Show HISTORY OF THE STATE ROAD commission OF UTAH 1909 1939 sy by H V RICHARDS statistical engineer continued from lost last wc ek tho the commission cooperates with the state board ot of education and the public service commission in controlling tho the design and operation ot of school busses and it inspects al ajl school busses it Is also required to appoint and supervise official inspection stations tor for the inspection twice each year of 0 the brakes electrical equipment and steering mechanism ot motor vehicles chapter 48 laws ot of 1935 in the enforcement ot of the laws relating to licensing 0 at motor vehicles operators and chauffeurs the road commission cooperated with the tax commission by conducting the examinations for or issuance ot at licenses during the years 1934 1939 although this was not a legal requirement qui rement on november 15 1939 the tax commission ass assumed umed charge ol of this work i the road commission la is also the state aeronautics commission chapter 10 laws ot at 1937 as amended by chapter 1 12 1 laws ot of 1939 As such it has supervision over aeronautics within the state including 1 the establishment location maintenance operation and use ot of airports landing fields air beacons and other navigation nevi gation facilities and 2 the tha establishment operation management and equipment ot at all air schools flying clubs and nil all persons giving instruction st in flying in general it Is the duty ot of the commission to assist in the development of aeronautics in the state and to this end it has power to cooperate in the costs ot at construction and operation ot of airports and other aar navigation facilities funds tor for this supervision and cooperation i ere are derived from the tax on sales ot of motor fuels used or manufactured tor for use in aircraft A director ot of aeronautics is appointed by the tha commission present organization the commissions secretary among other secretarial duties keeps the minutes ot of its meetings certifies to documents and thereto affixes the seal of the commission the public relations director has charge of a f the dissemination through newspapers and other agencies ot of current information pertaining to the administration and development ot of the state roads the chief engineer Is the chief executive officer under the commission and all department heads beads and district engineers report directly to him department heads include clude an assistant engineer senior engineer bridge en englener engl gluer ner design engineer materials engineer landscape engineer traffic safety engineer chief accountant superintendent of highway patrol superintendent ot at shops and manager ol of the planning survey more directly construction and maintenance operations erat ions are supervised by the district engineers of at the five districts with offices at salt lake city ogden richfield price and cedar city an office engineer assists the chief engineer in the details ot at supervision supervisory offices now include neither a maintenance engineer nor an equipment engineer and maintenance administration and the purchase distribution use and repair ot of road equipment la Is supervised by the chief engineer through district engineers and superintendent of shops the assistant engineer has general supervision of surveys and construction projects and the requisite field parties ot of engineers and inspectors A labor supervisor checks contractors operations and payrolls on federal aid projects for the purpose of insuring compliance with federal regulations relative to hours ot at work and wages the senior engineer among other duties handles damage claims against the commission and certain problems pertaining to rights of way the tha bridge engineer Is responsible tor for tho the design and construction ot of all structures and the maintenance of major structures the design engineer Is in charge ot of the design ot of roads and the preparation pa ration ot of plans specifications estimates and contracts the tha preparation ot of maps tor for use by the travelling tra velling public and the publication li of road information InG mation etc the right ot of way agent has charge of the administration 0 at highway rights ot of way as required tor for widening or relocation ol of highways and ot of other land required for incidental highway purposes the materials engineer has h n s charge ot of tests and investigations at the central laboratory in connection with road work and of the testing of gasoline in administration ot at the tha law relative to inspection spec tion and grading ot of gasoline also of field investigations and tests ind and the inspection ot of concrete and other surfacing during construction the landscape engineer has ha supervision euper vision of roadside improvement projects the collection or purchase of trees shrubs and seeds for use in highway landscaping the manager ot at the tha planning survey has charge ot at the collection ol lection and analysis of data in connection with the nationwide nation wide fact finding undertaking relative to the administration extent and use of all 11 highways and the preparation and publication of maps in connection