The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-11-16
Interest in Construction Shown
All Over the State.
J. FRANK SMITH BUSY MAN
Communities Are Insisting on
EARLY Starting of Work.
New Demand Is for Hard Sur
face Roads Everywhere.

campaign IN kansas Sucn as the state
never has experienced. according to J.
Frank Smith, general manager Of the
State Good Road: Association. With
road Improvements representing an
aggregate of more than sS,000,000,
held up by the war and the consequent
action on part of the national prlor1-
ties board which withheld highway
materials from use in road making,
the raising of the war ban on road
building has come at a time of year
when farmers ordinarily turn their at
tention to road improvements. This
gives the general highway cause
double impetus, and in practically
every county of the state, already
there are plans either on foot or under
way for the immediate prosecuting of
road building campaigns
With 111,00O miles of officially de-
signated highways in the state, Kan
sas can boast of but about 400 lies
of surfaced roads-outside, of course.
of cities. The new era in road build
ing in Kansas is strictly one OF hard
surfaced highways. As to the choice
of materials to be used, much depends
on what kind is most availab Bile. Where
gravel is plentiful, a heavy gravel bed
or concrete highway will be made.
Elsewhere brick, macadam, crushed
rock and various other materials may
be used.
Interest state WHO.
Within the past few days, Smith
says, he has been flooded with COM
munications from road organizations,
county boards and road boosters gen.
orally, seeking information relative to
the initiating or the carrying on OF
highway improvement plans. In many
counties petitions already have been
signed and approved by the county
commissioners and the state highway
commission. This procedure is nee
essary in every rural Highway i'm
provement in Kansas. Mr.. Smith has
full schedule of dates in getting the
road mac hinery in motion in the vari-
at Chanute where petitions are being
closed up for the extension of the
King of Trails highway from Chanute
to Parsons. In the same county
Neosho-much enthusiasm has been
aroused among the farmers for i'm
proved roads by the offer of the coun-
ty board. 1t was, in brief, that the
county would build 1877 miles of grav-
ell roads as fast as the petitions are
presented, the construction to be car
ried out in the order in which the Pc
titions are presented.
In Montgomery county where petit
tions have been prepared and ap-
proved for 140 miles of gravel roads,
a genuine good roads drive has been
organized and on November IS, 149
road boosters will start out. each with
a petition calling for a mile of new
highway. For this purpose the coun-
ty has been divided into eleven dis
tricts.
Roads Across the State.
While in Holton recently to address
session of the bankers association.
Smith was taken in hand by the good
road boosters of Jackson county for a
conference on the circulating of petit
tons in that county for the construc-
ton thru the county of the Capitol
Eighway-Omaha to Topeka, and
thence southwark. This road is to be
constructed of concrete or brick. The
surfacing Of the Pixies Peak Ocean to
Ocean highway, extending thru the
northernmost tier of counties in Kan
sas, also, is included in the good roads
campaign of northern Kansas
AT Ottawa Friday Smith met with
the county board and good roads
boosters generally, for the purpose of
organizing petition work necessary to
put thru a project of building thirty
eight miles of hard surface roads on
a stretch of the new Santa Fe Trail.
Franklin county also has in pros
pect the building of a hard surface
highway from Ottawa south on the
| King of Trails Highway.
Today Smith is in session with the
good roads men and county officials
OF Coffey county at Burlington where
petitions are to be circulated soon to
| put gravel surface on the Capitol
Highway passing directly north and
south thru Coffey county On Mon
| day Mr.. Smith is billed Cor a confer
ence with Lyon county men at En-
poria where petitions are .nder way
| for the new Santa Fe Trails Highway
| running thru Emporia east and west
| across the county, and where petitions
, already have been submitted for the
| surfacing OF the Old Santa Fee Trail
road across the north part of Lyon
county. extending thru Admire, Allen
and Bushong. On Tuesday Mr.. Smith
! Will join the good roads boosters of
Harvey county where petitions are
ready for circulation for surfacin:. the
| new Santa Fe Trails, Highway extend
ing thru Harvey county from north
| east to southwest, and for the i'm
provement of the Meridian Highway
which is state highway extending
| thru Newton from the northwest
corner OF t. county, thence directly
thru Wichita.
| Federal Aid Is Small.
Some of these projects are under
the federal aid plan." said Smith, but
that really doesn't mean a great deal
in Kansas. for with the small allot-
ments which Kansas received-consid-
ering her vast plans for highway i'm
provementVthe federal aid amounts to
but 5 per cent of the cost.
| Everywhere. almost, the farmers
and the town men are working har-
moniously, in putting thru the good
road projects There seems to be a
general conviction in Kansas that we
need good roads and need them bad
ly. Not only does this appeal to the
farmer who hauls his products to
market, but almost every farmer in
the state now has an automobile-the
recent count showed one out of every
seven persons in the state has a motor
car-and this alone indicates why hard
surfaced 26a-daY roada are generally