OCR Text |
Show TO MEET GOOD ROADS BONDS ' Motor-Vehicle Revenues Devoted to Maintenance and Repair of State Improved Highways. (Prepared by the United States Department Depart-ment of Agriculture.) In most states the motor-vehicle revenues are devoted to the mainte-i mainte-i nance and repair of the state roads or other improved highways. These states thus seem to have solved fairly well the knotty problem of how to i secure sufficient funds to maintain the more important roads under the ever-increasing ever-increasing traffic requirements. As i both the traffic and the revenues Increase In-crease with the number of cars, there exists a possibility of so adjusting (he registration rates as to keep pace with the ever-growing maintenance charges. Recently, however, a movement to . capitalize the motor-vehicle revenues 1 and devote these funds to road con- Good Roads Mean Greater Rural Comfort Com-fort and Prosperity. struetion has been quite noticeable. This is especially true in those states which have a comparatively large number of cars and only a small mileage mile-age of improved roads. Thus, Illinois, last November approved a bond issue of $00,000,000 for the construction of a system of state roads. The interest and principal of these bonds are to be paid entirely from the motor-vehicle revenues. There is no doubt that these revenues will prove sufficient for this tiurpose. The main question which remains re-mains is whether or not a satisfactory source of maintenance revenues can be secured so as to prevent these roads, when constructed, from deteriorating. EARTH ROADS IM CONDITION Drainage Is Chief Essential in Putting Earth Roads in Proper Shape Drag Must Be Used. It can be truthfully said that drainage drain-age is the chief essential in putting earth roads into proper condition. An old Scotchman, an expert road builder, aptly said that the three requirements of good earth roads are, drainage, more drainage, and still more drainage. E. XV. Lehmann of the University of Missouri Mis-souri college of agriculture indorses this sentiment and adds; Roads must not only have good surface drainage but mustoilso' have good underdrain-age. underdrain-age. Surface drainage is secured by proper grading, adequate side ditches, and by keeping the crown of the road properly dragged. Stretches of road that do not dry out quickly must be underdrained by tile. The drag must be used after each rain, if the best results are to be secured. se-cured. Don't go on the road while too muddy, let it dry out slightly; it should be wet enough, however, so it will not crumble, but smear. When properly used, the drag brings a thin layer of earth toward the center of the road which is rolled and packed between wet periods. If too much crown is secured se-cured by dragging, the angle of the drag should he reversed. Getting the earth -oads graded, ditches open, well drained, and properly prop-erly crowned by dragging Is about all that can be done until the people are ready to surface the road with gravel, broken stone or some other surfneing material. GREAT ROAD WORK PLANNED Approximately $300,000,000 for Highway High-way Expenditures to Be Used This Season. Estimates of contemplated highway expenditures in the United States for the season of 1010 place the total at approximately ?:500.000,000. . Because of governmental restrictions the amount was considerably lower than this in 1018. while in 1017 it was placed at $2SO,000,000. Concrete Road Building. A great era of concrete road building build-ing has begun. Comprehensive systems sys-tems are being constructed in many counties and many through highways are being improved with concrete in various states under state supervision. Discomforts of Poor Roads. If people don't invest in good roads, hey Invest in getting stuck in the .nil, tr.nre horsepower for hauling, Hire time spent on the road, and Hell '1 sTini f nrr ulien liiev l'ide. I |