Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 215, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 September 1912 — Home Course In Road Making [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Home Course In Road Making

IV.—State Aid In Road Improvement

By LOGAN .WALLER PAGE,

Director Office of Public Roads, United States Department of Agriculture. c-y. * v.,, a .1-1 -i _i ■j. __ a vopyngm oy American itmi awoelation, USX

principle of state aid and I state supervision seems to of"v JL iter the best solution of the road problem. The first state to adopt state aid was New Jersey, a law having been passed by the legislature of that state In 1891. Since that time about two-thirds of the states of the Union have adopted some form of state aid or state supervision. In order to receive the aid of the state the counties or townships are required to pay a portion of the cost This amount' varies in the different Btates from 25 to 50 per cent, but In soiqp of the states the whole cost of

certain trunk line roads is paid by the state. The principle of state aid is that the state-contribute to road im-, provement out of a general fund to which all taxpayers contribute. The fund does not come from farmers alone, but from all the people, and especially from those that are more abundantly able to bear the burden of taxation. A great Injustice has been done the farmers of this country In expecting them alone to shoulder the entire expense and responsibility of building country roads. .The residents of cities have signified a greater willingness to contribute to this fund than those who live In the rural districts, -notwith.landing the fact that practically all the state aid lews prohibit the use of the money within the limits of cities and towns. State aid tends to equalise the burden of taxation. . Every one who uses a highway or receives any benefit from it should contribute to the cost of its improvement The farmer is not the only one who uses the country roads or receives benefit from them. They are also used by the country merchant, the lumber dealer, the Itinerant peddler, the Village doctor, the commercial salesman* by the wheelman and the automobilist, and to a greater or lesser extent by the entire people. The city dweller cannot live without his daily supplies from the farm, and he must pay daily and In cash the greater share of all extra cost attending their transpdrtptlpn. Some of the state highway departments are operated on a purely political basis, and It very frequently happens that the highway commissioners, as well as their subordinates, are removed from office for purely political reasons, no matter bow efficient or competent they may be. This is the most serious defect in our state aid system. Any law providing for state supervision and state aid should be so framed as to remove its administration as far as possible from the influence of partisan politics. A plan that seeips to be meeting with general approval is one which provides for a nonpald, nonpartisan and technically competent commission that consists, for instance, of a professor of dvtf engineering, from ope of the leading qniversitiea or colleges of the'state, the state geologist and one civilian member to* be appointed by the gOVsrhbr. A commission thus constituted has a majority of its members selected because of tbeir training and ability and without reference to tbeir political affiliations. The civilian member ap. pointed /by foe governor abound brin| to the commission the business abflit? essential, to the proper and eqoocftafc organization and prosecution of fts work.' At the same time, m long as the governor could appoint *on^y. the minority of the commission and the same being nonpald, there would be little lndnrement to make the position one of political preferment. ?■ The. actual work of'o state highway department should be under the direction of due .man possessing technical qualifications, experience and executive ability. This official should be appointed by the commission. He should be a civil engineer, skilled and experienced in road construction and maintenance, and bis salary should 4e fixed by the commission. His position should be permanent, and he should not be re moved except for incompetence or malfeasance Ip office.

The state highway eng?ieer should be empowered to appoint all of .hls 'asslstants after proper examination and with the advice and consent of the commission, to receive ill! bldfl and to award contracts, to supervise the work of construction and maintenance, and, In fact, he should be given full authority In all executive work of the department. The. state highway engineer should prepare a map of such of the main highways of the state as should most properly constitute s system of state or trunk line roadrtobeimproved either in port or wholly by the state. State road Improvement should he carried forward, with the ultimate Idea of developing a continuous system' of trunk lines running throughout the state and connecting, If possible, with jlmllar trunk line roads In adjacent states and with the necessary lateral roads in each conuty. The state highway engineer should be given authority to call on-county or township road officials for Information concerning (the roads under their supervision, and it should be made mandatory on such officials to furnish such information upon request This 1b very desirable, as It is necessary for the state highway department to keep posted as to conditions existing In different counties. In most of the state aid lqws the' Initiative In obtaining state aid rests with the county or township authorities. This is a wise provision, because, in the first place, the local authorities are in better position to know what roads it will be* to the greatest advantage of the county or township to Improve, and, In the second place, they are best able to determine the extent of the county’s ability to share in the expense of such an improvement. Another consideration of great importance in this connection is that if the initiative were to rest entirely with the state there would be a certainty of conflict of authority between the state and the counties, resulting in the ultimate failure of the state aid plan. The only case in which the roads can be bollt by the state without the full and hearty co-operation of the counties or townships is where the state pays the entire cost of building and maintaining the roads. Most of the laws'provide that state aid shall not be granted until the application, of the local authorities has been approved by the state engineer, which enables the engineer tb exercise a sort 6f supervisory power over the selection of the roads to be improved, to the end that, the various roads throughout the state shall conform to a general system. - . Alt surveys, plans, specifications and estimates for state roads and bridges should be made by the state highway engineer’s office, thus insuring ’uni; fortuity and a high degree of lence. All improvements to cost over, say, $2,000 should be let to contract, as it has been found that this means economy bpth in time and money and with proper supervision Will usually give better results than could be obtained otherwise. Some of the states provide that the Whole cost shall be paid In the first instance by the state, the counties or townships being required to reimburse the state for their share at a fixed time after the road is improved. Bridges and culverts should be considered as a part of the road and the state should aid in their construction within proper limitations in the same .manner as for the road Itself. When tee work is let to contract the contractor must of necessity advance money In the performance of his contract and is therefore entitled to receive partial payments thereon as the same progresses, hut not over 85 per cent of the contract price of the work should be paid in advance of its full completion and acceptance^: The state highway engineer should be required to keep all roads built by the aid of the state in proper repair, thp tote! cost of such repairs to be paid by the state, the counties and townships to reimburse the state in the same Planner as for the construction of the road. The reason for this Is that yoad maintenance is of as great or even greater

importance than road constructions and the best roads if neglected soon go to rate. It is utterly useless to establish a state highway system without at the same time providing an adequate source of revenue. Unless there is a Surplus In the treasury for this purpose a Special tax should be levied or a state bond issue should be authorised. On the theory, that automobiles are destructive to improved roads most of the state aid states provide,that the proceeds of automobile licenses over and above the expenses connected with issuing euch licenses be applied to the state highway fond and used for the purpose of constructing and maintaining the roads. .

A STATS AID ROAD IN NEW JERSEY.

A STATE BOAD IN CONNROTICUT.