Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-07-25
HIGHWAY BETTERMENT
BEGINS SOON
Statewide Inter-County System of
Highways Is to be Developed in
Iowa Under New Road Act,
MUST
DESIGNATE ROADS
Each County VIII Receive Sum Dur.
ing The Five Year Period
Equal to $39.O5
Square Mile.

| LOS HAolheS, IOWA, July "a
statewide inter-county system of
highways is to be developed in Iowa
under the federal aid road act. The
system will be made up of the most
important roads in the state joining
the more important centers and will
include from 1000 to 5000 miles of
road.
The acceptance of this federal
aid was made possible by the last
general assembly in passing the fed
eral aid road law providing that the
state will pay from the automobile
fund an equal amount with the gov
eminent in improving these roads.
The government has allotted to Iowa
S2,192,540.35 so the state will match
that sum, thus providing S4,3S5,-
0SO.70 to be expended in developing
through highways.
The boards of supervisors of each
county must designate the roads
which are to be improved and sub
nit the project to the state highway
commission. This must be approx
ed by the commission and also by the
! government officials at Washington.
With the plans approved work on
the roads will start
Thomas H. Mcdonald, state high
way engineer, says a number of pro-
jects have been submitted and are
almost ready to start work on
Hence work will start soon on some
of these roads, which are to be a
part of the inter-county system.
The commission has announced
that in selecting the projects to be
improved the following rules will be
followed. only one project, in gen..
eral, will be considered from each
county This project should be large
enough to require the entire FIVE year
allotment to the county Disconnect-
ed projects will not be approved ex-
| cept where parts of the projects are
separated by incorporated towns. Pro-
jects should start at or radiate out
/ from the more important towns or
from county lines or fully improved
stretches of road and extend con-
tinuously as far as funds will per-
nit"
The government requires that all
federal aid improvement must be
substantial in character The state
highway commission explains that
this has been construed to mean
that the improvement must at least
contemplate building an earth road
to an established grade, constructing
surface and sub-surface drainage,
permanent culverts, permanent brid-
ges and elimination of grade eros
ings wherever possible. Improve
ments may contemplate surfacing
with gravel or other type of surfac-
ting material Bridges and culverts
should be constructed from county
! IuOlty doIuo IIOu the lSueIdl Il ~
fund No right of way can be pur-
chased with federal money"
Each county of the state will re-
ceive during the five year period a
sum equal to $39.05 a square mile of
territory, from the federal fund alone
AID it must then put up, from its au-
| tomobile fund, like sum. Polk
county, for instance, with an area OF
500 square miles, will receive in the
five years from the government sea-
273.S0 and must put up like sum,
making a total OF S46,457.60 to be
spent under this law. The counties
with the largest area will receive
the most money. Kossuth county,
with ga square miles of territory,
will receive $3S,034.70 from the
government AID POttawattamie
county, with $50 square miles of ter
ritory, will receive S37,409.9O.
Doubling these amounts will give
IS76,069.40 for Kossuth and S74,-
IS19.SO for Pottawattamie county.
When folks used to smell ham and