The Yale expositor., 1910-12-16
100 MILES OF
STATE ROADS
HIGHWAY COMMISSIONER ROC.
ERS TELLS OF REWARD AND
COUNTY SYSTEMS.
COST OF ROADS TO MICHIGAN
NEARLY TWO MILLloNs-MA-
TERlAL GETTING SCARCE.
Extracts from Paper Read by High
way Commissioner Rogers at
Convention at indianapolis.

Progress of Road Building in
Michigan" was the title of Deputy
Highway Commissioner Rogers pa
per, the feature of the closing session
of the convention OF American road
builders at Indianapolis.
Following are the important fea-
lures of the address:
Michigan has 5S,O15 square miles of
territory, divided into SO counties,
which in turn are divided into 1926
organized townships. the latter being
the units of rural government. The
10000 miles of public wagon roads
which serve our state are all under
township control. except certain roads
in counties which voluntarily adopt
the county road system and come UNI
der the direct supervision OF town
ship highway commissioner.
I'm the counties which have adopt ed
the county road system, "a In all, such
roads as the county road commits sion-
ers see Mt TO adopt are constituted
improved with county funds, but all
other roads in such counties remain
township roads and are maintained
and improved with township funds.
Any county can make application for
and receive state reward when the
road in question has been improved in
conformity with the states specifica-
lions and accepted by the highway de-
partment. The coming legislature Will
be asked to provide another class al
lowing rewards for concrete roads
built under the states specifications.
100 Miles Are Built.
"The Michigan state aid law became
operative July 1, 1905, and the fol-
built in each of the last FIVE years.
show that IL is increasing in popular
ity; In 1905, 20 miles in road were
built. in 1906, 40 in 1907 so, in 1908.
IL 4
of 7SO miles in the six years. On July
l, 1910, the close of the fifth fiscal
year, there had been completed 545.5
miles OF state reward road at a cost
og $1,732, 995.32. on which $292,299 of
state reward was paid. This shows the
average cost of roads of all classes
for the first five years was $3.50 a
mile, while the average state reward
22G per cent of the total cost OF the
roads built Roads have been built in
81 of the SO counties and in 361 town
ships.
"iThe legislature has appropriated all
told 100000 for the use of the state
highway department during IT'S first six
years ending July l, 1911, 100000 Of
this is TO pay state rewards, and 500
600, only 10 per cent of the money paid
for bonus, was set apart for depart.
ment expenses. Michigan Is not as
well supplied with road building ma
terialS as many other states Gravel
is not as we'll distributed, and the
only available road building rocks in
the lower peninsula are quarry lime
stone and field cobbles
''Of the 5455 miles of road com plet-
ed on July l, 54.4 per cent were gravel
13 macadam. with the rema ming 1-2
per cent divided among the various
state reward combination roads. About
eight miles of two layer concrete
roads built in Wayne county. in
which the coarse aggregate is crush
ed stone, are included in the macadam
mileage. Except near cities the motor
cars have not seriously injured
Michigan roads Thus far. with one
or two exceptions, WAYNE Saginaw
and Bav counties are the only ones
that have attempted anything to re-
sist motor cor wear. In Rav county
nothing has been done except to coat
their water-hound limestone macadam
roads with oil once n year. usually in
July Saginaw is trying concrete for
the first time"