The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-01-30
Shawnee County Commissioner
Gives Some Facts.
Tells Auto Men Of Work Done
ON Highways.
IMPROVEMENT EACH YEAR
VIII Be No Better Roads in All
Kansas Soon.
How $65, 900 Is Spent in Shaw
nee County.

now $OO,UUO Is spent In Shaw.
nee County.
Shawnee county had So, 900 available
In 1914 for road and bridge work. There
has been a noticeable improvement in
the roads in the last few years. There
are now So miles of gravel road in the
county of which 101x miles were built
in 1914.
Fred Nipps, county commissioner, in
a paper recently read before the mem
bers OF the Topeka Automobile club
had the following to say relative to
Shawnee county roads and road build
ing:
The roads by statute in this state are
CLASSIFIED as state, county and town
ship roads. The classification Of state
roads so far as this county is concerned
has no meaning. They are so merged
with county and township roads in
matter Of improvement and care that
there Is no need to consider them by
| themselves.
The county roads are those taken
over by the county commissioners
and connect cities, towns and market
Ing places. or marketing centers,
which is interpreted to mean connect
Ing cities, towns and villages.
Shawnee County Roads.
Tnese roads are taken over as fast
as the county board in its wisdom de-
termtnes 1t has sufficient funds at
hand to improve them. When once
taken over these roads for all time
thereafter become a county charge for
Improvement and maintenance. OF
this class there are in Shawnee county
zsO11 miles These roads have not been
improved to the extent they will be.
Work Is being done as fast as the
funds available will permit
FOR all road and bridge work there is
raised each year by direct tax the
sum OF $4,000 approximately. This is
on levy of three-fourths Of a mill in
the dollar on all the taxable property
OF the county. The law permits levy OF
one mill.
| To this was added last year $4,000
from the automobile registered fees,
| making a total income of SOS. 900. The
law provides this latter fund shall be
used for maintenance only and there
fore the cost of dragging the roads is
the principal item charged against
this account.
No Standard Road.
| 1t is conceded by most road experts
| that there is no standard mile of inn
proved road. or in other words there Ia
no mile of road that can be taken as
model for building what might be
| called a standard road. The reasons
for this are that the conditions and
materials to be had for road construc-
| ton are not the same in different
states and communities.
Two Distinct Soils.
| In Shawnee county there are two
distinct soils to deal with in making
roads, one is an extreme sand loan
and the other a clay loan. In the
sand in the Kaw river bottom, roads
cannot be made by the ordinary meth
DDS Of draining, ditching and dragging,
but fortunately there has been found
deposits. in most instances close by. OF
gravel mixed with clay in just about
the right proportions. which when laid
| on the sand makes an excellent road.
1t is hardly fair, however, to COM
pare these roads, which cost approx
mately $4,000 per mile, to the rock
roads and turnpikes in the eastern
states that are built at q cost of $4,000
to $4,000 per mile.
F1fty-eight Miles Gravel Roads.
There are in this county So miles OF
built last year. The building of these
| roads has been up to the present time
| largely experimental. as is true to a
large extent of road construction
throughout the country, but feel that
1 can safely say that more is being
learned each year as to how to apply
this gravel. The roads built in recent
years are better than those built in
the earlier days, and there is no rea-
son why we should not expect more
satisfactory results III the IutuTc
South Side Roads.
The soil on the south side of the
river can be made into good roads by
the usual methods of dirt road con-
struction, and it is my opinion that
when all of these roads are properly
thrown up. ditched. dragged and
cared for. they can be made into as
/ good roads for vehicle and automobile
travel as can be found anywhere.
Township Roads.
The township roads are those not
taken over by the county in the sew
eral townships and they total S65 u
miles. These are worked by the
township boards out of money raised
by a levy of their own in amounts for
each township varying from $4,000 tc
$4,000.
Bridge Cost Heavy.
In the matter of bridge construction ant
bridge repairs. the charge for Shawnee
county is very heavy. The Kaw rive
stream there have been built since thu
flood of 1903 four bridges which cost 9
great many thousands Of dollars. The
brick yard bridge alone cost the county I
sum equal to half the road and bridg'
fund for one year. There Is a constant
expense on these bridges for renewals u
sides innumerable smaller streams tina
have to be bridged at various points tina
the citizens of our county may get bac!
and forth in the transaction of the bust
numerous vocations. Bridges on township
, roads that cost in excess OF 500 are bull
by the county out of its fund.
New Bridges Constructed.
For a number of years. for financia
reasons, the bridges. as well as the roads
were neglected, and it has been necessar,
to replace the old bridge with new ones
This is being done with permanent concrete