The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-11-17
: Road Values.

Assuming the average width or q
rights of way Of country roads in the
United States to be forty feet, the
area of such rights Of way in 1904
amounted to 1~8,431,727 acres. Esti-
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 $341,899,306. A
much higher valuation would be am
ply" justified by the fact that in Sec
tons where the mileage Of roads Is
greatest the land is considerably
above the average in value. A much
higher estimated value would also
result from assuming that rights OF
way Of roads are as valuable as the
contiguous farm lands, which are al
ways worth considerably more than
the general average. The value OF
the rights of way, however, consti-
tutes a very small part Of 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.
It 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 &C
counts in a large measure for the neg
lect of the common roads from about
1885 Until about 1890. The neces-
sity for the Improvement of the COM
mon roads is %impressing itself upon
the people more now than at any time
in the history Of the country. The
mileage of public roads is greater
now than it has ver been, and the ex-
tension Of railroad and trolley lines
has induced such an amazing develop
| .ment of the country's resources as to
! bring about a remarkable increase in
traffic over the common roads. The
heads of the great railroad systems
are now seriously directing their ef-
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. -
How Roads Were Ordinarily Laid Ont
The majority Of all the, roads in
this country were originally laid out
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 we're very irregular, and .conse.
quently manyof theroads are crooked
and badly located with reference 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 :commu'
mites, the quarter-section lines. In
compiling these figures the aim has
been to include only the mileage Of
roads actually open and in use.
Only four States have more than
100 1000 miles of roads. Texas stands
first. with 121,409 miles; Missouri
second, with 108,133; Iowa third
with 102,44S, and Kansas fourth.
with 101,196. The District Of Col
umbia has 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 1887 miles. 4.
BY comparing the road mileage
with the areas in square miles, the
District of Columbia is found to stand
first, with 3.18 miles of road pei
square mile Of area, while Connecti'
cut is highest among the States with
2.90 miles, Rhode Island has 2.24
miles and Pennsylvania 2.21 miles
per square mile of Arizona has
only 0.05 Of a mile, the smallest mile
age per square mile; Utah has COS
and Wyoming 0.10 of a mile pei
square mile.