Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-03-14
O'NEIL GIVES
ROADPOSITION
Says Charge That He Means
to Throw Roads Back on
Counties Is a Lie" q

j. Denny O'Neil, state highway
commissioner, said to-day that re-
ports that the State Highway De-
partment would endeavor to have
many miles of state roads turned
back to the counties and to the
townships was u deliberate lie; that
while he was convinced that it would
have been much better to have taken
the roads over as they could have
been improved permanently, it was
now the duty of the state to keep
them in as good condition as pos
sible and to improve them as soon.
as money is available.
Commissioner O'Neil said also that
the records Of the department dur
ing the past six months show that
more constructive work has been
done and more contracts for per-
manent roads have been awarded
than for several years past. In a
statement he said: The statement
of Penrose emissaries that the
Highway Department was dominat-
ed by politics-as the cheapest kind
Of campaign rot, circulated by un-
scrupulous, discredited and disgrunt-
led politicians, who failed in their
attempt to have the Highway De-
partment play their selfish political
games for them in their particular
counties
The commissioner to-day award
cd the contract for the reconstruC-
ton of a section OF road in Lehigh
county, connecting Bethlehem and
Allentown; the section to be improv-
ed is 2.24 miles long, located on
State Highway Route 159, and the
contract went to George H. Hardner,
nf Of n nrin Af
1885. This is ii very important
road from every point of view, as
trucking between these two import
ant manufacturing centers has grown
to immense proportions.
Commissioner O'Neil also award
ed the contract for grading and
drainage of 1.27 miles of State
Highway Route 90, located in Foster
township Mexican county, to c. S.
King and w. e. Mangold, of Port
Allegany, at their low bid price of
sic, 469. 1t is the intention of the
department, the commissioner stat
ed, to try to improve this road per-
manently during the coming season.
other contracts were awarded to-
day by Commissioner O'Neil for road
construction as follows: 1.15 miles
of reinforced concrete construction
in Montrose borough, Susquehanna
county, state air applications num-
bers Az and 479, to b. G.. Coon Con-
struction Company. of Luzerne, at
their price of $3S,250.50, as check
ed; 1.23 miles of reinforced concrete
construction in New Milford Dor
ough, Susquehanna county, state aid
application number 593. to r. G
Coon Construction Company, of Lu-
zerne, at their price of sac, 1875
as checked; 0.S6 miles of two-course
water-bound macadam. construction
in Marklesburg borough, Huntingdon
county, State Highway Route 46, 20
Irving S. Horton, of Reading, at his
bid price of $15,S62.73; 5.19 miles
of two-course water-bound maca-
dam, located on State Highway
Route 46, in Lincoln township, Hunt
ingdon county, to Irving S. Horton
of Reading. at his bid price of $77,-
$4,000, as checked.
r. b. Taylor, of Bellefonte, secur-
ed the contract for the construction
of 0.46 miles of vitrified block pave
ment in Bellefonte borough at his
low bid price of 26,SS5.20. This is
a state aid project