Show t ARE PUT It TO Rapid Strides Being Made Mad Says Bays Federal Official I Greater progress has hM been made mads Ii pro pros iding the means m ns of af highway during the fiscal fIcal year 19 than In any tny similar period in the hl his history tory of et the tho country countr That is 19 the opening nl ing statement ot of o Thomas II It Mac MacDonald Donald Donol 1 chief ot or the bureau breau b ot of puhl road roads In his bis report just to thc th department of oC turo ture Tl TI Is alike to all goo good roads advocates ad and motorists who make mako extensive e uso use ot or tho the for I cr atlon or corn com commercial mercial uses 10 mUe were added to the Federal-aid Federal roal and probably another 10 TO miles by the various arlous states federal help There is now no apparent says sass Sll s MI f L a II teal real public ap tion of oC the of 1 Ing the roads that The rho Federal Highway act approve a year ear ear ago o on November ember 9 l IS pro pro- pro pro- provides vides Ide for the establishment of ot a io 9 tern of oC public highways IlYs the mlle of oC which shall not o ed 7 per ler cent of oC the total highway mileage In an amt tale The Tho act net requires the division of oC the tho high highways ays Into or Inter Inter- Int Interstate Interstate r- r state and secondary seco or highways and limits tOe tiO o of oC all future fede aid ald ald al-ald apportion apportion- apportionments apportionments m ments to this system The Tho ot of 7 per cent of oC the roads of the nation for Cor future system systematic aUe atio Improvement imposed the mot most important task upon the bureau ever assigned to it Conferences were wore held with ith highway officials In order to so- so se secure cure correlation of oC the roads suggest suggested ed cd for tor the state S steni slem e have IIa been received showing the he 8 stems proposed from Crom all states ex except exi opt Alabama Indiana MississIppi Missouri Peons PennS South Dakota Virginia and Wiscon- Wiscon sin Wiscon-sin sin in inThe The Tho first general cor of or the states In a Held was as held a at Troy at which the e systems s stems were correlated for all of oC New rn- rn In land f-land land New York andew and New ew Jersey Jersey On the subject of road building ftc I nc t ity some encouraging facts are pre pra- pra At the close of oC the fiscal sear vear ear projects completed aggra- aggra lEa gated led and thoro thero were nero 17 17 1378 1978 miles under construction were estimated as 50 per cent corn com compote com pote In one no year ear the completed m has grown to miles an In- In increase In Increase crease crease of oC more than miles and there remain under construction miles which are estimated M as iss per p r cent c nt complete The Tho federal 01 aid 1 learned earned by the state on completed and uncompleted projects amounts to o of oC which Iba e actually been paid The roads brought to during the tho vear ear It Is stated a aver lago er ago more moro than miles for Cor state The greatest Increase In lu com corn completed completed mileage Is la In Texas laUded during the tho vear ear miles But Texas owes Its leading lending position large large- Ily Ii large lly to its size The states slates of oC AIl ansas Georgia Iowa Minnesota and Nort Carolina each oath with Ith an Increase s smore Imore more than miles and Montana and Wisconsin with more than made notable ad advances ances tov toward ard the goal ot of a a completed high highway ay sy- sy sy sya tem em A number of oC smaller states such as s Louisiana Maryland and Rhode Island made vey ve Increases Mr r MacDonald says that mileage con cone e s no sense of o the reaching far effects of oC the ork being done The The 10 miles he ho explains represent something more than tian the of oC three transcontinental are transcontinental roads oads They are aro not 0 even esen en considered Toads oads though as the work ork s they will Ill be bo connected but each project Is to some community Ift new flew opportunity a means ot of better better- ting belter-ting ling Ung In some respects the economic anti antl social octal f status tatus ot of the fund together they form the links which eventually united will a 0 new means ot of i mo Ino less Important to the country as i ft-i whole hole than that offered by the rail raU- rall What they mean to the tho in which they ar are are- constructed can only lony bo be told by example For exam pi Is the federal-aid federal road from lena In Arkansas to Old Town Tow 17 miles away on the MIssissippi When last spring the tho river rose and to spread over the tho whole of aC that low country In 3 In InI Ina Ina I a destructive e flood word came to Helena Helenn that the levco leco Oo e at Old Tow Town uI I about to break A few hours delay and anil thousands ot of acres of o rich farming land would oud bo be flooded Ivery available a motor vehicle II ae Into service an ne-er ne men quipped for the work ahead were verts ero In ina ina a short time 0 over oer er the new road to tho the They rhey arrived cd In Ia Inthe tle tho nick of time and dammed back rib rising waters aters There 1 Is no que- que quei tion in tho the minds mind of ot the people of Old J lown own and Helena Heena about the alue of o the new f federal aid road Out Out In Arizona there thor I Is another road that Is drawing Hoar oar to com corn completion completion It will 11 connect Superior and t two 0 of ot the tho largest and most Important 10 town toying In the tho copper coun coun- country coun- coun country country try By the tho old ald road the distance bet between een them Is a full hundred The Tho new road tunneled In places through solid rock will wilt shorten the distance by eighty miles In Alabama plans have bavo been drawn for a now new federal-aid federal project between Anton Arlton and Clayton The old road be be- be between tween woon these towns which are 25 miles apart crosses the railroad 14 times In that distance By Dy a 0 piece or oC excellent engineering 13 of thedO thede crossing have been eliminated and one remaining la Is not danger danger- dangerous ous cue In Maryland thero there was WIlS one ane curve I on the road from Baltimore to Wash Wash- Wa Ington h Ington ao deadly that It was known as AS s Doa l Mans Man's curve It was wha what Is as a a 0 reverse curve cure thero there was wasa wasa a heavy beavy grade erade and anil high banks ob- ob ob cured the th view from both directions Hundreds of ot bad been baen wrecked because of o this curvo and there was WM a record ot of 35 deat deaths s against It It The dangerous condition ha has now cow been boen eliminated by bytho bythe the tho state with federal aid ald and though it was necessary to spend U In less esq than a quarter of oC a a f mile none I of those who use the road raad need to toI tobe tobe be con cony laced d of the tho wisdom ot or th the I expenditure or the value of the mi- mi I pros pro proem ement em nt As a 0 means of reducing the number I of oC motor accidents on grade grado crossings the bur bureau au has ado adopted a Il policy to I eliminate dangerous crossings S cheI er eer pr on federal aid roads I The policy which has m met t with Ith the tho support ot of the states elates Is that all cli existing grade crossing on the th f federal aid d ra highway s system stem shall b be I for priority of oC elimination by agreement bet between een the bureau and the highway departments and the tho I improvements shall be can led d out S as r as |