Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1917-11-08
THE STATE TRUNK
HIGHWAY SYSTEM
By f. A. Cannon, Executive Seer
etary Good Roads Association of
Wisconsin.

At last Wisconsin is literally on the
map with state highway system.
The year and half fight of the Good
Roads Association of Wisconsin is
showing its first tangible results.
The Legislative State Trunk Highway
Committee and the Wisconsin High
way Commission have completed their
labors after weeks spent in hearings
thruout the state, and in conferences
have finally determined the routes of
the state trunk highways, and the of
fetal maps have been filed with each
county clerk.
Heretofore Wisconsin has been op-
Grating in the location Of highways on
the town and county units. The town
boards laid out and built the town
roads; the county boards laid out the
county roads under the state aid sys-
tenn, and either the county or the
towns determined where construction
should be done.
The state trunk highway act means
the entrance of a new road unit of
highway planning, construction, main
tenance and road marking-the state.
The work of laying out the system
is complete. The total mileage of road
shown on the new state trunk highway
map is 4988.38. The system as requir-
ed under the law inter-connects every
county seat and city of 5000 popula-
ton. 1t includes the main arteries ra-
dating to all parts of the state; from
the boundary line at Illinois to Lake
Superior, from Lake Michigan to the
Missississippe river, a web of roads
weaves the state together.
What is the next step? Next year
the state will take over the mainten-
ance of the entire system. It will not
wait until the roads are constructed.
There will be new type of mainten-
ance-patrol maintenance common
in Europe for years and more recent
ly in our eastern states. The 5000
miles of road will be divided into pa
trolls Of from six to eight miles, with a
patrolman in charge. His duty will be
to drag the road, see that the drainage
is kept open, remove stones, see that
all chuck holes are filled and ruts
N4h ~
revolution in highway maintenance in
this state. In the past we have built
roads and let them deteriorate to a
point where partial reconstruction was
necessary. In the future we will at
tempt to keep our roads from deterior-
ating, and keep them in as adequate
shape as their present condition per-
mits. And there are hundreds Of miles
of gravel, macadam and dirt roads in
Wisconsin that can be vastly improved
by consistent maintenance.
There is available for the purpose Of
maintenance of the trunk highways
$750,000 year, or about $3.50 per mile
There are indications that next year
a portion of the construction fund a.
vaiIable may be used for maintenance,
bringing this fund to almost $1,000,-
900 or 5000 per mile, and bringing i'm
mediate results to all parts of the
state.
The next feature that will be appar-
ent in 1918 is the road marking. The
state will adopt standard road sign,
erect these signs on the state trunk
highways, number the roads, and num-
Der the signs accordingly. The state
will also issue map Of the system to
be sold to the public at cost not ex-
ceeding ten cents per copy.
The final feature is construction.
Under the terms of the federal road
act Wisconsin will receive in 1918-19-
20 approximately S2,00O,OO0 for high
way construction. The state is re-
quired to make available an equal a
mount. Under the trunk highway act
the counties are required to apprOpri-
ate an amount equal to the state
which means S6,0OO,OO0 in all for con-
struction in the three-year period un-
der the state trunk highway act. In
addition by an amendment of the state
aid law one-half of the money avail
able under that act must be spent on
the trunk highway for construction,
which will mean about S1,000,000 a
year more or S9,OOO,0O0 for construc-
ton.