Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 122, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 May 1919 — More Highway Construction This Year Than Ever Before in Our History [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

More Highway Construction This Year Than Ever Before in Our History

By D.F. HOUSTON

Secretary of Agriculture

During the war it was necessary to curtail roadconstruction operations because of the difficulties of securing transportation, materials and the requisite services. Now that the situation has changed the work will be actively resumed. It is not believed that the people of the nation can wait for prices to recede before beginning industrial operations. Such hesitatioh will add to the difficulties instead of lightening them. The congress at its last session not only made available from the federal treasury* large additional sums for construction in co-operation with the states but also

made important amendments to the federal aid road act. These amendments will have the effect of greatly lessening the difficulties of selecting and constructing needed roads. The amount of federal funds available for road building on March 1 was over $72,900,000, which under the law must be matched by at least an equal amount from the states,, making a total of $145,800,000, including approximately $9,800,000 from federal and state sources for roads in the national forests. On July 1 $95,000,000 more of federal funds will become available for general road purposes and $4,000,000 for nations forest roads, which, with equal contributions from the states, will provi e an additional $198,000,000 for federal aid road work, making an aggregate sum of $343,800,000 for the calendar year. In other words the 1919 program for federal aid road building is greater than any previous annual road-building accomplishments m this country. It is so great, in fact, that the states will undoubtedly defer taking up part of the federal funds.until 1920, because experienced contracting and engineering organizations must be developed from the stagnant conditions of the war period. The states and their civil subdivisions also will carry on a large amount of road work without federal aid. The present indications are that approximately $280,000,000 will be spent in this way. The indications are that a larger volume of highway construction wi be accomplished this season than in any previous year m the history of the nation.