The Colorado statesman., 1916-10-28
ROAD WORK SHOWS
GREAT INCREASE
Expenditures in United States
Have Increased 25O Per Cent
in Twelve Years.
STATES NOW DO LARGE PART
More Than II Per Cent of $4,000
Miles of Highways Have Been
Improved With Some Form
of Surfacing.

A report just made public by Uncle
Sam shows tremendous increase dur
ing the past IL years in the total ex-
penditures for roads and bridges in
the United States. 1t also shows a
marked growth of building and main
tenance activities under state SUPER
vision and sharp decrease in the
proportion of contributions in the
form of statute labor. These facts
are brought out by statistics for the
calendar year 1915, recently compiled
by the office of public roads and rural
engineering of the U. S. department of
agriculture.
The total length Of public roads in
the United States outside the limits of
incorporated towns and cities was
about 2,452,000 miles on January 1.
1916. OF this, about 277,000 miles,
or lib per cent, were improved with
some form of surfacing. The mileage
of surfaced roads has been increasing
at the rate of about 10000 miles a
year, and in 1915 approximately one
half of this increase was made under
the supervision of state highway de-
partments. In addition these depart
ments supervised the maintenance of
nearly $1,000 miles of main and trunk
line roads.
Increased $50 Per Cent.
The increase in expenditures for
road and bridge work in the United
States has been from approximately
$S0,OOO,O00 per year in 1904 to about
100000 in 1915, an increase of
more than 250 per cent. The expen-
diture Of state funds during this same
period increased from about $2,55O,-
600 to more than $530O0,00O. In ad-
dition, more than 27,0OO00O of local
funds was spent under state super
vision in 1915, bringing the total road
and bridge expenditures managed by
the states to $S0,514,699. This amount
is greater than the total expenditures
for roads and bridges from all sources
in 1904.
The growth in Importance of the
state highway departments has been
rapid. The first of these agencies was
created in 1891 in New Jersey and
now some form of highway depart
ment exists in every state except In
diana, South Carolina, and Texas.
Since their inception these depart
ments had expended to January l,
1916, an aggregate of $265,350, ,S25 in
state funds for road and bridge con-
struction, maintenance, and admins
tration. They had constructed over
$4,000 miles of roads in cooperation
with the states. More than 10000
miles of these roads were surfaced.
The falling off in the value of road
work performed by statute and con-
vict labor was from $20,000,000 in
1904 when the total road expenditures
were $S0,000,00O, to about SIS, 100000
in 1915 when the total expenditures
had grown to $2S2,000,000. This was
a reduction from % per cent of the
total in the former year to less than
51s per cent of the total in 1915.
Building Better Roads.
An increase in the use of better and
more expensive types of roads also is
shown by the recently compiled sta
tistics. This development has been
due, in large part, to the great in
crease in automobile traffic. 1t is es-
timated that there are now approxi-
mately two and a half million auto
mobiles in use on the roads of the
country, or one car for every mile of
road. This present motor traffic is in
excess of traffic of all sorts II years
ago.
The cash road and bridge expendi-
lures of the United States averaged
only $2S per mile of rural roads in
1904. In 1915 this average had grown
to 500 per mile. New Jersey led all
other states, both in 1904 and in 1915,
with 1921 and $475 per mile respect
lively. Nevada made the least expen-
diture in both years-$3.72 per mile in
1904 and SAT per mile in 1915.