The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1914-12-24
ROAD WORK FOR 1914.
District Engineer Cooley's Report Of
Work Performed on State Roads
in County During Year.
Total Amount Expended on State
Roads Was $42,4I3 of Which ST.
600 Was for Maintenance.

Mr.. R. NJ. Cooley, district en-
gineer for Mile Laos county, has
made his report Of work performed
on state roads for the year, and it is
an intelligent and comprehensive
report. Mr.. Cooley gives details as
to the amount of clearing and grub
bling, ditching, grading, gravelling,
lnacadam, concrete culverts and COR
rugated metal culverts on each of
the state roads, but the mass of
figures would weary the reader. -.
The total road mileage of the
county is given as 655 miles, of
which 1888 miles are improved, and
200 of total semi-impoved. Number
of safe railroad grade crossings, 20;
unsafe crossings, 9; no. accidents or
no lives lost on account of crossings.
Number of bridges over 80, feet span,
81; in good condition 13; in bad con-
dition IA; no accidents or no lives
lost on account of poor bridges. The
county levy for road and bridge fund
for next year is sl0,O0O-the maxi
mum amount permitted by law.
Of ditching there were 10 miles,
grading "a miles, " miles of gravel
ling, miles of macadam, 2 concrete
culverts, IS corrugated metal crl-
verts. For maintenance $1,000 was
expended. The total expenditures
on state roads was S42, Alb.
More good road work was done in
Mile Laos county during the year
than in any previous two years.
The maintenance feature was new
thing this year. Next year this i'm
portant part of the road work can,
we believe, be improved upon. This
year too much territory was assigned
to each of the maintenance crews.
But as Engineer Cooley remarks in
the text of his report, "unless a
person goes over the whole system of
roads. in the county, it is impossible
for him to realize where Che money
has been expended All the state
roads in the county cannot be i'm
proved in one year; it will require a
series of years; but good start has
been made this year. 1t should also
be remembered that the county and
state must provide for the improve
ment and the upkeep of the 126
miles of state roads; the towns are
relieved of that burden; town road
taxes can now be expended on other
roads in the town. 1t should also be
borne in mind that the roads now
designated as state roads were and
are the main travelled roads, and
we're the most expensive to keep in a
passable condition-long stretches
were at times impossible. Later on,
when the present mileage of state
roads is permanently improved, other
state roads will be established.
Annexed hereto is the text of Dis
trict Engineer Cooley's report:
''In order to determine which was
the cheaper method to follow in
order to get the best results in max
ing system permanent and SUBJ
stantial highways in Mile Laos
county, the county board, at their
annual meeting in January, decided
to let some of the work out by con-
tract and to execute some of the
work by day labor. 1t was discovered
that the more economical in one case
might be the more costly in another,
and that each job would call for the
exercise of extreme care and the
most careful consideration of soil,
location of work and the exigencies
of the local market In other words,
you might say that the decision lay
with the facility with which the
county board and the engineer were
able to diagnose the local conditions.
"The ten mile stretch of general
construction, called job No l, in the
northern part of the county, was ad-
VertiSed and let to the lowest bidder:
The county attempting to do this
work by day labor would have neces-
Stated the purchase of large
amount of machinery, camp equip
ment, the entire time of one of
the county commissioners or another
competent road builder besides the
engineer. Owing to the difficulties
encountered in the weather, drainage
and soil conditions, there is no doubt
that the work has been done better
and great deal cheaper under con.
tract than it could have been done
by day labor. +.
'!'The macadam and surfacing work
done on the road leading west from
Princeton was done by day labor.
The men took great deal of inter
est in the work and it was done very
cheaply, and might have been done
even more SO but there was no regu-