The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-12-19
Engineering Expense Jumped.

I
hundred and eleven dollars a mile for
engineering expenses for county
roads is too high.
/ The fault lies in the system. Vt
would be just as costly as il is no
matter who had supervision II they
lived 200 miles away from construC-
ton. 1t. is the cost of travelling and
the cost Of keeping man on the job
when it is not necessary but keep
! ing him there because he is 50 far
away from headquarters that it costs
rs much TO travel back and forth as
| it does to remain on are ground. Ply
| having local engineer in charge.
time and money are saved. When
! he has lined out the construction
work for several days ahead, he can
leave and do other work.
Note on state aid road No. 81 the
following figures:
Engineering location (under
county engineer) $4,000
Engineering construction
(under county enginecr) 9S.25
/ VII oIulC titl lOCu AfO. tiiC lOl-
| lowing figures:
Engineering location (unfer
county engineer) ...S192.50
Engineering construction
(under state highway de-
partmenD ............ SOLO
Note the proportion of location to
construction engineering in the two
roads.
Another point where the state
works at a disadvantage is in not
understanding local conditions For
instance in this dry country on this
side Of the mountains the flow of wa
| ter in the water courses is very ir-
regular. Most of the year there il
| rain for several days and there will
| be a torrent.
The state will put in a costly re-
enforced concrete culvert by 8 or 4
| by feet, which would be all right
| in wet country where the flow of
water is mere or less regular, but
which in this country when the wa
| ter gets up and the culvert gets clog
ged and cannot carry the water, the
| water seeps through the dirt fill and
washes around the culvert. This is
what occurred on state aid road No.
81 only month Or two after it was
finished. A short span bridge IL or
| ID feet long, SET on concrete walls
or dry stone walls will take care OF
all the water and be less costly.
One point where the state over
estimates the work is in the clear
ing and grubbing. For instance, in
| the estimate for the proposed state
aid road at Pesh3stin there are items
| of clearing and grubbing the road
for $500. This road is 100 feet long,
or slightly less than a mile and a
half. There is $50 feet of rock wall
ing and grubbing. There is an addi-
on which there is, of course. no clear
tional 1850 feet which runs across
a plOughed field CIR on the present
county road on which there is no
more clearing and grubbing than on
Wenatchee avenue. The balance, or
| $500 feet follows the present tray
eled road more or less and there are
a few scattering pine and fir trees to
| be cleared for $500.
These are only two items. Then
| there is the delay of writing back
and forth from county commissioners
| TO state highway commissioner, there
are misunderstanding and in conSe-
quence more or less antagonism.
For reasons Gas heretofore stated
which under the present system are
unavoidable. the estimates fer en-
cheering, drainage and other items
appear unrcasonably high to the
county commissioners. But the coun-
| ty has Hobsou's choice with state aid
1t either applies for and uses the
state aid money fbefore September
each year, under the control of the
state highway commissioner with
expenses that it considers too high
or else loses the money it has already
paid TO the state. If the county COM
shastin state aid road they will lose
the $4,000 they have paid as half
mill levy of last years taxes and any
other county that has $4,000 more
can use it on its roads.
More than one Of the smaller
counties in the state have lost their
state aid money because they have
not been able to raise like amount
to go with it. Spokane county and
other large counties have had the
money and have absorbed the money
raised by the weaker counties. So
far this county has not lost any Of it's
state aid money but has used it and
will undoubtedly continue to use it
as long as there is state aid, not be-
cause it gets value received, but be-
cause it if does not the county would
lose to the state, with absolutely no
return, $4,000 year and an increas-
ing amount each year in proportion
to the valuation.
If the state highway commission
err could be retained only in a con-
sulting capacity in so far as the i'm
provement of county roads are con-
cerned; if it could collect data con-
corning good road surfacing and 9TH
er valuable information and slye 1t
| to the various county engineers, it
might be a benefit.
Let the highway commissioner at
tend to the purely state roads that
conect different counties and differ
ent parts of the state through 1ery
difficult country and other divides
thnr tho ios- mould