The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1916-10-03
ROAD asD BRIDGE
EXPENDITURES INCREASE

Wzshin gton. oct. Rapid increase
IN total expenditures for roads and
bridges. growth Of building and main
itenanoe activities under state super
vision. and a sharp decrease in. the
proportion Of contributions in the form
Of statute labor mark the develop
ment Of highway work in the United
States during the past L years.
These facts are brought out by sta
tistics for the calendar year 1915 re-
Gently compiled BY the office Of pub
lic roads and rural engineering OF the
L. 5 department Of agriculture
+, The total length OF public roads in
the Gnited States outside the limits
Of incorporated towns and cities was
about 2.i52.000 mile son January /,
1916. OF this, about 277,OOO miles, or
ll3 per cent were improved with
some form Of surfacing. The mileage
Of surfaced roads has been increasing
al the rate OF about 5000 miles a
year. and in 1915 approximately one
half OF this increase was made under
the supervision Of state highway de-
partments. In addition thees depart
ments supervised the maintenance Of
nearly $1,000 miles Of main and trunk
line roads.
The increase in expenditures for
road and bridge work in the United
States has been from approximately
SS0,000,O0O per year in 1904 to about
}2S2,Oo0,0O0 in 1915, an increase of
more than 250 per cent. The expendi-
lures Of state funds during this same
period increased from about $3.50
900 to more than s53,uOO,0 900 In addi-
ton, more than $4,000, 900 Of local
funds was spent under state super
vision in 1915, bringing the total road
and bridge expenditures managed by
the states to sSO,5l4,699. 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 /, !
1916, an aggregate Of $685., 5,350S25 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 tne value of road
work performed by statute and CON
vict labor was from S2O,O0O,OO0 in
1904 when the total road expenditures 4
were sS0000,00e, to about s15, 100000
IN 1915 when the total expenditures
lad grown to s2S20OO,OOO. This was
| reduction from 25 per cent of the
otal in the former year to less than
IL per cent of the total in 1915.
An increase in the use OF better
md more expensive types of roads
lso Is shown by the recently COM
'iled statistics. This development has
'een due, in large part, to the great
Increase in automobile traffic. 1t is |
stimated that there are now approx.
lately II million automobiles in
Sc on the roads of the country. or l
ar for every mile OF road This pres
MT motor traffic is in excess of traf-
C OF all sorts y years ago. II
The cash road and bridge expendi. II
Ires Of the United States averaged II
My S2S per mile or rural roads in II
j04 In 1915 this average had grown II
} $l09 per imile New Jersey led all II
.her states both in 1904 and 1915 II
ith 1927 and $i75 per mile respect. II
ely Nevada made the least ex- II
suditure in both years - S3.72 per
lie IN 1904 and S17 per mile in 1915.