The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1920-01-31
'STATECETIINC
ccPENDlNCHUCE
<y!JM ON ROADS
1920 / e ling Work Will More
THAI ,uble That Done
! Any Year
PEAK OF 1900 MILES
PROGRAM NEXT SUMMER
Babcock Plan Will Make AFTER
ial Roads Available in
State Counties
PEAK OF 1900 MILES
PROGRAM NEXT SUMMER

Minneapolis, Jan. 31.-Minnesota
is about to spend $35,000,0O0 on the
biggest road building project it has
ever undertaken.
Orders launching construction
and improvement program that ex-
ceeds by $2O,0O0,00O the work done
in the state in any previous year are
going out from the offices Of the
highway commissioner for Mime
sofa. The good roads project to be
carried out this year, involving more
than 1900 miles of arterial high
ways, is part of a $50,00O,OOO under
taking begun last year, but which is
to reach it's greatest extent next
summer.
Project is Statewide.
This statewide project includes
construction of 400 bridges and
$1,000 culverts in 1920; graveling
of 1880 miles of roads, grading OF
1905 miles and hard surfacing of
1S9 miles; and maintenance, for the
first time In the states history, Of
5000 miles of arterial highway by a
corps OF paid patrols, operating with
sinGle- workmen, gangs, teams, trucks
and even tractors. Hard surfacing
of 58 miles for which contracts were
let last year, but which could not be
undertaken because of lack of men
and material, now forms part of the
1920 program, bringing paving pro-
jects up! to .247 miles.
553 Miles Of Paving.
The work to be completed this
year is the beginning of a series of
undertakings which are designed to
give the state, by the end of 1921,
approximately 900 miles OF hard sur
faced roads. Work scheduled in %
Minnesota counties includes building
553 miles of paved road.
These are the funds, available for
work mapped out for 1919 and 1920,
from which the state already has
drawn about $1o,OOO,0O0 for last
years work:
County bond issues SIG, 100000
County road taxes, 1919. 5,397,986
County road taxes, 1920. 8,766,OOO
State aid funds, 1919... 1,98O,OOO
State aid funds, 1920. 1885, 200
Federal aid, two years.. 5,542, 200
Town road taxes, two
years S,oVV,OoV
Village road taxes, two
years I,oOO,OUU
Total $50, ,12O,986
Uuexpended funds available for
last years work, added to the federal
aid, the county and town tax levies,
and the state aid which becomes
available this year, gives Minnesota
more than $35,0O0,00O which it can
put into development of its high
ways in 1920.
1905 Miles of Arterial Roads.
Of the $50,OOO,O00 made available
for road work in the two year period
1919-192O, about $29,OO0,000 was
for use on state aid roads, c. M. Bah
cock, state highway commissioner,
said. State aid roads are roads on
which the state pays it's aid funds to
assist the counties in development of
arterial roads. The state system in
cludes 1905 miles of roads selected
by the state highway commission de-
partment as most vital to the state
and most necessary for handling
heavy traffic. OF this sum, Mr.. Bab-
cock said, $3,0O0,00O was required
to be used for maintenance Of exist
ing roads under state and federal
laws, leaving $26,OO0,OO0 for con-
structiOn.
Last Years Work.
'In 1919 the actual work accom-
plished on state aid roads cost little
more than $6,0OO,OOO, according to
our figures" said the highway COM
1.-THE state highway sys-
TEN will be improved this year by
work costing $20,000,0OO, although
some of the projects cannot be COM
p1eted in one season."
Records of last years work show
1000 miles of grading, 500 miles of
graveling ana 80 miles of paving.
Less than half of the paving work
was finished, last year, 200 bridges
were constructed at cost Of $780,
900, and 400 large culverts were
built at an expense Of $270,000.
An Industry By Itself.
Road building in Minnesota prom
ises to become an industry by itse-f,"
Commissioner Babcock said. Pros
poets for increasing road work have
led several firms to begin erecting
non, ronb cruohiur O. nj nfo fn furnjah