Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1920-03-10

SOME INFORMATION ABOUT
THE BABCocK ROAD ri AN

SOME INF FORMATION ABOUT
THE BABcocK ROAD FL AN!
Highway Engineer Give. Detail.
>: and Figures Regarding
:. Paved Roads.
The following article was handed In
for publication by Hsrbent Wadell.
highway ensinesr Of County: -
coon. t1oADo- ~. ! =. =.
AmsaAm1at1o.1 -Eaew1;a1- -
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An act proposing 1nrSamsndmsnts I. to
the constitution OF the State OF Ainns-
sofa. providing for. and establishing
ed. improved and maintained by the
State. establishins and authorixing the
creation Of q fund.- for such purpose by
the taxation Of motor vehicles. tho Is
suance OF bonds 4ndsotherwi0 &
The adoption Of tho pending constitu-
Babcock plan" ,estab1iahes in Mime
sofa a State Trunk Highway System
of approximately 1000 miles Of main,
or arterial roads. which reaches: into
every section Of tho state, the high.
ways to be located, constructed re-
constructed. improved and forever main
tanned as public highways by the state
of Minnesota.
The construction and maintenance Of
the roads In this system IL to be done
by the state OF Minnesota and IL to be
financed by q bond issue which IL to
be retired by the proceeds from an in
creased tax on motor vehicles. The
no ~
in any calender year 10 $10,D00.00t
par value and provides that there shall
never be more than SIS 200. 900 in bonds
outstanding. No bonds are issued b.
the amendment but it simply author
ICES the legislature to issue and sci.
just stated. Bonds will be issued &c
the amount Of $1o,o00,o00 per year TO,
the ten years. not 500 100000 in the
first year. as some people think
In order to finance: the Trunk. High
| way System, it will be necessary to
levy license fee on automobiles which
will average SIS per car. II such d
| license fee lie hxed by7the Legislature,
bonds may be issued to the full limit
of the constitutional amendment and
| retired by the, proceeds from motor
| vehicles taxation If q lower rate THAI
| SIS q car is fixed, then the legislature
can limit the bonds to be issued to
| to the amount which can be financed
| by such a license fee as is fixed. In no
case is 1t expected that bonds will be
! issued in such amounts as cannot be
retired by Motor vehicle taxation.
! By the establishment of the Trunk
Highway System, all of the local funds
the state aid, county and township
levies-are left intact to be- used by
local authorities in building the local,
feeder roads. These funds, based on the
1 past two years. average, mount to the
| gigantic total Of $10,925,000 a year.
1921 to 1890 both inclusive the. counties
| and townships of the state would have
a local road building fundof sos, 100000
! or enough money to build 81 $50 miles
of gravelled road at an average cost Of
$4,000 a mile This ten, year period if
cited because Commissioner Babcock
| and his engineers estimate It will take
ten years to complete the Trunk High
| way System,
IOWA Road Maintenance Figures.
Gravel road maintenance,j for q
stretch Of 81 miles north Of Mason City
on the. Jefferson Highway In eCerrc
Gordo County, cost an average tol
$1232.60 per mile for the two years
1918, according to the Service BuEe
tin Of the Iowa State Highway Com
mission. e. r
ing contrast to this, on the Mason Cit,
Clear Lake Road, cost the county, fol
the 5-year period following 1913, wher
the list mile of concrete was laid n
average for the miles OF $3.50 PEI
l-mile.
This interesting statement Of com
parative cost of gravel: and concret,
road maintenance, was called to tn
attention Of Iowa supervisory at ith'
Annual Supervisors convention, -helt
recently in Muscatine.- The figures wers
presented by Supervisor SAaron-Grtmm
Of the cerro Gordo County board in re
ply to statements upon the al
legged prohibitive. cost Of = concrete
road maintenance made by Supervisor
Fred Randau OF the Story County Board
In celebrating upon: the cost sof thu
gravel road :smaintenance, Mr.. Grimm
stated that after placing the gravel and
maintaining it through tho season o1
| road again in, 1913. This was again
maintained at an average cost for thu
the 81 miles of $442.98 over the cost
/ Of the new coating OF gravel. At the
present time, Supervisor Grimm states
that the gravel is practically gone from
the road They have given up zgraveling
it again this year and will maintains 4,
as dirt road until next year, wher
work will start upon that section OF
road as part@of federal aid paving pro.
<iect. ~, - -. ~s-s
We spent an average Of over; $4,000
per mile per year trying to maintair
that as graveled road and. today, w
Il have nothing to show for our money,
said the supervisor. We have spent
of $31.50 per mile on our concrete road
i We have had six years use Of the oldes,
mile. Some people have said that 1t IL
lscracked and gone to pieces. That isn't 30
The road has cracked butt has not gone
to pieces. z.We&ara maintaining those
cracks That's where the expenst
/ comes. The cracks are not becoming
any worse. The concreteSslabs show
very little wear. II see no reason, tudg.
ing from the condition OF the road to
day, 62years after we put It down, that
! 1t :shonld not be a good road Is r%s2l
4 years from today. I just want tossay
to you gentlemen that If any county
! represented here does not want to FAC.
cept Its federal aid money for hard
surfacing. Cerro Gordo. county, IL thu
Federal aand State Aofncials will let VI
have the money, will take 1T match u
and put doWn paving with 1t and WI
q Will Jump ut the chance to take avery
& dollar Of 1t We can ~
The following lis the cost data 6 or
/. .kfE'| r THEM rigorous
i slAT,.,;S I'LL s...l - g, e. :. -.