The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1922-02-10
LABOR ON ROADS
CITED BY EXPERTS
Splendid Results Are Shown
New Construction; Mon
eys Is Spent

New construction on 1871 miles,
reshaping and resurfacing over 2,022
miles and daily patrol or mainte
nance on $685. miles Of the 1000 mile
system Of state trunk highways are
among big mileages in review made
today by Charles M. Babcock, state
highway commissioner, Of 1921 op-
erations under Minnesota's new high
way development program.
Confined entirely to work by state
forces on the trunk routes, the com
misSioner'S statement alludes to op-
erations on the local roads, or sec
ondary system for which the big part
of road and bridge funds are provided
only in a brief reference to the pres
ent movement to insure maximum
results, for that money.
Big Gains Listed
New construction in 1921 includes
765 miles of grading, compared with
state took over the trunk routes, and
497 miles of gravel surfacing, against
1871 in previous years. Also, the
state maintenance forces re- shaped
1,137 miles and re- surfaced 1856 miles
The paved mileage was nearly doub-
led, 109 miles having been added,
largely through county reimburse
ment projects, to the total of 112 mi
les paved in previous years combined.
The state highway department last
year used $12 ,556, Sells on it's own
operations on the trunk highway sys-
tenn besides supervising nearly ST.
900, 900 fore work for counties.
The Babcock plan was made more
effective April rs and therefore was
in actual operation only eight months
This fact was cited by John H. Null
Zen, deputy commissioner and chief
highway engineer, who added that IL
lends significance to the first season
showing. Mr.. Mullen said that 1922
FUNDS may be reduced but the depart
ment will attempt to make an equal
or bigger showing, taking advantage
Of reduced construction costs, lower
freight rates, and the results to be
obtained by a more perfect workong
organization. Commissioner Babcock
previously intimated that only at
the end Of another successful year
will the public gain an idea Of benefits
to come from the better roads pro-
gram.
Local Roads Get Most
The 1921 state trunk highway fund.
of $12, 1921 70 represented $5,616-
s2,840, 900 Of federal highway aid and
81; 100. 708.19 Of proceeds from county
reimbursement bond sales.
The remaining $6,764,416.01 used
under the direction of the state high
way department was part of the fund
of $21, 099 1923 provided last year for
local roads-other than trunk high
ways. The large sum for county
town road work was made up, accord
ing to the state auditors abstract, of
$10,843,682 Of county, $6,862,?0 of
township and $1,308,794 of small city
and village road and bridge funds and
of $2,084,2S7 of state aid. With more
than twice as much money provided
for local road purposes as Tor trunk
route betterments, Commissioner
Babcock is moving to insure maxi
mum benefits from expenditures on
the secondary as well as the primary
highways.
Graphs Divide Dollars.
Graphs showing from where the av
erage good roads dollar came and how
1t was used are another feature of
the review. One graph shows that
the average roads dollar is made up
of So cents of road and bridge tax
funds, used on local roads. and IT
cents of motor vehicle taxes, 8 cents
of federal aid and IL cents of county
reimbursement bond money-the
three trunk fund sources of revenue