Milford chronicle., 1923-09-28
DELAWAREANS KEEN
LY ALIVE AS TO VALUE
OF GOOD ROADS SYSTEM
40 Miles Already Completed on
1928 Quota of IS Miles;
Gen. Benson Shows
How New High
ways are Main
tanned

Every mile of modern highway, I
consider, is one of the greatest as
sets the State can have" said Secre-
tary of State Alden R. Benson, in dis
cussing the road program in Della
ware which will be completed for this
year in about six weeks time. "Citi-
zens who have wondered whether we
were too lavish with our expenditures
for good roads ought to have heard
the expressions from rural sections
made by their representatives at a
meeting of the Highway Commission
this week when pleas were made for
new roads," continued Mr.. Benson.
"These representative citizens told
the Highway Commission that they
were perfectly willing to pay more
taxes if more taxes meant better
roads, and they realized that with bet
| ter highways their business, as farm
ers is wonderfully aided, that it
means in the long run dollars and
cents in their pockets, and also they /
can transport their fruit and produce !
more quickly to rural centers, where |
it can be disposed of.
Forty MiIes-1923 Work
At the present time we have forty
miles of highway completed on the
program for this year. We were de-
layed about two months because of
the fact that we were unable to pro-
ceed until the legislature of last win
ter had decided as to how much mon
ey was to be spent on roads, but
things are humming now, and we will
complete the highways about the
0e NTOrroY1o tho 1afacf fiT1n
that concrete can be put down with
safety as far as freezing conditions
are concerned. We expect to have rs
miles of new highway as this years I
total. a
eve originally had planned for 1O1
miles, but the Highway Commission /
considers that it has done well to get C
IS miles built. Out of the appropria- ?
ion from the legislature we had a
planned for $50 miles of roads to be |!
lone this year and in 1924. The con-
ractors, who are building the roads t!
hat are uncompleted this year will Il
imply store away their machinery S
he middle of November until next n
pring. This will make our program 81
or next year about rs miles, which tC
ill consume all of the appropriation m
lade by the legislature. u
No Politics in Commission III
""The charges made to members of
le Highway Commission by some op- he
Onents that the highway work of Del or
ware was being done by political m
lachine are highly amusing. The oh
ighway Commission is composed of on
vo Democrats and two Republicans n
Id myself, but there has never aris- tb
l at any time any question that re-
Tired a showdown as far as politics IN,
ent. This is one of the departments 90
the State government that is free on
ON any political ENHANCEMENT. oil.
lere has nexer arisen a question or fer
problem, on which vote was taken fo,
fore the Highway Commission since Do
that has required my vote tor
a deciding factor. This shows how !
r removed from politics any act of lin
e Highway Commission is concern inc
zone of the things in which many orf
ates fall down in their system of We
ghways, and of which we have an nal
ustration in our sister state, is the cor
lintenance of highways. They go is
cad and build roads and then stop. dea
a consequence, cracks that appear Chi
m time to time are not attended to,
the roads deteriorate rapidly. fact
is is not the case of Delaware roads tba
vhere we have a system of inspec- frs
n that prevents it. Wherever a eat
ok appears in a stretch of highway, eve
wherever the shoulders of the road era,
damaged by storm, think I can ms
ely say that within 36 or 48 hours as ,
9r such a crack has made its ap- I'm
rance the highway inspectors have dow
ated it, and the work Of repairing it for
started practically at once. In this Ieas
2 we hope to maintain our roads, Gins
so far we have done so. over
Maintenance Funds Grow W
Last year we received $426,OOO with
n the titling department, secured muc
n licenses issued to drivers and may
ers of cars. This year up to Sep VanC
Der 1 we have received $493, 900, com'
hat it seems assured that by the
of the year, with four months to ners
our receipts from licenses issued Day
will be more than TO tc
half million dollars. All of this
ey goes to maintain the high G
S and pay the interest and sinking A
IS on our highway indebtness. the
he du Pont Boulevard will be prod