Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1921-08-09
HOUSE TURNING OUT BILLS RAPIDLY
$4,000 WILL Be.
SPENT TO Finish
LEElSBURC ROAD.
Lee County Lets Con
tract For s IL
Miles

Contract was let Monday by the
county board of Lee county for the
completion of the Dixie Highway
from the Sumter county line south
ward 8 1-2 miles, to join up with
5 IL miles of federal aid road now
being completed from Leesburg
northward. The contract was let to
Dover & O'Shields, of Montezuma.
Work will begin at once and pushed
through to the earliest possible COM
pletion. The highway will be grad
ed and given a sand-elay surface.
The contract involves $4,000, half
of which will be federal aid money,
$4,000 county money and $4,000
state aid, constituting this years al
lotment of auto tax fund to Lee
county under the new highway de-
partment law providing for such dis
tribution. On January l mainte
nance of this highway, along with
other highways in the state system,
will be taken over by the state high
way department.
The project for which the contract
has been let is known as Section B
of the Leesburg- -Smithville federal
aid project, Section a having been
undertaken by the itself more than a
year ago. Because of shortage of
forces, the county found itself un-
able to build this long stretch of road
as rapidly as it should be construct
ed and maintain other highways in
the county properly, so it was de-
termined to construct the remainder
of it by contract.
New Route of Road.
Section B will start at the Sum-
ter county line and will take a new
route from the vicinity of the negro
church just west of Wells Mill, cut
ting through fields nearly straight
southwark from that point and again
reaching the present Leesburg road
about two miles south of Smithville
at HAYS Crossing. This change elmi-
mates two bad railroad grade cross
ings at Smithville and will otherwise
be an improvement, cutting out some
sharp curves as well.
"We are sick and tired of the
travelling public talking SO unfavor-
ABLY about Lee county and its roads,
said Chairman S. J. Yeoman of the
Lee county board. "That the public
has had a perfect right to criticise
the road through Lee goes without
saving. In our poor way with limited
funds and equipment we have done
what we could to improve the Dixie
Highway through our county. We
have been hindered by bad weather
and short forces and have made but
little progress. am sure that it will /
be good news to the public to learn
that we have finally made arrange
ments to put this section of the high
wav in first class condition. After
the road has been graded and turned
over to us by the contractors we will
put it in the hands of the State High
way Commission for maintenance.
The expense of maintenance will be
paid from the county road revenues
obtained from taxation"
Means Trade Here.
Engineer Caye said that no greater
news could come to the travelling
men of the state than that this Sec
tion of road would be placed in con7
dition in keeping with that of Sum
ter county. He expressed it as his
belief that as soon as the work has
been completed and turned over to
the State Highway Commission, no
better section of road would be found
in this section of the state.
"Americus should receive this
news gladly" said Mr. Caye. ut will
mean that stream of trade will pour
into Americas from this section that
has been choosing the shorter piece
of bad road TO Albany. 1t will mean
much more. 1t must be remembered
That this section of road has vital
bearing on the short route to At
lanta via Butler through Americus.
On account of this special section of
road much of the travel from At
lanta and north of Atlanta has been
diverted over the National Highway.
More tourists will see the wonderful
crops and farms of Sumter when it
becomes known that Lee county has
been nlaced among the good road