The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1922-01-06

would leave a margin of $4,000 fo1
constructing additional mileage thai
might be added to the state system
Chesterfield county has no roads a
present requiring a hard surface.
Greenville county would receive
about $1,140,000 and as a total OF
131 miles on the state system, al
except about ten miles of which ha:
already been improved. At least
S1,0OO,OO0 is needed in this county
Immediately, however, for hard sur
facing those roads on which traffic Is
too heavy for the existing top sol
surfacing.
Richland county would receive
about S1,1OO,O0O and has 70 miles
on the state highway system which
is practically all provided for unde,
the $2,000,000 bond issue for pave
ments already available in that coun-
ty. The state fund could therefore
be applied to the construction OF
roads to be added to the system OF
in retiring a part of the county
bonds.
In like manner every county in the
state would receive sufficient fund
to take care of the immediate needs
so far as the state highway system
is concerned, and due to the federal
aid, each would receive more than
, it contributed. 1t is true that the
needs would increase during the SIX
year period on account of the traf-
fc multiplying on some of the roads.
On the other hand increased traffic
would mean increased revenue from
both the motor vehicle license and
motor fuel taxes, which in turn
would enable a greater mileage of
hard surfacing to be constructed.
/ Some of the advantages of this
plan are:
! /. 1t would enable all of the coun-
ties to share equitably in the 'bene-
fits to be received from federal aid.
An equitable distribution by coun.
ties of this fund is not possible un'
der the revised federal statutes.
| 2. 1t would enable the federal
aid projects to be limited in num-
Der and thus greatly reduce the ad-
ministrative cost of handling these
projects. The government formali-
ties are just the same for $1,000
project as for one costing S500,000.
Would Overcome Barriers
8. The bridges provided for in
this plan would overcome the great
barrier which cur rivers now consti-
tute. Such bridges would be of
state wide significance and the cost
of their construction is not properly
! chargeslble to any county, and sell
dom to any group of counties. This
fact has been responsible for South
Cardinals slow progress in con-
structing necessary bridges.
4. This plan would in the future
obviate the necessity for most of
the county bond issues for roads.
The total of bond issues for road
improvement already authorized by
the counties of the state amounts to
some S23,000,000, but most of these
issues were for improvements that
would simply be supplemented and
made complete by the present plan.
In ccme cases, no doubt, counties
would find it desirable to provide
for additional road improvement
which would require bond issues,
but they would certainly lose no
advantage on account of the state
work.
5. This plan provides for contin-
UOuSNSSS o1ISl tIiC S!A ySclt pcIIOlt.
Any plan that is not continuous will
necessarily be disappointing because
the needs of traffic will continue to
develop and no present plan could be
sufficient to provide before a given
date for needs that will develop
after that date. At the ex-
piration of the six year period South
Carolina would still have about
S5,000,000 per year to spend for
road construction, in addition to a
maintenance fund sufficient to take
care of the constructed roads.
6. The state highway department
is at present supervising road con-
struction in conjunction with the va
rious counties to the amount of abou;
S4,000,000 per year, so that the pro
posed plan would be little more than
a normal increase in its activities.
This means that the department
would have chance to expand its