The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1916-07-28
Chapter -Four

It is time the people Of the state
were waking up to the fact that they
are the state A good many people
are willing to have expenses incurred
provided the state pays for IT., nut
the same persons would object 10
having the county OF city in winch
they live incur the same expense.
A few years ago a state highway
commission was created in IDAHO n
it's rpo was to make state high
WAYS under one management instead
Of leaving it to the different counties
working without unison OF plans. IL
seemed a very proper thing to do,
and the commission started out TO ac-
complish great things for Idaho.
They mapped out main lines OF road
to be built, using in most instances
the old roads but improving ana
standardizing them, bringing them
up to certain width and grade.
The commission required the
county in which the road lay to put
the road in the improved condltlon
and the commission paid a certain
nercentage of the cost. The commits
sion promised the counties that when
the road was finished so 1t came up
to specifications, the state would &C
cent it and maintain it. Some OF
the county commissioners and road
supervisors became enthused with the
prospect of getting the state TO Keel
up the road forever, and wanted to
get as much of their roads as possible
made into state highways and turned
over to the state to keep up. They
did not seem to consider that Ii the
counties turned their roads over to
the state to keep up, that 1t would
simply mean that all the counties
would hand over the money to the
state and the state commissioner
would hire the work done on the
roads instead of the county commits
sioners and the local road overseer'
hiring 1t done and writing the orders
for warrants on the same none!
rather than send it to the state CAPT
tai to await disbursement. The onl!
difference would be concentrating thu
business at Boise and losing the man
agement of it from the counties. l
makes more red tape and consequent
ly slower service when road work /
needed. In either cas the people o
the county furnish the money.
An example of the bungling ant
expensive manner in which the worl
is done thru state management II
shown by the way some of it has beer
done in Bingham county. The roat
from Fl Hall to Shelley was consid
cred some of the best road in tht
state, and the state highway commits
sion urged the county commissioner
to make it conform to specifica
TONS" and have it accepted an
they would have to do a little worl
on it to get the grade perfect ant
width right. They had somebody the!
could recommend for that kind o,
work and the contractor they favored
came along and secured a contrac'
for the grading at As cents a yarc
plus two cents a yard for earth thai
had to be moved more than SO feet
Grading of a similar nature has beer
done on canal work in this coun
for 80 years at prices ranging from
seven cents to Is cents a yard.
WHEN the present board was sworl
into office they had that contrac
facing them, and they spent thei1
first year maneuvering to unload i
which they finally succeeded in doins
but not until after a large part o
the work had been done and paid for
the method of getting the work done
was to have the state engineer ant
a deputy ride over the line and lool
at it. Then a deputy came alon.
with his crew and surveyed it. Thel
the work was done and at times othe:
surveys were made to see if it wa
finished. That kept the road prett.
well torn up for the year 1915.
BY that time the macadam roat
between Fl. Hall and Blackfoot need