The Punta Gorda herald., 1922-12-15
will Concentrate Efforts on State
Road Number Five and Three
Other Main Projects

State Road Number Five (the
Tamiami TraiD is one of the four
main projects to which the State
Road Department will devote its en-
ergies in future and will be complet-
ed into Fort Myers before any other
road. Thus briefly may be summed
up what Z. p. Green, member of the
State Road Department for this dis
trict, told the people of Fort Myers
Thursday of last week. And this
means that State Road Number Five
is to be pushed as much as possible
during the coming months and that
State Road Number Two may soon be
virtually abandoned for an indefinite
time.
A full and accurate report of the
meeting appeared in both the Fort
Myers papers, from which the follow
ing excerpts are taken as being of in
terest to readers of the Herald.
What the State Road Department
has in mind regarding its future pro-
gram of highway building was out
lined here at a public meeting held
in the Circuit Court room by E. P.
Green of BradentOwn, new member
of that board, who came to Fort My
ers yesterday evening as the guest of
the Board of Lee County Commits
Sioners.
Here is what the State Road De-
partment proposes TO do with refer
ence to building roads.
First: To build the important trunk
lines by concentrating the 27 or 20
convict camps at points of vantage
which include the gateways to Flor
ida. In that connection Mr. Green
declared that there are about 1000
state convicts at this time and that
the cost of maintaining them is big
item. He declared that the consoli-
dation of the several camps into four
or five would make for economy and
efficiency.
Second: To maintain roads. Three
men and a truck, Mr.. Green declared,
tdn ldluldlI . llliitC vi lOCu a SCul.
He said that work is now being plan
ned for the future maintenance of the
main arteries of the state which he
declared to be State Roads No. !
Jacksonville to Pensacola; No. 2
(as far as Kissimmee); No. 4 (Jack-
sonville to Miami) and No. Ito Ft.
Myers) a part of the Tamiami trail.
At the outset of his remarks Mr..
Green declared that it was not his in
tention to tell what the future at
titude of the State Road Department
would be toward any project, but that
he would be pleased to discuss in a
general way the work at hand. He
said that he understood clearly chat
the development of the state depends
upon roads and that he believed Flor
ida needed roads more than did any
other state. He pointed out that he
State Road Department has only
three and a half million dollars a
year to spend for road building; a
nominal sum, when it is taken into
consideration I h a t Hillsborough
county alone plans TO spend three
million dollars in highway construc-
ton. He said it was difficult to see
that the State Road Department was
accomplishing very much because the
limited money it has to spend is
spread out over such a large terri
tory.
At the January meeting of the
State Road Department the policy re-
garding road building, looking at
Florida as a whole, will be formulat- |
ed, Mr.. Green said He stated that
convicts are now working on State
Road No. 5 near Brooksville; that
that road has been selected as a fed |
eral aid road and as such will receive |
federal aid under the per cent sys-
TEN (that is to say. the Federal Gov
ernment will assist the State in build |
ing per cent of her entire road mile
age). He pointed out that State |
Road No. 2 as far as Kissimmee is
part of the 7 per cent system but
from there south the Federal GOV
ernmnt chose to aid State Road No.
5 instead of the continuation of State
Road No. 2, Fort Myers only con-
nection now with the outside world.
state Roads No. and No. were
offered from High Springs south, and
the Federal Government chose the
former" declared Mr.. Green, "and
when Road No. 3 is finished to the
East Coast via Fort Myers it will be
used more than any other highway.
One hundred thousand automobiles
now come into the state and when
this loop is built there will be
steady stream of tourists coming to
Fort Myers"
Mr.. Green said that in his opinion
State Road No. would be the first
road completed owing TO the fact that
it is an important trunk line; that
tbo federal government is to assist |