Milford chronicle., 1914-01-30
DISCUSSION OF PRESENT SYSTEM OF ROAD
ADMINISTRATION

Approxmatelv fifty thousand dollars annually in the
past ten years oneha million dollars have been expended on
the roads of this County The results indicated by the gen
era condition of roads present have fallen Tar snort
amount OF money Without reflection any Individual or
body Of individuals among the road executives OF the Coun
the firm conviction OF the Government Engineer that the
principal and basic for this lies in the netcency o the
present system OF road administration The system las III
meeting the needs OF the work be done because creates
confusion of authority division responsibility lack oi organ
zation construction forces lack of concentration OF man
agement authority in capable and qualified person. namely
engineer and because far road matters are concern
ed nearly the benefits that should arise from county gov
against that OF districts or any smaller UNITS are
In actual practice each OF the ten representative districts
is in all essentials independent administrative unit ne
amount of road accruing from the district IS IN erect
returned the district Tor expenditure there ach Levy
Court member is practically supreme in his own territory with
in the limits of such amount Each district has IT'S own
visors purchases Its own machinery ana equipment sS'0c
independently the location for road Improvement and uses its
methods in the construction OF same Inc supervisors
who under the new law are nomnay responsive 10 le CoY
Engineer reality under the direction OF the respective
Levy Court members The general fund specified Tor eNPend
large by the County Engineer IS III erect apporoheG
and expended in about the same manner as the eca roau
fund
of the disadvantages arising from this lack OF organ
zation a definite County basis,
l. regular road force cannot be maintained. The
amount supervisors allowance any year too small
permit of the organization OF regularly employed force
This leads to the employment OF unsked and Inexperienced
labor mules and horses unused road operations and ncer
equipment 1t limits the employment OF such labor and
such time may be convenient to the parties hred
or hired from 1t is apparent force aggregated
and unsatifactory work
2 The duplication OF equipment. With twenty ndepen-
dent units engaged construction evident that much
machinery and general equipment purchased than IS
actually necessary The average number OF working days per
supervisors district shown the records to be
less than hundred days 1t therefore evident that such
equipment standing idle large part OF the time, accunulat
ing interest and depreciation charges in the meantime Dur
ing the inspection eight grading machines, costing at least
hundred and twenty-five dollars each standing
unprotected the deterorang effects OF the
weather.
g. There is concentration of effort to develop sys-
Of County roads, AS result the local roads subject
general criticism Of being poorly laid out in respect to
the requirements of traffic There too many main roads
Public roads should be classified according to the amount OF
which they and should receive attention proportion
to this classification Where definite lines of travel
established for example between Georgetown and Laurel
Georgetown and Milton the traffic scattered and the actual
road mileage between points needess multiplied The same
expenditure which when distributed the several routes IS
insufficient maintain any of them in rstclass shape would
in many instances if concentrated of these furnish
thoroughly satisfactory road that could be used by nearly all
this traffic. The investigations of s Office throughout the
United States has established the that in large area
approximately 80 per of the t c is confined to 20
Of the road mileage therein therefore economical