Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1909-11-17
Road values.

SSo - ~ "FGsrFLaaEsa
Assuming the average width of the
rights of way of country roads insthe
United States to be forty feet, the
area of such rights of way in 1904
amounted to 10,431,727 acres. Estf-'
mating the value of this land on a ba-
sis Of the valuation of farm lands in
each State, the approximate value of
the rights Of way of all the public
roads would be s34l,S99,306. a
much higher valuation would be ans
ply justified by the fact that in sec
lions where the mileage of roads is
greatest the land is considerably
above the average in value. Amuch
higher estimated value would also
result from assuming that rights Of
way Of roads + as valuable as the
contiguous farm lands, which are al
ways worth considerably more than
tie general average. The value of
the rights of way, however, consti-
tutes a very small part oe the value
Of the roads when we take into con-
sideration the amount that is expend-
ed in material and labor in improving
and maintaining them.
1t was generally believed at the
time when railroad building was first
undertaken in this country that the
railroad would supplant the wagon
road, and this line of reasoning ac-
counts in a large measure for the neg
lect of the common roads FROM about
1S35Nuntil about 1890. The neces-
sity for the improvement of the ome
mon roads is impressing itself upon
the people moreinow than at any time
in the history of the country. The
mileage Of public roads is greater
now than it has ever been, and the ex-
tension of railroad and trolley lines
has induced such an amazing develop
ment of the country's resources assto
bring about a remarkable increase in
traffic over the common reads. The
heads Of the great railroad systems
are now seriously directing their eff
forts toward securing the improve
ment Of the common roads, which
they recognize as feeders to their
railroad lines. For every mile Of rail-
road we have about ten miles Of
wagon roads. 8
How Roads Were Ordinarily Laid Out.
The majority of all the roads in
this country were originally laid ont
along the boundary lines of farms,
with little regard for drainage, topo-
graphy and alignment. In the East
ern States the boundary lines of
farms were very. irregular, and cnse-
quently many of theroads are crooked
and badly located with references to
grades. In the Middle West, where
the land was laid out by the Govern
ment, the roads follow the section
lines, and in thickly settled comlnu-
mites, the quarter-section lines. In
compiling these figures the aim has
been to include only the mileage of
roads actually open andiin use.
Only four States have more than
100000 miles of roads. Texas stands
first, with l21,409 miles; MISSOURI
second, with 10S,133; Iowa third,
with 1O2,44S, and Kansas fourth,
with 101,196. The District Of COL
umbia -a3 only 191 miles of road,
Rhode Island has 1851 miles, which
is the smallest mileage of any State.
Delaware has only 5000 and Arizona
only 59S7 miles.
BY comparing the road mileage
with the areas in square miles, the
District of Columbia is found to stand
first, with S.1S miles of road per
square mile Of area, while Connecti-
cut is highest among the States with
$50 miles. Rhode Island mas 2:.24
miles and Pennsylvania 2.21 miles
per square mile Of area. Arizona has
only O.05 Of a mile, the smallest mile
age per square mile; Utah has 0.0S
and Wyoming O.10 Of a mile per
square mile.