Show HISTORY t OF THE STATE ROAD commission OF UTAH 1909 1939 by H V RICHARDS statistical lea engineer continued from tut lost t ut week in taking tailing or accepting land for or a highway 8 y the public acquires ires an easement casement only A transfer of 0 land bounded by a highway passes the title of 0 the person whose estate Is transferred to the middle of the highway all deeds lor for state high elsh way right of 0 way now name the state road commission as grantee the expressed intent ot of the deed la Is to grant an easement en tor for highway purposes highway purposes include in addition to ordinary transportation the use of the highway under appropriate license by public utilities and municipalities for or pipe lines waro lines and similar facilities in obtaining such deed the commission settles nil all claims ot of the holder of the tee fee and ot of lien holders with respect to taxation of ladds held under private ownership the distinction as between private and public rights Is clarified through the recording ot of these right ot of way deeds as construction st and improvement proceed on the state highway system and the abutting owner relieved iron from paying taxes on the portion of 0 the fee co occupied by the highway granted right of 0 way returns to the holder ot of the tee fee and to the tax rolls where the highway Is relocated or abandoned school land or other land held by the state ot of utah under grant from the united states Is considered as having the tama same status as private lands with respect to procurement ot of high way right ot of way thereon rod and the tha toad road commission payi pays to the state land board the value thereof through federal cooperation the state Is usually granted a right ot of way feet wide through lands tn in the public domain as construction proceeds in federal reservations the maximum grant Is normally feet where right ot of way through the public domain has liot hot been otherwise established the commission through its resolution ot of april 14 1927 claims a width ot of teet feet which width Is the commissions minimum standard tor for all rights ot of way in cases where it Is considered that construction will be unduly delayed pending final settlements tor for rights ot of way the statutes relative to eminent domain chapter 61 of title R S 1933 permit I 1 occupancy through appropriate court action ot of the premises sought to be ba condemned and thereby un der court order construction may proceed where matters of rights of way present complications such action la Is often taken as a matter of 0 routine procedure dare the complaint naming as parties defendant all ail persons from whom right of 0 way Is to be obtained within the limits of a designated project usually thereafter settlement of all claims la is affected without further court action but where a settlement considered equitable cannot be obtained through negotiation trial Is had on the issue improvement of the state highway system reference must be had bad to the record of progress in this and pre ceding biennial reports to abt obtain a in in detail the tha history of the en gingering El gi accomplishments of the commission in highway construction I 1 As indicated in this history under administrative function and income there are tour principal periods tit in which the record ot of construction st may be divided both with respect to fund volume and availability tor for general purpose over the three decades these periods divide at the years 1917 1925 and isia the first seven years of construction st are characterized by the concept that the local property owner should bear the major share of costs and ana hence the very meager state appropriations and a bond issue ol of minor consequence under this financial setup set up durable construction st except as to bridges was very limited the roads were narrow slid and completed in the main to graded earth type maintenance tinder the plan of county financing could no not t be standardized in general the roads could not be classed as better than passable during the winter and early aprin sprin spring 9 months and at that only tor for sleighs of 0 other horse drawn traffic trade the road commission did not include automobiles in its equipment until during the tha summer months the dust on oil the in ino o heavily travelled roads was extreme ine and in ill the north central count counties les an expensive pi plan an ot of water supply and sprinkling was inaugurated the year 1917 ushers I 1 in it the program 0 of f pavement e construction financed from the bond issues and it also marks the beginning of 0 the federal aid program the funds continued to be concentrated on the tha heavily travelled roads to the general neglect ot of the outlying ut lyIng regions a situation resulting irom from the financial limitations ot of local cooperators cooperator a as well as from the imperative need for or getting the out of 0 the mud 1 I also there was no well developed design tor for between g ravel gravel and the tha expensive high type pavements table r F P discloses this limitation ot of surface types and the yearly progress made even as late as aa 1921 only a little littia had been accomplished in improving the interstate ter state highways across s the sparsely populated border count counties the tourist guide books ot of those days show that hat negotiation ot of su six malor major routes entering the state was waa difficult and slow by such warnings as impassable when wet s and more dean definite was the uniform instruction to carry food ua ina water the notable changa chiango produced by the gasoline tax ot of 1923 has been described and its influence marks a transition to it a new era la in when the state relieved the counties ot of the greater part of maintenance costs and extended the system ot of patrol maintenance also the use ot of the revenue furnished by the tax was quickly extended to the purpose of cooperating in the costs ot of federal aid projects throughout the designated system the states program in 1921 estimated 10 years to complete the federal aid system with standard gravel surface and some additional mileage of concrete this assumption did not allow for the subsequent increase in weight volume and speed of traffic which factors have advanced and continue to advance in proportions unbelievable in 1924 the federal aid system Is still not completed and probably will not be until the tha saturation point Is reached in the use ot of the highways roads that were satisfactory is in years gone by become inadequate mainly because 1 they are not wide enough to expedite the traffic volume carried 2 the alignment Is too tortuous and the sight distance too limited for speed ranges that have doubled 3 bridges designed tor for heavier loads and wider roadway become necessary in 1924 the excellent standard gravel surface began to dis distinti tinte grate under traffic the problem appeared unsolvable within the tha limits ot of any reasonable expenditure until in 1927 the western states developed a new type ot of surface asphalt lc oil and gravel mixed in place on the road or in plants concrete surface ot of the period 18 feet wide cost an average of per mile tor for stab slab alone the new dustless and durable surfacing for roads carrying up to 2000 vehicles per day could be built with adequate base tor for per mile or less the table shows how bow this surfacing has solved the problem in utah nt at least I 1 t for the time bel being the year 1927 Is also the date ot of commencement ot of the present signing system used on state and U S highways the year 1933 marts marks the beginning ot of the most recent stage in the evolution ot of construction with the greatly augmented federal funds then made available making it possible to advance the construction program materially it la Is also about the time when standards in design were materially raised in order to serve more adequately the an augmented dented weight and speed of traffic le to instance highway widths only multiple lanes lanea are being more extensively used but where only two lanes are constructed the old 18 foot standard has been increased to 22 foot width surface on main highways with tour four to eight toot foot shoulders and 1 surface width on lesser roads except that 18 feet Is the width of 0 surface on toads roada bearing the lightest travel thus the maximum standard of a few years ago has become the minimum in the design established tor for modernization research studies prior to the planning survey studies begun in 1936 traffic surveys were made by the tha commission lit la 1915 1925 1927 1930 and 1931 1934 the records ot of the survey ot of 1916 1915 are lost except tor for a brief description in the commissions commission a third biennial report with samples ot of forms used and the data thereon summarized data tor for the tha surveys are published la in the biennial reports except the record tor for the 1934 survey which was not published full detail ot of the tha 1930 survey with analysis and forecasts Is published in I a report ot of the bureau ot of public roads entitled report ot of a survey ot of trat fie on the federal aid highway systems ot of eleven western states A set ot of traffic flow accompanying the report ns as a supplement la is published separately the traffic surveys have been useful tn in determining priority in construction pro grains and the type ot of construction highway accident records have been kept during the past six years and have aided materially the program ot of highway safety research by the materials department part ment has included both original investigations and the tha checking ot of the work ot of other agencies the work has included investigations of native rock asphalts asp halts oils and oll oil gravel mixes construction method I 1 in n laying portland cement concrete pavement and freezing and thawing tests la in connection with these pavements to determine it if possible the cause and cure of 0 scaling tests ot of road marking paint and now under way Is a program ot of soil investigation all ot of this work results in or Is intended to produce I 1 improvement marov in materials and in construction c on st or maintenance meth methods |