The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1921-05-05
pm Sundays Minneapolis Journal

rom Sundays Minneapolis Journal
Six hundred road patrolmen will be
Employed by the state to maintain IN
WIN ual number of sections on the new
- INK highway system as soon as the
IN ,. rec can be organized State High
MIR lay Commissioner C. M. Babcock an
MVe f'unced Saturday. All of the 1000
m lies of traffic will be patroled in
n MS fashion. Each patrolman will
III 1--we team with drag, mower
r. weeds and other Implements for
local R,eping up his section of five to 10
TERTl y ioao
,upplementing these section men
he Floating gangs" of mainten-
going about under orders
WILL kIllIS q maintenance engineer Of the
u doing heavier jobs of repair,
- age etc., necessary to keep the
DEL EN- &c trunk highways in good cordi-
FUVT.:on.
The state has taken over the 1000
miles Of highway and now is re-
sponsibilbe for them. With approx
SCI mately $2,500,OO0 year to be spent
terests oool- ovno.+. - - ;,,,.+,n+ 20
Villa s,,i+s ~ 49, 49, Gov, ,.,anths M.ir-
tenance, as he explained includes
about ever+b;no .,,oa,,- ao+,,.1 oons+r,c-
at the :,, of q s+,o+oh o,f 1901 AVID r,,cb
e ,rading and surfacing will be done
GU on the maintenance crews.
ceeded
whom Vast sums of money will be avail
lunchec .ble under the new law to be spent
Han,,n state roads. More than $4,000
furnis' 700 will come from various sources to
At spend in the next year, about half of
Zimmen. on the trunk Highways, and the
his plansI. half on estate aid" roads, lat
Resort lals and feeders to the trunk high
that he avs
Their tina Because the season far adj
ity to need before the legislation vas
importai ssed, Commissioner Babcock has not
of his ZEN able 10 let contracts yet for '.>n
and t. tuction on the trunk highways, All }
M, Jew of the contracts will be awarded
into in time to finish the work this year.
~ tow. But when the machinery IS once in
motion, work will progress with a
rush. Here is the way the funds will
become available:
For trunk highways
Proceeds of automobile licenses,
$6,000,000; of this 40 per cent, or
S2,400,00 is to be maintenance,
$150O0O for administration expenses !;
and $45OOOO to meet interest on
county road bonds; leaving $3,OO0.-
900 for construction work.
Federal aid, s2,S4O,OOO.
County bond issues to be spent on
trunk highways. in the. next year,
S5,000,000.
For lateral or "state aid' roads,
construction and maintenance
: Distributed state funds from one
mill road tax 81 $50 600
County road funds, $10,S43,000.
The total to be available this year,
if the federal aid is granted accord
ing to expectations, will be $11,00O,-
900 for construction work on the
trunk highways. Contracts will be
let on that basis, but few of them can
be completed until some time next
. year, Mr.. Babcock said.
System to be PatrolIed Daily
One contract for hard surface road,
it is hoped, can be let and put
through to completion this season.
That is the extension of the Jefferson
highway through st. Cloud. Sher-
burne county now is finishing the
paving as far as Salida, and the state
contract to be let soon will carry it
through to the state reformatoly,
lust outside of ST. Cloud, % miles.
When that is finished there will be a
paved roadway from the twin cities
to ST. Cloud, about 70 miles
Most of the construction work on
trunk highways this year will be
grading, in preparation for surfac-
ing next season or later.
Maintenance work will be where
the results will show this season, Mr..
Babcock said Saturday. The great
network of 1000 miles taken over by
the state will be patrolled daily by
the maintenance men. organized like
the maintenance of way depart
lnent of railroad.
Portioned in Eight Divisions.
Heading this department is w. F.
Rosenwald, superintendent of main
tenance, with M. J. Hoffman as as
sistant. The state is portioned into
eight divisions each under division
n engineer, and under each one is III
vision maintenance engineer, IN
charge of the maintenance iaen OF
that territory. In effect, he is going
"a to be "roadmaster' for the division.
going over its trunk highways con-
stantly and supervising the work CT
the floating gangs" and the patrol
men. Each patrolman will be held
responsible for. the mileage assigned
40 him and will make all minor re-
sf airs to roadway and bridges. he
III ill drag the road after rains will