The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1922-02-08
.$l5.OoO.o0o FOR
Go0O ROA0s IN 1922
New Federal Aid Bill Provides
For Compulsory Mainte.
nance By States.

Washington, d. c., Feb. IA
stitch in time saves nine" and when
this is applied to the repair~of Inn
proved highways, It means the saw
ing of hundreds of thousands Of
dollars year to taxpayers. =
Building the highest types of i'm
proved highways and then promptly
forgetting them, expecting them to
provide their full measure of econo-
mic service without further atten-
ton, must stop. This, in effect. is
the demand Of the United States
government as expressed in the re-
Gently enacted federal aid bill pro-
viding s75,OOO,OOO for road build
ing in 1922.
The provision for compulsory
maintenance in the new federal aid
bill is one of its most important
features. In harmony with the
spirit of President Harding's first
message to congress, in which he
deprecated the failure to give prop
err attention to roads after construc-
ton, the new act lays a heavy
penalty upon failure to maintain
roads to be constructed with feder-
al aid.
The act defines maintenance" in
its broadcast sense as 1.-The constant
making Of needed repairs to preserve
a smooth-surfaced highway"
To insure that each highway aid
ed by the government will receive
that kind of maintenance, the act
provides that the secretary of agri-
culture shall serve notice upon any
state which allows road to suffer
for lack of maintenance.
If within 90 days after notice the
proper attention has not been given
to the road, the secretary is au-
thorized to proceed to maintain it
himself, and to charge the cost
against the federal funds allotted to
that state. The secretary is furth-
er ordered to refuse to approve any
other project in the state until the
amount spent for maintenance of
the project in question has been re-
funded by the state. When the
money is paid back it is to be reap
portioned among all of the states
so that the delinquent state will
lose all but small portion.
Even the highest types of pave
ment require maintenance at some
time or other, but some more than
others. A concrete pavement will
crack at irregular intervals, and
these cracks must be treated to
keep the pavement from quickly
disintegrating. Bituminous pave
ments may roll up and develop bad
spots occasionally, which spots must
be cleaned out and restored. In
brick pavsments there are times
when some structural defect needs
to be remedied to prevent impair
ment of the surface. In the case
of secondary pavement types, in
Guiding the macadam family, period
ic restoration and reconstruction
are necessary since the advent of
motor driven vehicles.
1t is. therefore. to the interest of
the various states:
pavement types, the question of
cost of maintenance over the en-
tire life of the pavement. rather
than the first cost alone.
2 To keep all pavements in good
state of repair.
3 To keep complete, detailed and
accurate records of maintenance
costs on all types of pavements.
A number of states, as for exam
pie Ohio. Illinois, Massachusetts and
New York already are keeping such
records, separating the
cost on the surface proper from the
cost on bitches, shoulders, bridges !
and signs.
In Illinois. for instance, brick and
types are listed as follows
in the last report of the state high
way commission. the figures showing
the average cost for one year of
repairing the surface of a mile of
1sfoot roadway:
Concrete. cement -. .....S42.24
Brick, all types, ...... 80. 6.33
In Ohio, the records are even more
revealing the following
costs for one year and
per mile of all widths: