Arizona republican., 1914-08-09
WOULD LINK UP
 COUNTY SEATS
Proposed State Highway System to Be Composed of Co-ordinating Units - Report of What Has Been Accomplished

That the state highway system as provided for under the $5,000,000 bond issue will be composed of co-ordinat- ting county units connecting every county seat in the state is the state- ment of State Engineer Lamar Cobb, in the preface to the annual report oi the state engineer The report also contains a comparison of the amount of road work done under the old territorial road law, and that which has been accomplished under the state road law. The preface to En- gineer Cobbs report, which will be ready for distribution August Ia, fol- lows:
 When this administration assumed office, February 14, 1912, a tentative state highway system had been adopt ed consisting of a road from Yuma to Clifton and one from Douglas to the Grand Canyon. The routes se- lected had become fixed to a certain extent by the construction of several units of their length and, though not meeting with entire approval. they had also become fixed in the public mind as the state highways. It was, therefore, thought best not to make any changes in their location as it would undoubtedly lead to others by succeeding administrations resulting in state highways that would start nowhere and end nowhere" thus de- feating one object of the state road roads composed of -ordinating county units connecting every county seat in the state. After the passage of the present state road law, June 20, 1912, which divides the state road fund among the various coun ties, it was necessary to select other state highways traversing those coun- ties not on the two previously select ed routes. This has been done by the several boards of supervisors and the state engineer This proposed system of state highways comprises approXi mately 1900 miles of roads connecting all the county seats and nearly all the principal towns in the state. Un der the operation of the territorial and state road laws, improvements made and approximate cos. thereof are as follows:
 Territorial Road Law to June 30, 1912 10S miles of road improved ....... 1os miles of road improved .$44S, 900
 structed Cover 100 1t. in
 
 State Road Law to June 30, 1914. 143 miles of road improved. .$330, 900 1908 linear feet of bridges con
 structed lover 100 feet in
 length ................... l0l,o0O
 Note-Depreciation of equipment in cluded in cost.
 The mileage of roads improved with the state road fund is small con- sidering the total mileage of the pro- posed system and their completion with the present annual road fund is far removed however. the worst places between counties and those bearing the greatest amount of traffic are gradually being improved by permanent construction, so. even without additional means, they are being put in much better condition year by year and will some day be completed.
 The value of this department to the taxpayers of the state cannot be measured by the roads that have been built under it's administration for the examples of proper road construc tion it furnishes in every county is of greatest value to officials charged with the expenditure of county road funds. The boards of supervisors in eight of the fourteen counties have called upon this office for advice relative to road and bridge construc- tion, four for plans and specifications, and four for our engineers to locate or superintend county road construc tion covering expenditures of approxi- matelv $100,000. Since the creation of this department there has been a marked improvement in the type of road work in every county in the state which is largely attributable to the demonstration work done by this office. This improvement IS shown both in location and construction, however, the former which is of the greatest importance has not received the consideration it should have. Few county roads are now located in na- tural water courses, grades exceeding 10 per cent are rare and more atten- ton is being given to protection ditches and other drainage; however, their drainage openings are as a rule entirely too small, as, for instance, SC inch culvert to carry the water ne- cessitating a 50 foot railroad bridge In 1909 less than $2O0000 was expend- ed on road work in Arizona. In 19lo over $500,000 will be expended by boards of supervisors on county roads, exclusive of bond issues of which s63O 900 have been voted in the past two years.
 If the work of this department for the past two years has been success full. it is due to the cordial co-opera- tion of the Board of Control anu Boards of Supervisors; to the press and the public, irrespective of po- litical faith, who have endeavored to assist in every possible manner in the building of a state highway system,