The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-04-22
CONTRACT LET FOR
ROADS PENDING
RESULT OF
BOND ELECTION

Another important step in the
for Good Roads in Polk
county was taken yesterday when the
County Commissioners, after several
days careful investigation and tabula-
tion OF the several bids of the contrac-
tors, let contracts for the construction
of over POO miles of asphalt roads in
this county, such contracts being sub
ject to the will of the people as eX-
pressed in the bond election which
the commissioners are arranging, if
possible. to have called about June
lst If found impossible to have the
election on this date, the date will
be set for June 18th
The Commissioners have not, up
to this writing, let the contracts for
the bridges and culverts, but they ex
pect to conclude this matter today
which will dispose of the entire prop
osition. The various contracts will
call for bond issue of one and one
half million dollars, and detailed
statement of all of the various items
will be published for the benefit of
the taxpayers in connection with the
election notice in the several papers
of the county. The contracts call for
the completion of the entire work in
from $50 to 500 calendar days. Owing
to the large mileage, the extent of the
work, as whole, and in order to facil-
itate as early completion as possible,
the work has been cut up into five di-
the road work are as follows: Eureka
Paving Co., Houston, Texas; E. c.
METAL Public Works CO., of New York
and Mt Dora Fla. w b. Mcdonald
Construction Cos Mt Vernon, n Y;
and Edwards Construction Co. OF
Tampa.
The specifications for the road, as
prepared by the engineers, and which
must be strictly followed by the con
tractors, calls for a first class system
of highway, second to none, in the
South. A clay base will first be laid
if one does not already exist, on which
will be place one inch binder course
and on top of this, one inch of sheet
asphalt.
The slogan of the Polk County Coco
Roads Association, when it undertoob
to determine the question of the roads
TO be built: "a hard road from every
town in the county to every othel
town in the county" will be carried
into effect according to the final ac
ton of the Commissioners, whose
whole efforts have been (acting II
con junction with the Good Roads As
sociation) to make the mileage as
large as possible. consistent with suci
bond issue as can properly be taker
care of at this time. so if there shoult
be some who will critize the lack o
proyision for some road here ant
there (and there will be criticism o
| this kind. and. on the other hand
should there be some who will crit
- I,,.,,o 4, mount nf money tn hi
called for (and there will be criticism
of this kind, too,) let all of these re
member the problem which the Coun
nv Commissioners and Good Roads As
Isociation have had to deal with tan'
if has been difficult one) to rui
the mileage up as high as possible AM
at the same time to keep the BON
issue down to the lowest possibl
amount. With an increase OF taxa
tion. the Commissioners might hav
gone beyond the proposed limit i
mileage. but their purpose has bee
to keen the bond issue within reac
of the present taxes for the purpos
,of paving interest redeeming IN
bonds within reasonable time an
leaving a margin for other eontlI
gencies.
The entire matter will be fully lai
before the community in all its VI
rious details, to whom will be r
ferred the final decision as to whethe
or not. Polk county shall go ON re
ord as one of the most progressiN
communities in the South
II was said by contractors In Ba
tow the other day that this contra
is the largest ever let in the worI
for asphalt paving