Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1914-08-07
THE ROAD PROBLEM
IN WISCONSIN
What Has Been and is Being Done
to Better the Public Roads OF
the State
BY A. r. Hirst, Chief Engineer OF
the Wisconsin Highway Commission.
(continued From Last Week.

BY A. r. Hirst, Chief Engineer OF
the Wisconsin Highway Commission.
Continued From Last Week.
The only other place where the
cost could be reduced in any posi- |
HE Way would be in the cost OF SUI |
pervision. The cost of surveys might
be done away with and the ROADS
huilt by guess as heretofore. No part
Of the cost of surveys has up to this
wear been imposed upon the couh-
ties. For 1914 work the State VIII
nav about 70 per cent OF the cost
of all surveys and the counties 50
ner cent. We do not believe that 1t
can be argued that the $25Oo or
$4,000 a mile which these surveys
cost the county and state together
cannot be saved and is not saved on
practically every mile Of road sur
viewed. In some cases the saving que
| to survey and proper reiocatioii
reaches into hundreds of dollars
| per mile.
The State Highway Commission
could be done away with and syS-
fem of exclusive county control SUB
stituted. The cost of county superVls-
ion would remain about the same
excent that the counties would have
TO furnish their own bookkeeping
contract and other forms, now fur-
nished by the State; would nave 10
furnish the surveys, plans and specl-
fications now furnished in greater
mart nv the state; would have to pay
the full commercial freight on ma
terial shipped by railroads, which
rate on material has been materially
reduced. due to action by this COM
mission: the county highway commits
sioners would be deprived entirely
of any consulting services, when
most of them will state is Invaluable
to them; private engineers Wouio
have to be retained to design the
bridges now built under the county
aid and state aid laws, or they would
be designed by the bridge companies
as was the case ten years ago with
results with which everyone is famh-
lar.
| (7 Should town boards be given
more authority to direct the work?
A large part of the objections from
county boards as to the state ala
law has it's origin in the fact that
the town board in each town has yer
little power to dictate to the county
highway commissioner or the State
Highway Commission the exact char
acter of the work to be done in their
town. or to change methods of pro-
cedure without their consent 1t Is
sometimes claimed that if the town
chairmen and town boards had a lar
ger share of control the work would
be more efficient, but it is never
claimed that it would be better. l
think the best answer to this oD-
lection is to be found in each mans
candid answer to the following ques-
tions: How many town chalrmen ana
how many town boards with which
you are familiar have any especial
qualifications as road builders or
have spent any great amount OF
time in the study of the subject, or
have constructed any considerable
amount of roads which have been OF
permanent value to the community?
Our experience has been that town
chairmen and town board are for the
greater part a much higher class OF
men than anyone would expect con-
sidering the amount of kicks and
small compensation given to the Of
flee, but at the same time they are
in few cases experienced road build
ers or even practical road builders
and in these few cases where they
are experienced road builders they
have been fully consulted and given
every possible opportunity to put
their knowledge into service. l think
it can be truthfully stated that few
| town boards which took an intelligent
interest in state highway work in
their towns can be found who were
not consulted as fully as they de-
sired about the work in their town,
and I know that there is not town
chairman in this state which has not
been requested by us to offer sug-
gestions and advice in regard to the
plans for improvements in his town
sent out by the State Highway Com
mission.
60 Is the distribution of the
cost as between towns, counties and
the state a fair distribution?
| | think the answer to this question
is No. There has never been worked
ont In anv ctoto q nrOnor cvctnm of