Arizona sentinel and Yuma weekly examiner., 1914-08-20
STATE ENGINEER LAMAR COBB REPORTS THE
 PROGRESS IN ROAD BUILDING IN ARIZONA

State Engineer Lamar Cobb will re port to the governor that, of the 150O miles of state road proposed to be built, 251 miles are completed and that 3420 lineal feet of permanent bridges have been built This last figure in. cludes only bridges longer than 100 fleet
 The proposed system will connect all the county seats of the state with Phoenix by permanent highways. The first work done was the building of the necessary bridges and the replace ,, ment of dangerous proportions of the several roads. The preface to the for nal report will say:
 "When this administration assumed office on February A, 1912, a tentative state highway system had been adopt ed, consisting of road from Yuma to Clifton and one from Douglas to the Grand Canyon The routes select l ed had become fixed to a certain eX- tent 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, there fore, thought best not to make any changes in their location as it would undoubtedly lead to others by succeed ing administration resulting in state highways that would start nowhere and end nowhere thus defeating one object of the state road appropriations, state system of roads composed of co-ordinating county units connecting every county seat in the state.
 After the passage of the present state road law on June 20, 1912, which divides the state road fund among the various counties, it was necessary to select other state highways traversing those counties not on the two previous l ly selecte droutes. This has been done | by the several boards of supervisors and the state engineer.
 'This proposed system of state high ways comprise approximately 15OO miles or roads connecting all the coun- ty seats and nearly all the principal | towns in the state. Under the opera tion of the territorial and state road laws, improvements made and approx innate cost thereof are as follows:
 Territorial road law to June 30, 1912-10S miles of road improved, $44S 900; 1872 lineal feet of bridges con structed Cover 100 feet in length, $144,O00.
 State road law to June 30, 1914 143 miles or road improved, $330, 1908 lineal feet of bridges constructed Cover 100 feet in length), $101, ,000. (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
 
 lis far removed; however, the worst places between counties and those bearing the greatest amount of traffic are gradually being improved by per moment construction, so, even with out additional means, they will be put in much better condition year by year and some day completed.
 '"The value of this department tc 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 construction | it furnishes in every country is of great value to officials charged with the expenditure of county roads funds.
 The boards of supervisors in eight | of the fourteen counties have G He'd | upon this office for advice relative to road and bridge construction, four for plans and specifications and four for our engineers to locate CT superintend county road construction covering ex- penditures of approximately $100,000.
 Since the creation of this depart ment there has been marked i'm in the type of road work in every county in the state, which is largely attributable to the demonstra- tion work done by this office This is shown both in location and construction; however, the former which is of the greater importance, has not received the consideration it should have. Few county roads are now located in natural water courses, grades exceeding 10 per cent are very rare and more attention is being given to protection ditches and other drain age; however, their drainage openings are as a rule entirely too small, as 'or instance a 36-inch culvert to carry he water necessitating a 50-foot rail- :. 'oad bridge. In 1909 less than $200,000 vas expended on road work in Ari-