Albuquerque morning journal., 1910-12-09
PRESENT IMPORTANT
PERIOD IN GOOD
ROAD WORK
Highway Administration Un-
der-Going Radical Change
Says Secretary of Agricul-
ture'S Report Just issued

By reason of a rather remarkable
combination of conditions, the i'm
mediate present may be considered
the most important period in the ms
tory of road Improvement in the
United States, says the annual report
of the secretary of agriculture. II
continues: The old systems of road
involving the prln-
ciple Of extreme localizaton are last
breaking up, and new systems, IN
volving the principle of centrallzauoh'
are taking their place. ROAD auiiilH
istration is, therefore, in TRANSITIONAL
or formative stage, and it Is Of the
utmost Importance that the movement
be directed along right lines.
II is a curious coincidence tnat the
introduction of the motor Venice at
about the time when these changes IN
administration began has brought
about traffic conditions which nave
necessitated an equally radical de-
parture from old methods OF con-
strtction and maintenance. 1t VIII
thus be seen that the entire subject
of road improvement, involving ad-
lninistratiOn, construction and main
tenance is passing through an eX-
ceedfngly important period, in Whlen
The educational and scientific work OF
this branch of the government ser
vice should prove, of the greatest
value.
Object Lesson and Experimental
Roads.
During the past year the office of
public roads has continued giving in
structfon in the4 methods of road
building peculiarly adapted to each
locality. This instruction has been
given through the medium of object
at nNT
under the supervision of an engineer
from the office. That results of con-
siderable magnitude have been ac-
complished under this project is
shown by the fact that during the
past fiscal year there were completed
] ,007570 square yards of road, equiva-
lent to about ia mics of road tif-
teen feet wide, as compared with 69o'-
600 square yards for the previous
fiscal year. Viewed as a construction
record alone this would constitute an
excellent showing, but, when it Is
considered that this mileage was made
up of fifty-five object lesson roads,
each constituting a miniature school
Of road building, comprising ten dis
ti1ct types of construction, 1t must
be evident that this feature of the
departments work is powerful
factor in the promotion of the move
menf LOT lne DtlleIIitllt u tif PupiiN
roads.
1t is the practice of the office to in
spect from time to time the various
object lesson and experimental roads,
and to ascertain what has been the
effect of their construction upon the
loca ity. Last year twenty-five object
lesson roads, aggregating about twen-
ty-two miles We're inspected, and It
was found upon the actual reports Of
the local officials in charge that these
twenty-five short sections of road had
directly resulted in the building of
$50 miles of additional roads, accord
ing to the same method, and had
brought about the expenditure,
through bond issues. Of $500, 600.
Advisory Work.
The advisory work of the office
during the year covered a wide field.
relating to construction Of various
types of road, surveys, use of conviets
in road work, bridge constructions,
maintenance. use of the split log drag
road materials effect of automobiles