The log cabin Democrat., 1920-05-06
3 ROAD DISTRICTS AWARDCONTRACTS
GRADING 10 BEGIN SOON
?. J. Lewelling Given Grading and CuiVert Work on Damascus, YiIo-
 nia and Palarm Roads.

After an aIl-dag session Wednesday the commissioners of tln C0awav- Damascus, Conway -NiIonia and Con- way-Palarm road improyoaaut dis Jrlcts awarded to F. J. Lcwcjlag of Hot Springs contracts for the eraGiug, culvert and bridge work on the farce highways. The contracts were let subject to the sale of bonds by the dis trict between now and June E. The contractor agreed to begin work with Tn l5 days after being notified to do so.
 The commissioners decided not to award contracts for the hard-surfac- ing of the highways at present Fi- nanclal and labor conditions are very unfavorable for this class of work now, and 1t was also the advice of the engineers that it would be better to construct the sub-grades and allow them to settle for number of months before applying the hard-surfacing All of the roads, however, will even- tually be hard-surfaced as this is made mandatory in the acts creating the districts
 Negotiations are now pending for the sale of the bonds and it is believed 1t will be consummated within short time. It is planned to issue only enough bonds to cover the cost of the contracts already let, the engineering expenses already incurred and small amount for contingent expenses When the hard-surfacing work IS con- tracted the necessary additional amount of bonds will be foated by the districts.
 The contracts call for an earth dump P feet wide at the top, with covered concrete or pipe culverts and steel bridges wherever necessary.
 The aggregate cost of the contracts awarded to MT. Lewelling is estimated by the engineers at slightly less than S400,000. The aggregate mileage of the roads in the there districts is about 60. The unit price for earth excavations, the principal item of cost, is 55 cents per cubic yard in the Conway Damascus and Conway-Pa- larm districts and 60 cents in the Conway -Vilonia district. The price on the last-named district was slightly higher on account of there being much less yardage to the station to be moved
 The engineers estimates of quanti- ties multiplied by the contractors unit prices give the following approx innate costs in each of the three dis tricts:
 Conway Damascus, length 2194 miles: Clearing and grubbing, S6,l25; earth excavation, $71 700; loose stone excavation, $49,0OO; solid stone exca- vation, s22,5OO; culvert pipes and laying, S4,390; concrete work, $23 200; total, S1S7,O15.
 Conway -Vilonia road, length 1887 miles: Clearing and grubbing, $2,S0O; earth excavation, $28,980 loose stone excavation, $32 POO; culvert pipes and laying, $1,81S; steel bridges, $1S,1OO; concrete work, S13,680; total, $97 ,578.
 Conway-Palarm road, length 1888 miles: Clearing and grubbing, $5,250; earth excavation, S41 ,250; loose stone excavation, S30,00O; culvert pipes and laying, $3,525; bridges, S9,930, con- crete work, s19,410; total, $1O9,565.
 Major W. J. Parkes, supervising engineer for the district, last night expressed himself as being wei pleas ed wit hthe character of contract awarded by the district If Mir. Lewelling did not have a tot of out fits with which he is lus3 finishing work in the adjoining county,' he said, ''! doubt if we could have obtained a bid anything like as low. The bids submitted at Little Rock Tuesday for the roads to be constructed in Pulaski county were all very much higher than the figures obtained for the ! Faulkner cOuntV work V