therewith the achler accountant has charge of the tha classification ot at accounts paying auditing and recording and through his bia department are cleared interoffice inter office order memoranda tor for office supplies road materials end and supplies Bupp lles and requisitions tor for put pur abase ot of materials and supplies other than road equipment all purchases ol of equipment materials and supplies are made through the state slate department ot of supplies find and purchase tho the superintendent at 0 the highway patrol has supervision ot of the highway police the agency charged with the enforcement ot of the laws of 0 the state and the regulations ot of the commission pertaining to trat ile alc on the highways the traffic safety engineer investigates vesti gates and recommends the removal by the commission of hazards to highway safety and has charge ot of highway signs signals and other traffic control devices the executive secretary of 0 the highway safety council also secretary ry ot of the governors coordinating highway safety committee cooperates with these agencies in carrying into effect the purposes ot at the council and the committee in promoting a hf highway hway safety program the statistical engineer assembles and analyses fiscal legal and engineering data tor for the information of c departments and tor for preparation ot at reports in addition to other activities in relation to administration the gasoline inspector has charge of 0 the enforcement ot of the law pertaining to specifications and grades of 0 motor fuels tor for sale sala at retail and the rules and regulations ot of the commission the superintendent ot of shops has supervision ot of the commissions shops and yards in north salt lake where malor major repairs are made on road equipment and where there to la also located a sign shop the district engineers have charge under the chief and assistant engineers ot of location construction and maintenance in their respective spec tive districts and ot at the shops in which minor repairs are made i on road equipment each district engineer has an assist assistant amt dis district brict engineer and the requisite clerical force all payrolls ot at the district office of at location and construction parties and ot at maintenance foremen are cleared through the district office mee as are also all 0 order r der memoranda and requisitions originating in the district districts maintain some stock ot of office supplies and materials and tools equipment charged to each district Is bloused in III the sheds or shops most convenient to place ot at use right of way early in the tha history ot of utah it 11 became the practice to designate highway widths in units of 0 chain 1 measurement thus the width commonly adopted was 66 feet with gome lew few lesser widths such as 2 rod or 3 rod lanes on unimportant roads near urban areas widths ct cf 6 or 8 rods were usually established in many instances the original I 1 na I 1 width due to inadequate I county records cannot be determined usage in such cases governs the tha present width and in I 1 straightening the tight right ot of way una line abutting owners must be paid tor for moving back their fences and for the land taken tax records are not likely to shed any light on the th extent ot of the public ownership because as a rule the abutting owner pays taxes on the land occupied by the highway in part to assert the publics claim as to highway width and also as a guide for subsequent designations the legislature in 1897 provided that the minimum width ot of highways outside ot of cities and towns should be 66 teet feet this limitation was removed by the amendment ot of 1917 wherein it was provided that the state road commission and the county commissioners should determine what the right ot of way widths should be on their respective road systems this la Is still the law OG 36 1 4 R S 1933 either the county commissioners or the tha road commission may remove encroachments encroach ments 36 1 12 to 36 1 16 it S 1933 under the tha provisions ot of chapter 76 79 laws ot of 1911 2911 the county commissioners ners were authorized and required to secure the right ot of way tor for any state road in the location designated by the state road 1 commission this continued a county countr responsibility until 1933 when t the state road commission was em cm powered to obtain rights ot of way tor for I 1 state to roads ads chapter 28 laws ot at 1933 however throughout the tha period ot of county responsibility it 1 was customary for or the commission and county to join in agreements agreement t cover covering ing grants from railroad companies and tor for the tha commission to assume thereby certain obligations with respect to construction maintenance te nance liance and operation ot of the tha highway it was also usual tor for the th state stata and county to loin join in agreements granting easements to public utilities relative to use ot at state highway right ot of way subsequent to the tha law of 1933 it Is the assumption that the state owns and controls all right ot of way for state roads and county cooperation is never required 6 to bo be continued ContI nUM |