Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1903-11-05
GOOD ROADS LAW
misunderstood

/ At the direction of the County Com
missIoners the County Surveyor this
week will make survey of the public
| highway between Danville and Maus.
dale preparatory to petitioning the
State Highway department tor state
aid in road construction.
/ The survey is made i'll compliance
with section 3rd of the SpToul Good
Roads Law. which provides that wher-
ever the County Commissioners of any
county shall represent by petition to
the State Highway Department that
any principal highway in said county
outside of the corporate limits of any
city or borough is not in satisfactory
! condition for comfortable or ecOnOmi cal
travel and ought to be reconstructed
under the provisions of this act and
shall furnish the said department an
accurate plan of the lay out lines, pro-
file and established grade of such high
way it shall DO the duty of the State
Highway Commissioner to examine
such highway or instruct one of his
assistants so to do and if in the judg
ment Of the State Highway Commits
sioner said representation is we'll
founded he shall determine what
changes shall be made in said existing
highway. what portion OF it should be
improved and in what manner and
shall prepare accurate plans and make
careful detailed estimates of the ex-
pense of the work and report the same
to the County Commissioners and the
supervisors of the township or town
ships in which the said highway may
lie.
Application for State aid in recon-
structing the highway between this
city and Mausdalo was made last
spring but by an oversight the very
essential detail OF survey was omit
ted which left the application without
tho plan of layout lines, profile, and
established grade required by the act.
Now that the supervisors have pretty
generally returned the number of
miles of ownship roads and the state
aid available is now ready to be ap-
portioned among the several counties
according TO the road mileage our
Commissioners have decided to renew
their application complying with the
act in the matter of survey TO the end
that they may be among tho first TO
receive assistance in road building.
Obviously there is little time to lose,
as the act provides that if the appro
printion apportioned shall not be ap
piled for "a period OF two years after it
has become available, the amount so
apportioned and set aside by that
county shall be returned to the state
treasury and added to the appropriation
for the current year and distributed
anew.
Many Of the provisions OF the Good
roads law are misunderstood Not n
few of the Supervisors having return
ed their road mileage are under the
impression that each county OF the
state will have a lump sum placed in
its hands, representing its portion OF
the appropriation to be distributed
among the townships and spent i'll road
Improvement.
The truth is that State aid can be
obtained only by complying with the
conditions as set forth in section 3rd.
IT the County Commissioners and
township Supervisors dooide that it is
advisable to 20 on with the work the
State Highway Department may, If
the funds at its disposal permit Of so
doing, contract jointly with the Coun-
ty and township TO carry out the rec
concentrations of the State Highway
Commissioner. the cost of the same
including surveys, grading, material,
construction, &c, to be borne in sixty
six and wo-thirds per centum by the
State, sixteen and two-thirds per cent
um by the county and sixteen and two
thirds per centum by the township.