The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-17
For the Good of
 the Community

hF all the states that voted on highway " bond propositions since the signing of the armistice only two returned ad- verse majorities. Strangely enough those two states are rated among the progressive commonwealths of the union. Politics and political complications are said to have been the cause of the defeat of the bond issues in these two states.
 The bond issues authorized by the states voting favorably on the proposi- tion aggregate approximately S1,000, 100000. All of the roads proposed to be built with the bond money will not be constructed this year, but possibly fifty per cent of the authorized sum will be ex- pended by the end of December
 Alabama voted S25, 5000, 900 bond is- sue and will use about twenty per cent of it this year. Jefferson county authorized $5,000,0O0 and will use forty per cent of it this year.
 The S2,000,000 of federal aid appro- priated by Congress to match the states appropriation, will bring the total high way construction expenditures in Ala bama for the year 1920 up to approxi- mately S7, ,000,0O0, perhaps little more
  greater mileage than was constructed in any state in the union in 1919.
 The Highway Engineer and Contrac- tor of Chicago recently sent inquiries to the engineering departments of all the states for the purpose of ascertaining the progress of highway construction in the United States, and from the answers re- ceived prepared a table showing by cfofa fx1-fn fofp the number of miles constructed and the kind of materials used. Commenting on the replies received this journal says:
 Reports have been received from 24 states showing the miles of highway placed under contract during 1919. An evidence of the activity in this depart ment is seen in many reports which bore the notation that the information was up to December l, since which time, 1t is known, a great many contracts have been let by the state authorities.
 Reports received indicate total mile age of 2,795.5 which were let prior to De- cember l, in the majority of cases. Con- tracts were for total of 27,271 ,l16 square yards of pavement, embracing the better and more widely known varieties and exclusive of graded earth, sand and gravel and similar kinds. Of this total yardage, 5,628,0O7 yards were reported and the remainder 1 ,643, 1O9 yards were estimated on the basis of 9,387 yards to the mile, the number of yards contained in 16-foot highway.
 Tn mileage Pennsylvania led all the other states from which reports were re- ceived with total of 648.5 miles. Illinois was second with 510.7 miles, Ohio was third with 306.68. Other states which let contracts in excess of 100 miles hard surface pavement were California, Kan sas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oregon, Washington and West Virginia.
 Missouri comes to the front with 400 miles of macadam, gravel and graded earth roads. which is the largest total of that kind of highways reported by any state, Maine being the only other state which reported any considerable amount of gravel roads.
 "Of the various pavement materials, concrete takes first place with total of .94 miles In all its forms bituminous concrete is second, the total for that material 413 miles, the nearest ap-