Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-02-18
ROAD BUILDING A BIG INDUSTRY
BY yr.dsrsc J. Haskin

ed by Congress In 1913. II required 'hs
creation Of a highway department in
ali states as a condition Of tho sllo,-
ment of Federal aid. Seventeen seater
The 1922 program OF the Bureau ~
Public Roads calls for construction
work in all OF the 4s states. Under
the system. where the state agrees on
a project and TO the type of highway
to be built. the Federal Government
spends dollar for dollar with the state.
Some of the states. such as New York,
Massachusetts. Pennsylvania. and II
Illinois. while taking Federal aid on
some projects. Independently con-
struct large stretches OF highway.
This rapidly growing industry not
only will furnish stable employment
for hundreds Of thousands Of men
each year, but in addition is creating
a demand for young men OF tehnicaj
training
we need about 1000 trained young
engineers year in the stnte highways
departments and in this Bureau" says
III. 3. Fairbank. senior highway en-
sineer OF the Bureau. There VII -
positions open each year for fully L.
600 properly trained young men. and
In order to give them the proper shdi-
tional specialized training and 20 i'm
prove it's character in the techn,cni
schools and colleges. there wss formed
I'm 1920 committee 20 develop courses
TO fit engineers for road work II is
gathering and giving 10 the technical
schools and colleges the information
that is acquired by tire practical road
building agencies"
Results shown by Figures.
To be exact, Ii 800 miles Of Federal
; aid roads were completed during 1871,
involving Federal money 20 the
banount Of ss4.o57 .0ss. and a total er-
penditure Of 1921, ,sss. .ss2. Theses figures
represent s,5e5 miles ~ road in prof.
! ects wholly completed and s.sss
! .miles. tho equivalent Of work dons
: on projects which srs not connpiet~d.
: Seventy-five hundred miles were COM
!. pleted after the first OF July. These
are the ststfstics OF Federal aid only
!. the Bureau says, and doubled they viii
I approximate the whole amount Of new
work done in the United States dur
ing the year.
According TO the Bureau. there va.
a grand total Of 5000 900 900 spent or
= highway construction and repair ir
I. the United States In 1921 by the Fed.
}, eral Government and tho states. Ar
! estimate OF the derivation Of this surr
4 shows that 4s per cent Of the tota
!, expenditure was derived from loca
4 bonds and county. township. and dis
: trIct taxes. appropriations and assess
;. ments. ThIrty-three per cent was de
% rived from state and Federal sources
d and only 10 per cent vas derived from
a tho taxation OF motor vehicles. OF tn
a 1920 600 600 which it IL estimated wa
expended for construction, the loca
ID subdivisions raised more than one
of half, and motor vehicles were charge
10 with but per cent.
,s On January /, the Bureau OF Pub
10 lie Roads had available Si2T,77f, IL
l. for work on the 1922 program. and u
20 to February J. 1S states had advise
l. the Bureau that they planned TO spen
l. from 100000 To s1s,ooo.ooo for ne'
a. highways this year.
r. The country Ia divided into l3 en-
Of gineering districts by the Bureau {
c. Public Roads, each district being !
charge OF an engineer HeadquarteI
are in Washington. and the force he1
s. now numbers $50 persons.