The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1921-04-08
MORE FEDERAL AID
ASKED FOR ROADS
Appropriations of Half Billion Dol.
lars Will Be Requested of Special
Session.
written for Great Falls Tribune by
H. +. Bryant)

written for Great Falls Tribune by
ii. +. Bryant
Washington, March educational
demand for greater federal aid to
good roads has been making itself
felt here several weeks. Appropria-
tons of half a billion dollars-one
hundred million a year for five years
are requested. If this, or as much
as one-half, is allowed, the impetus
to good roads work shall be great in
every state of the union.
Allowance of the entire amount, and
adherence to the same policy of allot-
ment as heretofore would mean that
by 1927, a total of ten or twelve mill
lion dollars would be Montana's share.
This doubled, with the state putting
in dollar for dollar, would mean,
roughly, more than twenty million
dollars.
Of federal aid already allowed, the
total of Montana from 1917 to 1921,
inclusive, was $5,49S,S27.31, or $10,-
997,654.62 including funds furnished
by the state.
80 Million in 10 Years.
The grand total during the ten year
period from 1917 would approximate
thirty million dollars. The bureau of
public roads estimated a few days ago
that approximately $8,5OO,OOO of the
federal and state allotments for all
road work remain to be expended in
MOntana3 so that the bulk of the i'm
provement would be in the future.
If congress turns down the demand,
1t will be turning its back on a highly
popular movement. Delayed by the
war, which resulted in high prices,
embargoes, lack of labor, etc, good
roads workers are insistent hat con-
gress take early action even if it does
not appropriate the entire amout re-
quested. Transportation conditions are
expected to improve and prices of road
building materials to decrease, while
much material and machinery have
been released from the wal depart
ment by act of congress-.
Study New Types.
New types of roadbed to meet
changed traffic conditions are being
studied by experts o N highways.
Chief Thomas Mcdonald, of the
bureau of public roads, believes the
future roads will be either earth,
sand, clay and gravel, or concrete and
brick.
"The intermediate class of roads,
such as waterbound macadams and
bituminous macadams nave been large
ly eliminated from the federal aid
projects" he said. eve group the
principal kinds of roads roughly in
three classes, as follows: Group l,
graded earth, sand, clay and gravel;
group 2, waterbound and bituminous
macadams; group 3, payer surfaces
such as brick, sheet asphalt, bitumin-
Gus and Portland cement concretes.
OF Low Cost Type.
"The large percentages of the fed
eral aid mileage-66.3 per CENTS of
class /, the low cost type. Only 81
per cent is in the intermediate class;
and 24.7 per cent is in the third class,
which includes the paved surfaces.
On the other hand, only 1916 per cent
of the federal aid funds up to July
/ had been set aside for the class /
roads. In my judgment the gravel
road rather than the stone macacam
road, where traffic is light, is the
most useful that we have today. A
gravel road is a useful and economical
type where the traffic is not greater
in weights or numbers than it's ca
pacity to carry"
Treatment of Gravel.
Discussing the gravel road IN detail
Mr.. Mcdonald outlined it's treatment
as follows: at is bound by clay or
similar material; there must be a
binder of some kind added if it is
not present in the material itself.
Washed gravel does not make a good
road and some material must be added
for a binder, but this type of road can
be kent in good condition by ordinary
maintenance methods. 1t cuts up in
wet weather. especially in the spring
of the year, but can be smoothed out
again by ordinary road tools, and long
stretches can be built at a nominal
cost as compared to the paved types"