Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-11-04
EloHTY.Two PER CENT OF TRAF.
FIG ON MAIN IOWA ROADS IN
1918 WERE MOTOR DRIVEN.
FoRTY.sEvEN PER CENT
OF TRAFFIC STRICTLY LOCAL
Forty Six Per cent From Town to
Town and But Per Cent Inter.
state or Tourist-lnterestins Facts
Drawn From Census Taken by Iowa
Highway Commission.
Special to Times Republican.

Speclal 10 IlmeS- RepuDnCan.
Ames, Nov. 4.--Eighty-tw per cent
OF the traffic on the Iowa primary
road system in 1918 was motor driv-
en-. Forty-seven per cent of all traf-
fic on these same roads was strictly
local; as per cent interurban or inter-
county. and but per cent was inter-
state or tourist, according to the SER
vice bulletin Of the Iowa Highway
Commission, just issued.
These figures were drawn from traf-
fic counts at eighty-seven stations
and in thirty-six different counties
during the 1917 and 1918 seasons. The
stations were all upon important
stretches of highways where it is
planned to spend federal and state aid
funds. Figures for the two seasons
counting show striking similarities as
indicated by the tabulated comparison
accompanying this article. They are
believed to be fairly representative of
the traffic on the main travelled high
ways in Iowa. Traffic counts for 1919
already total over 100. -~Tabulations
on their figures will be ready soon
after Jan. 1. .
The figures are of Importance from
two standpoints. First, in giving a
basis for the selection Of type of i'm
provement for the road, and second,
for giving basis for the distribution
of the expense of building and main
tanning the road.
Road builders after years of obser-
walton, have come to general conclu-
cir 70 Nf fha W
erage kind of traffic each type of road
can sustain before It becomes more
economical to replace the road with
some more durable type. The matter
of maintenance and of reconstruction
of the road surface, as often as neces-
sary to keep the road in~good condi-
ton. is altogether of more Importance
from the standpoint of economy than
the first cost of construction, limit
ing the range of course, to some type
Of road suitable for the traffic to be
accommodated. With a knowledge of
the number, kind and weight Of We
hicles likely to use the road after the
improvement is completed, road build
ers from knowledge of actual eNper-
fences with the various types of road,
can determine with some certainty
what type of road should be built.
Dividing Expense.
Road financiers with some knowl-
edge of the nature of the traffic u.s.
ing road can determine with some
degree of business, how the expense Of
construction aud maintenance should
be distributed. Farm property should
reasonably be charged with almost
the entire expense Of construction and
maintenance of a road used only by
the farmers to and from their market,
place. This would be represented by
a road on the township system and
covered by the township road taxes.
Let that road, by some change, be-
come an important route of traffic
between towns considerable distance
apart but still in the county, or in ad-
joining counties, and be subjected to
heavy traffic as a result, then, the
county should help pay the cost Of
building and EXPENSE of maintenance.
The road might be of such Importance
that the county should accept it as %
county road and stand all the expense
on that road. This would be repre-
scented by q road on the county road
system, maintained entirely at county
expense.
Lot that same road become a portion
Of q route extensively used Ivy traffic
from other counties. and people of
other portions of the state, and then
the state as the next larger unit,
should contribute to the expense of
building and maintenance. This type
Of road would be represented by some
of the more travelled roads leading to
the northern Iowa lakes like the Spirit
Lake and Okoboji roads or the roads