Milford chronicle., 1913-12-19
REPORT OF GOVERNMENT
HIGHWAY COMMISSIONER

The report of w. ]. R. Weir. High.
way Engineer of U. S. Department OF
Public Roads, Washington. D. c.. was
received by the Sussex County Lew
Court on Tuesday.
1t will be recalled that the Levy Court
during the latter part of the summer re-
quested that an expert be sent here. Mr..
Weir was here for nearly a month and
visited every part of the county.
His report was typewriter and was
about % pages long. 1t is made up of OBJ
servations, suggestions and recommen-
dations of general study and inspection of
the road situation within this county, de-
posits of road material examined, meth
DDS of conducting road work, both in
point of construction and administration,
were noted. Road building material as
found in the county is fully treated
Shell roads, gravel roads, sand-clay and
/ natural soil roads are also fully treated,
/ also drainage. He notes that the roads
of the county have been generally al
lowed to deteriorate through lack of
maintenance after construction.
Under Administration and Finance"
tits shown that about S53, 900 is available
for road construction and maintenance
annually within the county. By the
present system of road administration
in the past ten years one-half million dol
lars have been expended on the roads in
the county, and the results have fallen
far short of what might have been ac-
cOmplished under proper use of this
amount of money.
The report is positive, and coming from
% Ls,-oI L.-
sociations, hits the point when he says
1.-The system fails in meeting the needs
of the work to be done because it creates
confusion of authority, division of re-
sponsibility, lack of organization of con-
struction forces, lack of concentration of
management. Authority in one capa-
BILE and qualified person. namely the en-
gineer, and because, so far as road mat
ters are concerned, nearly all the bene-
fits that should arise from county gov
ernment as against that of districts or
any smaller units are lost.
Some of the disadvantages arising from
this lack or organization on a definite
county basis are 1st, a regular road
force connOt be maintained; I'd, the du-
plication of equipment; 3rd, there is no
concentration of effort to develop sys-
TEN of county roads.
The recommendations that are submit
ted to the Levy Court and the people of
Sussex County in general, as the essen
tial features of a solution of the local
road problems which will secure, sub
stantially. without change in the law or
rate of taxation, practical and efficient
system of administration, conservation
and maintenance of the roads of the
county. 1st, it is recommended that
the present practice of allowing tax by
labor on the county roads be abolished
I'd, the powers and duties of the office
of Engineer be increased by giving to
it the expenditure of all roads funds.
The Engineer should have complete
authority over all matters pertaining to
the construction and maintenance drain
age Sd, it is recommended that the
number of road supervisors be reduced
from twenty to five, and each of these
shall be placed in charge of a regular
county road force. A detailed state
ment of costs is given and it is very in
teresting reading.
For lack of space this week we can
not give the report the attention that it
deserves. We will publish the report
in later editions of the Chronicle.