Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-03-19
PENNSYL VANLA ADOPTS
GREAT ROADS SYSTEM
FOR NEEDS OF FFUTURE
Sit Hundred Miles of High
,cays to Be Built by Next
Winter
Corernor Sproul Plans
Continuous Routes
Throughout State
BY LEWIS s. SADLER
state Highway Commissioner

During the last three weeks hun.
dreds Of persons from all sections OF
Pennsylvania have visited the State
Highway Department relative to pro-
posed road improvements. In one day
there We're delegations and individuals
from twenty.one counties.
1t is my belief that the great inter-
, est being taken in better highways
by Pennsylvanians is due simply to
the fact that Governor Sproul has an
nounced that a definite program of
construction is to be laid out, and
tina: this program will he followed un.
swervingly.
The plans of Governor Sproul and
The state Highway Department in
Clude the following:
construction by the commonwealth
OF an arterial system of highways to
form network beneficial to the en-
tire state. The cost of building such
system will be met entirely by the
state.
Will Announce Routes Soon
Construction by the commonwealth
and the counties and townships OF the
state - the commonwealth to share to
the limit of the appropriations avail
abe for this purpose-of a secondary
system of highways of great local i'm
portance, these highways in combina-
ton with the primary system to form
network beneficial to the state at
large and to individual localities. In
this work the department relies upon
the counties and townships to put into
construction the money they would
have spent on the primary system had
they been called upon to do so.
Within few days definite anounce-
ment will be made of the highway
routes and portions OF routes which are
TO be included in the primary system.
The work OF construction will begin
/ promptly. Bids have already been asked
for the building of approximately los
miles The department hopes to be able
to construct $50 or 600 miles of per-
manent thoroughfare before next winter
There was a time when folks laughed
at the suggestion that permanent high
way could be built. But ii IS no longer
a laughing matter. Pennsylvania is go
ing TO have roads of that class We have
determined TO stop building roads that
blow away. We have stopped putting
down good-road island in ribbon OF
mud. We are going to have continuous
and permanent highways
Roads That VIII Last
The money with which we will build
our primary system comes from the
S5O,000,O0O bond issue author zed by the
voters last November. rhe bonds WIFI
run for Thirty years
/ II would be criminal waste were we to
build roads which would disappear be-
fore the maturity of the obligation we
have undertaken.
u would be waste We're these roads
to be of a type demanding costly and
continuous maintenance We will build
the maintenance into them at the start.
The foundations VII he OF sucn type
that with little care they will last
for all time
Before we begin our construction we
will know what loads our roads are to
carry-and We will build our roads with
an idea of future requirements. as we'll
We must to IA great extent anticipate the
future.
What Governor Sproul and the State
Highway Department plan for the states
primary system of roads many counties
plan for the secondary lJads-the great.
er portion OF the cost of VIII ch will be
born by the co.nties and townships,
They. too. will build roads which viii
stand up-roads the life Of which Ia .
greater than the life of the obligation
undertaken TO build them
Must Avoid Waste
| Four years hence il will be possible
to reach any section OF the state over
a hardsurfaced, durable thoroughfare
Bat to do tn s We must build perman-
emily.
ask that all road enthusiastic.
whether they be motor car owners, ag-
Sfs I1
the minds of the road builders the lnecs-
stty for permanence. CONSTRUCTION of
any roads not permanent is an economic
waste.