Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-11-03
ROAD WORK SHOWS.
GREAT INCREASE
Expenditures in United States
Have Increased ESQ Per Cent
in Twelve Years.
STATES NOW DO LARGE PART
More Than II Per Cent of 277,000
Miles of Highways Have Been
Improved With Some Form
of Surfacing.

A report just made public by Uncle
Sam shows a tremendous increase DUR
Ing the past IL years in the total ex-
penditures for roads and bridges in
the United States. It also shows a
marked growth of building and main
tenance activities under state super
vision and a 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 11.3 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
S80,0O0,000 per year in 1904 to about
| $282,C00,O00 in 1915, an increase of
more than $50 per cent. The expen-
diture of state funds during this same
1 period increased from about $780,
900 to more than $53,0OO,O0O. In ad-
dition, more than S27,OOO,0O0 of local
funds was spent under state super
vision in 1915, bringing the total road
and bridge expenditures managed by
the states to $80,514,699. 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 1
1915, an aggregate of $265, ,350,825 in
state funds for road and bridge con
struction, maintenance, and admins
tration. They had constructed ovel
$4,000 miles of roads in cooperation
with the states. More than 40,00(
miles of these roads were surfaced.
The falling off in the value of roa(
work performed by statute and cor
vict labor was from $20000,0O0 il
1904 when the total road expenditure
were $80O00,O00, to about $15,0O0,o0'
in 1915 when the tatal expenditure
had grown to S2S2, 900, 900. This wa
a reduction from 25 per cent of tn
total in the former year to less thai
51a per cent of the total in 1915.
Building Better Roads.
An increase in the use Of better an,
more expensive types of roads also i
shown by the recently compiled sta
tistics. This development has bee
due, in large part, to the great il
crease in automobile traffic. 1t is es
timated that there are now approx
mately two and a half million auto
mobiles in use on the roads of tn
country, or one car for every mile c
roaS. This present motor traffic is i
excess of traffic of all sorts II year
ago.
The cash road and bridge expend
lures of the United States average
only $28 per mile of rural roads
1904. In 1915 this average had grow
to $1O9 per mile. New Jersey led a
other states, both in 1904 and in 1911
with 1921 and $475 per mile respec
lively. Nevada made tie least expel
diture in both years-$3.72 per mile
1904 and SAT per mile in 1915.