The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1919-02-19
CRAWFORD COUNTYS EXPENDI
TURE FOR ROADS and BRIDGES

1URE FOR ROADS and BRIDGES
Continued from Page One)
time, surface some of the most import
ant heavily travelled roads. sa-.
It is considered that pavement in
cities and towns of Iowa is one hun
dred per cent of special benefit&to the
owners Of AUDITING, non-producing
property. At least they are taxed for
all the cost of such work. 1t is only
reasonable to assume that the same
improvement along the producing
farm ought to be of some special bene-
fit,' and that the owner of such farm
SO favorably located ought to pay a
little special assessment. He can't
expect something for nothing from
his fellow tax payers. In other states,
where's roads have been surfaced, abut-
ting property has been assessed from
fifteen to thirty per cent of the cost
of the work. The same will have to
be done here before any progress can
be made along that line. A 49,
The volume and weight Of traffic on
the main roads in Iowa is becoming
so great, and the loss incurred annual
" as the result of earth roads going
to pieces in rainy weather is becom-
ing so great, that we can not much
longer defer the surfacing of the
main arteries Of travel. s5 e4 ..t
Last year the 300,0 or more auto
mobiles regularly in operation in Iowa
travelled an average distance of at
least 1000 miles each, making total
Of one billion two hundred million
miles-enough to make $4,000 trips
around the world at the equator. When
all operating expenses, interest. on the
Investment, repairs and incidentals
are figured the average cost of oper-
ating automobiles is not far from IF
, teen cents per mile. Using twelve
and hall cents as the average cost
per mile, the total cost Of operating
automobiles in Iowa last year was $50
million dollars The cost in Crawford
county was a. million or, more. The
cost Of operating automobiles, trucks
and all other vehicles can be reduced
cOnside cradle BY having a good track
to run on. Seventy-flve to eighty per
cent of the total traffic on the Iowa
roads Is on the county road system or
main roads. Naturally, they are the
ones that ought first to be improved.
In this county the Lincoln highway
Is the most important road. In hard
s,lrfacing that road, 1t would be only
reasonable to1expecti the federal gov
eminent, the state, the county, and
the owners, Of abutting and adjacent
property to help pay the costs. Be-
cause the Lincoln. highway in Craw-;
ford county is a link in the national
system of highways, the federal gov
eminent ought to pay possibly thirty;
I'VE per cent. The Lincoln highway
y the back bone of IoWa's entire road
system. For that reason the state
ought to pay about thirty-five per cent,
q the cost The Lincoln highway Isl
the most important road in this .coun-i
". and for that reason the general
property tax Of the county could, we'll
anord to- stand fifteen per- scent orr
10000 of the cost per. mile and profit
thereby. "A road paved with brick or
concrete can be maintained for, $50
per year. Interest on the investment
ct $4,000 per mile at per cent would
1ncur an annual interest charge Of
$lbO. The total Of interest on the in,
vestment and maintenance would be.
no greater than our present annual
maintenance expense incurred in MAIN
tanning the earth roads which are
wearing down two to four inches al
year. Each mile. of our main roads
near town is used for total of sixty
TO seventy-ive thousand miles of trav-
Ell per year. A smooth, hard surfaced
road would surely reduce the cost off
operating all sorts Of vehicles at least
one cent per mile Travelled, In that
manner such a road would account
for an annual saving of 5000 to $780,;
under present traffic conditions, toll
say nothing Of the. natural increase
10 traffic in the future or the concen-
tratiOn as the result of the improve.
melt. =. .,ga..4.
II the owners Of land along roads
80 improved pay fifteen per cent of the
cost and the special assessment is
levied against land in zofes similar
10 the !, method used in cities and
towns, ,for.a total distance of one and
one-half to two miles back from the
mprov ement, the maximum cost per
acre would not exceed $3.50. 1t would
be worth more. ge. Il
On many. other roads ofathis county
subs tantially the same method Of pay
ne, would work well > except. that the
'ederal government would or could |
lot be expected, totcontribute., Thenl
ne state; county and; owners of slandtI
'e1efted would be obliged to pay the
,osts NH T. = s., = i
State bonds and automobile regis.
ration. fees would enable the state to- |
'ay its share OF such work. The logi-
AL thing to do with money derived
rom the registration Of automobiles
8 to use that money where it will dol
hes most good, and that would meant,
g the principal roads which care for
y to 80 per cent of all the traffic.
Surfaced roadways are coming in
oWa: Other states have them, and
an not as well afford, such benefits
nd pleasures as can Iowa. They will
fS17pf S1nyplv Five RI Ton --.I