Norwich bulletin., 1920-01-02

sonables cost. and an examination of
 the total years expenditure for all
 road repair reveals the fact that the
 cost for twelve months is approxi-
 mateIy the same as that for the cor
 responding twelve months of the year
 previous which is a remarkabie
 achievement, and due probably to the
 policy of reconstructing the main
 trunk line roads with hard surfaced durable payementS of suitable. width.
 The total amount expended for the re-
 pair of trunk line roads alone for the
 past six years is, as follows: +
 1913-14 .....s.....- s$785st t099s34
 l9l4-15 ...... s's........ 8I9,yS6.44
 l9l5-16 ........ s........ S61'608.73
 1916-17 ...... ........... 5,4s5, ,486.45
 1917-18 ..-....... ....... 1sB4ls692.97
 1918-19 (nine months). .... 1,064,223.00
 The figures given for 191s-1s do not
 correspond to that given in the previ- l. ous statement. which was for all statet roads while this total is for trunk lines only and includes all the expenditures for maintenance of trunk lines. both F ordinary and for replacement and re-
 construction, plus the cost Of o11ing both trunk line and state air roads, but not the cost of supervision and equipment.
 The cling of state aid roads Is paid l 1 for by .e state out of the motor ve- hicle receipts, with no refund from | the town.
 The source of funds for the pur- |
 poses of maintenance and reconstruc- | | tion of trunk line roads is an appro- | priation of $1,0000o0 for two years, or I S5e0,000 for one year, plus receipts | l from automobile fees for the term Oct l | 1, 1918, to June 30. 1919.
 l The receipts from automobile fees
 were $1,361, ,S98.44, The grand total of | all expenditures from this account for l | lterm during which these fees were re- | ceived were $1,238,5S6.64. Apparently l | this will show that the automobile fees 1 would cover not only cost of mainte- nance but the cost of reconstruction or replacement. This is not true, since l the nine months covered by this period are those months in which the greater I percentage of automopfie fees is re- I ceived During July, August and Sep- l ten1ber the receipts from automobile l fees are comparatively light, while, on the other hand. the expenditures for road repairs, maintenance and recon struction are heavier during these months than for any other six months. | period of the year so that provision
 must be made in expending the money to provide repair money during those ' months for which the automobile re- ceipts are low. The department has purchased a
 l great many motor trucks for use in it's I work, and has been allotted a large Il number of motor vehicles since the close of this report by the United ! States government.
 In the previous report mention was
 made of the establishment of repair
 lplant at Portland, Conn, for the pur T pose of taking care of opr own equip iI ment. The construction Of this plant l was undertaken with no knowledge
 of the possibility of securing equip iment from the United States govern II ment. The fact that we had such al I plant as a point of concentration Of | this equipment was remarkable ad I vantage to us in receiving. classifying1
 and repairing this equipment and has I been a source of great benefit to the.
 state in connection with the allotment .l of trucks from the war department. I Federal Aid.
 l As noted previously, this state par ticipates in federal aid and secures. from the government an allotment covering a period of four years which must lsA met with a like expen-
 allure by the state itself. Under the i law, this money can be expended only on the trunk line system. Some work
 has been completed, as mentioned in
 the previous report. and work is now
 well under way on the completion of the road from Norwich to Westerly and upon the road from Bethel to Bridgeport A third project contem- plates the completion of a road from ? Hartford to New London which is well underway and should be in full blast during the summer of 1920. - Jewett City Road Built.
 Mention has been made several ; times of certain things accomplished . which have been of value in the de- , velopment of the state highway sys- , tenn. During the nine months covered :, by this statement, the completion of certain pieces of road has resulted in , marked benefit to the state. The more . important of these are the roads from i Litclifield to New Milford; from Nau- r gatuck through. Bethany to Wood
 bridge; the closing in of certain gaps i of upcompleted road so as to form a
 connecting and continuous highway; : the connecting of Jewett City with [ the villages of Glasgo and Voluntown : allowing these two villages a suitable $ and passable highway at all seasons e of the year.
 Eliminating Grade Crossings. The highway department stands. as ] l it always has done, for the elimina- ] tion of grade crossings, but up to the l present time, without result A peru e sal of the reports for the past few 0 years will show that each one of them |, calls attention to the increasing dan n ger arising from the existence of the : grade crossings of railroads. The eli- t minations of grade crossings under y taken recently have been at those
 points where the cost of construction d was low and without particular re- s Egard to the danger of the crossing it. : self or the possibility of more fre- = Iquent accidents due to a greater vol 2 tune of traffic. There are numberless d crossings throughout the state which . to the mind of a thoughtful person e should be eliminated without further f delay. It is realized that the railroad t companies are in no financial cendi- q tion to carry the burden of any great $ amount of this class of work, but t there should be some steps taken to s proceed with the work of elimination = of grade crossings at the earliest pos z sible moment in order to obviate ac- . eidents due to their existence. Sev- :, eral serious and a few fatal aeci- ' (continued on Page Ten)