Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1922-06-07
5MPER CENT.
STATE HIGHWAY
DEPT. EXPENSE
Report Shows Low Cost Of Over
head In Handling Huge
Sums

ATLANTA, June I'm the annual
report of The. state highway board
just given out, after being submitted
to Governor Hardwick, the board
takes the position that its work VIII
become a great deal more effective
and lasting if the Legislature VIII en-
act the necessary bill to write the
department, as branch OF govern
ment, into the State Constitution.
The report shows that, for the eX-
penditures it has made, the overhead
expense from. the time of the creation
of the board to date, has figured 5.44
per cent, and the total expenditure
has been $23,299. .55O.22, Of which
S0,362,23O.50 has been from the
Federal government. The entire
county and Federal funds, it says,
are used in the constitution OF roads
and bridges, and the expenses of op-
Grating the department come wholly
from The state funds. For road con-
structiou ake stat has had from the
Qederal government since July i,
92l, 81 ,9J7, ,957.58, but the previous
year the Federal government supplied
$2,7OO,O00, being a decrease IN
1921 of 100000.
While Congress has not yet passed
a road aid appropriation bill, $65,-
100000 is the amount under consid-
Grafton. of which Georgia's part will
be $l,735,C0O, or 100000 less than
is available from that source this
year.
Still More Mileage.
However" says the report, with
this greatly decreased amount of
funds the road department soon will
have under construction 364.52 miles
of sand-clay or top soil roads, 61.6J
miles Of gravel or ebert, 1878 miles
of concrete and 1910 miles Of btu
minous, total of 452.52 miles"
OF the Federal aid fund this year
$4,000 is used for bridges, leaving
81, ,682,00 for road construction.
"Whi!e all available funds for road
construction this year by the State
highway department will be less than
one-half the amount used for this
purpose during each of the past two
years." says the report, yet the mil
cage, due to decreased cost of labor
and materials, will be almost as great
as it has been in any one year since
the organization of the state highwy
department."
The average cost per mile prior to
January l, 1922, exclusive of bridges,
vas: Top-soil or sand-clay, $6,35019;
gravel or ebert, $12,232.28; bitumi-
nous macadam, $27156.27; concrete,
$31, ,18O.4O. The average cost per
mile in 1922 exclusive of bridges,
was: Top-soil, $15,O15.37; gravel or
ebert, $9,344,77; bituminous maca-
dam, $24,819.63; concrete, $780,
472.58.
1921 Expenditures.
For construction $9,T21 ,071.10;
administrative expenses in main of
flee $206,301 .63; surveys, plans,
computations, estimates and supervi-
sion Of contracts $268,678.59. These
figures are worked out to show the
percentage for administrative ex-
pense has been 2.36; that for sur
veys, plans and supervision has been
3.08 per cent.
Several reasons are urged. why the
department should be provided for
in the State Constitution, the prin-
cipal reasons being to insure Federal
participation and the establishment
of permanency which will be follow
ed by better development of experts.
Training schools, the report says,
should be established to develop
road huiIdarS and Cunarvisorc