Evening journal., 1916-06-06

er instead OF by the Levy Court"
Comment by Highway Commissioner.
II the recommendation Of the Com
mission OF Engineers is to be adopted
I IL would require an amendment to
the law. At the present time the sal
airy Of the hundred road supervisors
is fixed by the Levy Court. Whether
these supervisors should be appoint
ed by the highway commissioner in
stead of by the Levy Court is a mat
/ ter upon which the highway commits
sioner does not desire, for obvious
reasons, to make any recommenda-
tion.
BY Commission of Engineers.
Present Conditions. There is am
/ pie evidence that prior TO 1913 there
was very little attempt 10 construct
/ improved highways as integral parts
J OF we'll developed system which
would be OF maximum benefit to the
: county as whole. this condition be-
ing particularly marked in the hun
dreds in the northern half of the
] county.
Comment by Highway Commissioner.
The present conditions in reference
TO the county highway system is
covered by a report made by the
highway commissioner on January
25th, 1916, to which the commission
Of engineers evidently referred for
information. In the said report the
following appears:
"All the improved roads in New
Castle county. built by means Of
bonds issues. up to the year 1913
were named an dlocated in the differ
ent acts. authorizing the Levy Court
OF the county to bond the county
for their cost, and II was therefore
mandatory on the part OF the Levy
Ciurt TO Improve. or reconstruct
such said certain roads.
Any roads built by means Of coun-
ty funds, out OF the general county
tax rate, however, could and can be
constructed where thought best by
the county commissioners. This
manner of selecting the roads re-
suited in many stretches OF good
roads scattered in the different hun
dreds Of the county but gave no
i connected system OF highways, and
was. of course, in most instances, an
economic failure in so far as the
general traffic was concerned
The General Assembly OF 1913
recognizing this fault in our road
system. empowered the county au-
thorities to bond the county for fur
ther sum Of Two Hundred Thousand
Dollars. with the proviso that One
Hundred Thousand Dollars OF this
amount, should be spent in cOmplet-
ing one continuous road through
L 49,
line on the south to the Pennsyl-
vania State line on the north, and
the remainder of the money was left
to be used at the discretion OF the
court. I'm connecting other sections
! of roads and extending others TO
some definite point. This plan has
been so well carried out that we now
, have virtually two lines Of improved
I roads between the north and south
boundary lines of the county. You
! will notice in the accompanying
, county map the different sections OF
roads constructed TO accomplish this
end. and also some small sections
which il would seem advisable yet
TO do.
have set forth the above 10 show
why We have two lines of travel
north and south. when il would
probably have been more economical,
and Just as enicient, to have con-
structed one line through the CEN
tire OF the county via. OF the State
road, as we first began to do, and to
have built latorals TO this line. which
would necessarily have been at right
angles to it. and to the railroad. and
thus have served greater number
of local people. We have. however.
very good route of roads with many
J laterals connecting with the rail-
road stations. This manner of Sc
lecting the roads precluded, or made
unnecessary. any study by the en-
gineer to ascertain whether or not,
they were the most proper ones to
Recommendation By Commission OF
! Engineers.
/ 1t is recommended that the high
: way oOmmissiOneI-~at once proceed
, TO make thorough investigation of
the relative value TO the county OF
the several unimproyed and improv-
ed highways and report recommen-
! dations for a system OF highways 10
the Levy Court embodying three
, classes Of highways to be known as
+ first. intra and interstate trunk high
ways; second. main hundred high
ways; and third, local hundred
highways
Comment BY Highway Commissioner
thorough investigation Of the
relative value of the county of the
several unimproved and improved
highways has been heretofore made
by the present highway commissions
er. and his predecessor in Office. and
such investigation has been contin-
ued TO date by the present highway
commissioner. The result Of said in
yestigation in at all times available
, TO the Levy Court and others inter
ested therein.
l. Appropriations. Statement BY Com
q mission Of Engineers.
s Present Conditions. The funds
l. appropriated for the construction
3 and maintenance of highways arr
{ derived from three sources First
IT State appropriations for construc
l. ton; second Levy Court appropria
tions for construction and malnten
j. ance OF improved highways; and
= third. appropriations by each Of thu
# ten hundreds for maintenance OF un
# improved highways and highway,
4 improved with funds appropriated b!
hundreds.
, For the year ending June 30. 1915
! the State appropriation for road con
struction was S11 900. the Lev,
|, Court appropriations we're: For CON
=