Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1921-06-03
HIGHWAY CONDITIONS
TODAY IN WISCONSIN
State Highway Engineer Hirst
Issues Statement Regarding
Road Building Work in
Reply to Critics

In view of statements made in re-
cent letter from Illinois sent broadcast
to the press of the state, the Wiscon-
sin Highway Commission deems it adj
visable to present briefly to the peo-
pie of the state the actual facts as to
the states policy and plans in the
matter of building surfaced highways.
Wisconsin has won its high stand
ing as a good roads state through its
develoment of patrol maintenance and
gravel roads. State Highway Engi-
neer A. r. Hirst is probably the fore
most advocate of gravel roads among
the highway engineers of the coun-
try The policy with which his name
is identified and which he has fire.
quently reiterated in public address
ses is that we should not spend all of
our funds or the major part of them
in building a few miles of expensive
types of surfacing, but that traffic
must be served NOW and this can
be done only by developing and main
tanning a large mileage of the lower
Wisconsin has attracted nationwide
attention; and delegations from other
states have frequently visited our
state. Recently the governor of ILL
nois and large number of the ILL
nois legislature visited Wisconsin to
gravel and dirt roads,
In the matter of concrete surfaced
construction, the Wisconsin idea has
been to build this type of road only
when and where economically justi-
fled; and any statement that it has
been the policy of the Commission or
of Mr. Hirst to build them regard
less of cost" is wholly without foun-
dation as the records show. 4
Because Of the high prices
asked for concrete construction last
year the Department cut the construc-
ton program in a drastic way, in
many instances refusing to approve
contracts because of the price asked,
even when local communities wished
to carry on the work. When the ce-
ment manufacturers refused to reduce
their price sufficiently early in 1921,
Mr.. Hirst informed them that the
price must be cut as had the price OF
other commodities At this request
the Wisconsin Highway Commission
issued specific directions that unless
the price was reduced below last
years, Wisconsin would cease to
build concrete roads. The result was
a reduction that will save the state
over 100000 on this years construc-
ton. At Mr. Hirst's suggestion the
Joint Highway Committee of the AS
sembly and the Senate has intro
duced bill in the legislature to per-
nit the counties which have bonded
to build concrete roads to change to
other types of surfacing where the
price of concrete is too high.
Contracts let in Wisconsin for 18
foot concrete roads from January 1st
to May 25th of this year range in total
cost from S22,5OO to $4,000 per mile
and the average is $31 600 per mile
This cost is the total including grad
ing, bridges, culverts, guard rail and
all other items Grading costs vary
from few hundred dollars up to over
$1,000 per mile. Culverts and bridg-
es cost from 5000 to $1,000 per mile.
Guard rail and other items cost from
nothing to $4,000 per mile of concrete
road contracted for. The cost of the
concrete surface alone varies from
$18.6OO to $4,000 per mile. These
costs cover 1T miles of highway.
Published figures indicate that the
average cost per mile of contracts let
in an eastern state so far this year is