Arizona republican., 1920-07-23
WHY HE DOES NOT FAVOR FEDERAL AID
 FUR APACHE TRAIL

Taking the stand that Maricopa county is entitled to no more than its share of federal aid money and re- iterating the announced policy of the state highway department that federal aid funds should be applied to through routes first, Tom Maddock, state en- gineer, last night gave the following reasons for declining to approve the request for federal aid for the Apache trail
 "The amount requested ($3o0,00o) is in excess of federal aid funds still available for Maricopa county. $40O,OOO of the allotted s50O,000 for Maricopa county having already been applied for
 ITO divert funds for this purpose would be to scatter federal aid money between two parallel routes between Phoenix and Globe before one is in first-class shape.
 Commercial and business routes must take preference over scenic and pleasure routes.
 AS long as all the roads cannot be built at once, those which benefit the most people must be built first
 Federal aid money should be ap- piled to the main through routes and in selecting these routes the more d. rect should have preference.
 Out of fairness to all concerned, federal aid funds actually available should not be matched against funds probable or possible, but which are still intangible, as the proposed addi- tional bond issue for Maricopa county. We cannot allot federal aid funds for any road nor can they be prom ised where no plans or specifications are submitted showing the amount ot funds necessary to build the road.
 The committee at the opening Of the conference between the governor and the state engineer presented an outline of certain demands to which they hoped will secure the approval or the state and the county. Briefly stated. they asked for $250,000 from proposed additional bond issue of $4,- 500, 900 in Maricopa county and expect to receive $50,000 from the Salt River Valley Water Users association, and doubling this amount with $30O,OOo federal aid. thus providing $6O0,000 for the repair of some 22 miles of the 115 miles of the Apache trail.
 In order to bring this about they proposed that the state engineer can eel his applications for federal aid cov- ering three miles of paving construc- tion between the eastern limits of Phoenix and the end of the concrete paving on the Tempe road and the Phoenix Glendale highway, diverttng this federal aid and combining it with $100,000 still actually available for Maricopa county, applying the whole to the Apache trail.
 "The state engineer is not unafter- ably opposed to the application of fed eral aid funds for the improvement of the Apache trail but deems it far more important that the projects for which application has already been made be completed first, forming as they do important links on through highways connecting with the county systems of Pinal and Yavapai- In his opinion congress would vote additional federal aid which would be available before another bond issue could be passed in Maricopa county and sold. He wants roads built by the state to be contin- uous in order to reduce the overhead on future maintenance work.
 'sThe committee stated that there were 900 voters in Maricopa county who were interested primarily in good roads in the irrigated district only. l They were reminded that there were S0,000 voters in the state of Arizona | interested in through highways Every county in the state has re- | quested federal aid on some pet high way other than through routess but | that had been refused on the policy | of through roads first" On this | point, F. N. Holmquist. assistant state engineer, was recently informed while | in Washington by s. O. Eldridge, chief | engineer of the A. A. A, that if every state highway department was to work for through roads like the Arizona highway department there would have | Townsend bill.
 While the engineering and eco homie features favor the Superior Miami highway over the Apache trail, that, in addition the state highway de- ! partment has received a mandate from | the state legislature in the form of d law carrying a $1O0,o00 appropriation for the construction of the former road. The principal cost of this con struction fell on the counties of Gila and Pinal, relieving Maricopa of the burden of 50 miles of highway.
 In reply to the statement by the
 committee that it believes the state highway department was unfair to | Maricopa county, Maddock stated thar too much was expected from the high way department, and showed that
 Maricopa county's portion of the states 75 per cent road fund was only
 2 per cent of the S40OO.000 bond issue l He showed where in Maricopa county
 An Governor CampbeIl's administration
 s400,0OO or more had been spent fla
 building the first hard surfaced high
 way ever constructed by the state Roosevelt road, which was on a 1 through line
 CbouId Co1Sfdar NaIIanx