Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1913-12-19
THE REAL ROAD PROBLEM.
lRy Harry Wilkin Parrxl

| the nODOeS, VINO 40 not rue IN lux
urious automobiles, know that our
present roads are not good enough
the farmers oranges are strongly in
favor of road improvements; farm
land and other property owners know
that a good road in front or near
their property increases it's value;
and every man. woman or youth
who rides a bicycle, drives d horse
or rides in an automobile knows
something of the shortcomings of the
highways, particularly in wet wealth
er.
Good Roads are an Investment.
So it isn't necessary to tell the
people that we need better roads, any
more than Il is necessary TO tell them
/ that we want lower cost OF living.
| Once snow the American people now
! they can get better roaes without
/ feeling the burden of their cost too
( severely, how the improved roads can
/ be kept in good condition at no more
| expense that it costs 10 fix up the
gravel and earth roads, and how
their money spent in building good
roads is really all investment that
will be returned to them with inter-
! est through increased property values
T
horses and vehicles, and by lower
prices on farm and market garden
produce-Once satisfy them on these
points and the question. Where is
the money to come from for road i'm
provement?" will solve itself 1t has
already been settled in New York
state where the two bond issues ag-
gregating S1OO,O0O,0O0 for highway
xrarLr haNra haay1 vofa1 for al
ingly in public elections within the
last six years.
The matter resolves itself then,
into one of economies: Can we make
and maintain good ruads and he bet
ter off financially as well as otherwise
by having them?
Under the old plan of leaving road
work TO the local communities. it
happened, of course. that while cities
and we'll populated and prosperous
suburban and rural sections could
afford good roads, there were many
counties and even whole sections of
states that could not raise the money
necessary for any kind of hard-sur-
faced roads. So the state-aid plan
was evolved. Under it part of the
cost of road building-usually so per
CENTS paid by the state out of
funds raised by taxation of property
as a rule, part by the county and the
remainder by the subdivisions Tween
ty-five states now have state-aid
laws and it is generally recognized
that people who live in the cities de-
rive benefits from the roads Indirect
ly and should help to pay for them.
To be sure. they pay all the cost oS
street Improvement in the cities and
the great majority of them rarely
ride over the rural highways. but be-
cause Of the density of population.
city residents feel the burden of road
taxes much less than their rural
cousins.
$1oo,000,o00 for Roads in New York.
Twelve states at least have gone
further and now actually take over
the entire work and cost of building
the main through roads, which are
designated state roads. Under the
New York state laws, 70 per cent Of
the S100,0O0.000 voted for highway
work will be paid by New York alone,
it is said. And Kansas City pays 95
per cent of the cost of road work in
Jackson County, No, of which it is
the county seat. With the cities
paying the major part of the cost,
the farmer is not likely to be an OBJ
structionist of the good-roads move
ment
Maintenance.
Now, conceding that the people
want better roads and that the money
is or will be forthcoming to build
them. the real problem is how to
spend the money wisely. This is
ter1,x les eli nd
engineers are wrestling with all over
the country. but more particularly in
the east, where population is densest
and the roads, bear the most traffic.
Roads that met the traffic needs fair
ly we'll a dozen years ago will not
sustain the mixed traffic of horse
drawn vehicles. automobiles and mo-
tor trucks of the present time. The
dust which is ground off the road
surface by the iron shoes of the hor
ses and the iron tires of wagon
wheels. and which is needed to
cement the fragments of stone to-
gether. is sucked by the swift auto
mobiles and blown away by the wind.
The road surface then quickly ravels
and the road goes to pieces. Unless
repairs are made promptly. water
base of the road so that heavy trucks
or farm wagons break through and it
is not long before the road needs to
be rebuilt. The Massachusetts Road
Commissioners cite examples of new
roads that were built in sections re-
mote from any large cities and which
went to pieces in less than year
and consequently had to be resurfac-
ed at a cost of 81 400 mile
In the New England states and in
England and France, " here the road
systems have already been built.
much more money is spent for road
maintenance than for construction.
1t costs more than $500 mile per
year to keep the Massachusetts, state
roads in repair. according to the
highway commissioners. Half mil
lion dollars was spent in 1912 for
maintenance in the Bay state. of
which 100000 was paid out Of the
automobile fund. The average cost
of maintenance and repair in the
wear to keep the Massachusetts, state
Pboda Island New York and New