states Is almost the same as In the previous act, the fund being divided into three parts, one part apportioned according to population, one according to area, and one part according to mileage of rural and star mail routes. A new feature is the stipulation that no state shall receive less than one-half one-half of 1 per cent of the total fund, which, In this case is $305,625. There is considerable change, however, how-ever, in the manner in which a state may use Its allotment. Each state must select a connected road system not exceeding ex-ceeding 7 per cent of its road mileage for improvement with federal aid. It is estimated by engineers of the United States Department of Agriculture Agricul-ture that the federal aid roads under construction on October 31 were giving giv-ing employment to about 250,000 men, either directly on the actual road construction or indirectly in the production pro-duction and transportation of the materials ma-terials which enter into the construction. WASHINGTON. Seventy-five million mil-lion dollars becomes available as federal aid for road construction con-struction In the various states, the money to be spent under the supervision super-vision of the bureau of public roads, Department of Agriculture, under the federal highway act, signed ay the President. In addition, $15,-300,000 $15,-300,000 Is appropriated for national forest roads. The $75,000,000 represents repre-sents the federal government's appropriation ap-propriation to the work of building highways in the various slates and must be matched, dollar for. dollar, by funds from the state treasuries, except ex-cept in states where more than 5 per cent of the area is unappropriated public land The $75,000,000 appropriated is for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1922, |