The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1923-05-04
ROAD WORK 1922
SHOWN IN REPORT
Greatest Progress For the
Highway Development
SAID BY THE BOSS
Document Was Sent Out BY
Commissioner G. M.
Babcock

Babcock
Minnesota trunk highway i'm
provements last year included 1921
miles of grading. 1885 miles OF grav-
cling, lat miles of paving and 1856
new bridges, exclusive of better
ments from maintenance opera
tons extending over the entire 1000
mile trunk highway system. The fig
ures are from the annual report of
Charles NJ. Babcock, state highway
commissioner, which is being circu-
lated this week.
New progress records made on
state highway work are said to be
equalled or exceeded by. those on
secondary or local roads throughout
the state, although only partial com
pilations of reports by county and
township road officials are available.
Relieved of the heavy expense of
improving and maintaining the main
highways which formerly took an
average of 80 per cent Of the road
and bridge funds, it was explained,
counties are left with FIVE times as
much to push local road betterments.
was q high record year of highway
development in Minnesota. Failure
of the highway bond proposals in
the recent legislature, as already
made plain. means that the 1922
progress on the trunk system will
not be approached this year or next,
the large part of available funds to
be taken for upkeep and repairs and
little to be left for further improve
ments.
Improved Mileages Run Up.
Rapid progress to date under the
new state highway program is shown
by comparisons with improvement
totals listed by counties when the
trunk highways were turned over to
the state. The state in two years
has spread improvements measuring
5,015 miles, compared to 1886 miles
reported as improved when counties
were relieved of the responsibility
for the trunk routes.
The summary follows:
Miles Start New Plan Tota.
Graded ......1,499 2,267 1856
Paved ....... 66 $50 416
In addition, there has been much
new bridge construction, state main
tenance forces reshaped 982 miles
and resurfaced S04 miles and patrol
forces carried only good roads bene-
fits to every part of the big system.
Although less than 1000 miles of
the 1000 miles of trunk highways
are completely improved, surfacing
doubling on the grading, a conser
vative estimate is that the state
highway program is more than half
finished.
County Lines Remain
A significant feature of the high :
way report is a showing that more
than three fourths of the money
used on the state trunk highways
under the new plan has been county
reimbursement bond funds and fed
eral aid.
The Good Roads Amendment No.
1 principle was one for state high
way system to be improved without
regard to county or other lines. A
Legislative trend in the opposite di-
rection is disclosed by the figures
and its continuance in the extension
Of the county reimbursement bond
highway bond bill in the recent SEES
sion.
The requirement that reimburse
ment funds to be used in the coun-
ties issuing bonds has resulted in
much disconnected improvement on
the system. A further tendency is
to increase the mileage of paving,
county boards urging use of bond
funds for hard -surfacing because
other Improvements may be looked
for under the regular state program.
The commissioners report makes
no direct comment on these matters
but they are plainly apparent from
the tabulations.
Fund Uses Detailed
Use of average highway dollars
expended last year is given in sew
eral tabulations. OF the average dol
lar dollar Of income, 66.5 cents went
into new construction, 273 cents in
to, maintenance, 4.S cents for equip
ment and IA cents for general ad-
|ministration expenses.
Division of the contraction dollar
follows: grading, 30,8 cents; gravel
ing 22.6 cents; paving 23.5 cents;
bridges, culverts, etc, 1873 cents and
many other items such as clearing,
guard rails, etc., 4S cents.
Use Of the average dollar expend.
ed for maintenance is shown in two
ways-by class of work and by COM
modify. Division by work shows:
patrol cost sos cents; repairs and
requirements 1914 cents; better
ments 1873 cents, office and field ex-
penses 7.8 cents and special items
AZ cents. Labor took 1877 cents of
the average maintenance dollar, &C
cording to the second distribution,
and of the remainder 1876 cents for
general operation and equipment
items and 7.S cents for'materials.
Mile Costs Are Shown.
Mile costs Of state trunk highway
improvements averaged the lowest
Of record in the 1922 figures given in
the report. Grading was contracted
at an average of 5000 mile, $500
more than in 1921 but less in con-
sideration Of larger percentages of
rock excavating and other unusual
work which run up the figure. Gravel
surfacing was contracted at $2,793
mile on the average against 1888
the year before, and paving at $685.,
276 compared with s35,520 paid the
year before.
Trunk highway averages Of main
tenance costs are given as follows:
dirt roads $278.90 a mile; old gravel
roads $511.65 a mile; new gravel
roads $36S.86 a mile and paving at
$136.30 a mile.
Commissioner Babcock's 1922 re-
port accounts for the years highway
funds in great detail, by counties,