The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1924-04-03
COUNTY, Y,STATE
HIGHWAY PLAN,
FORUM TOPIC.
Speakers Discuss Methods by
Which State and County
Roads May be Improved
NEW ROAD is URGED
Federal Aid Project to Con-
meet with EmmOns County
Road Is Proposed

The highway situation in general
from the standpoint of the state high
way Commission and specifically from
the standpoint of the county was dis
cussed last night at the Forum din
ner of the Association Of Commerce
held in the Mckenzie hotel, with
about 100 members of the associa-
tion present.
Burleigh county, those present
were Informed by Carl Myhre, as
sistant chief engineer Of the high
way commission, and T. r. Atkinson,
county surveyor, has done little fed
eral road work, the reason given
by them, being that the county's part
Of the cost of the new Missouri
river bridge and the concrete road
to the bridge took up available funds.
With the bridge and bridge road
completed, the county now may be
able to 60 ahead on a main highway
program, speakers said.
DR.. N. o. Ramstad, vice president
Of the Association of Commerce, in
troduced Judge w. L. Nuessle as the
presiding officer of the evening.
Orchestral music was furnished and
Spencer Boise led in community
singing.
Mr.. Myhre explained to those pres
ent how the federal aid fo~ highways
is obtained under the law. The fed
eral government, he said, enacted a
law allowing states to create per-
cent Of their total road mileage into
state system, on which the feder-
al government, by appropriation,
would pay half the cost of building.
North Dakotas maximum amount of
anileage on which federal aid may
BE obtained is 7,434 miles and to
late 1856 miles have been declared
n state system and approved by
Washington authorities.
Must Pass Laws ~ a.
North Dakota, he said, has until
November, 1926, to enact legislation
reating state fund to match the
ederal aid. At present the federal
aid is matched with money obtained
from counties. The government, he
said, has actually paid $2,S54, ,489.11
% North Dakota.
Burleigh county has 1T miles of
DAD in this system on which feder-
L aid may be obtained. The bridge
and this road to the bridge, which
was declared a great improvement
Ivy Mr.. Myhre, took most all of the
county levy, which prevented it from
'uilding other roads, he said.
Mr.. Myhre. quoting figures on the
humber of automobiles in the state
and the cost to run them, said that
if 1000 miles of good roads were
uilt in the state and saved each
lotorist only one cent mile in
travel, the total saving to motorists
in one year would be $500, 900.
Therefore, he said, good roads pay.
L. X. Atkinson, county surveyor,
aid that about 10 years ago the
ounty began building roads, and
built good, cheap roads. Those roads
were Il vast improvement over the
roads l5 years ago, but he believed
hat more modern highways now
we're necessary.
I am not critcising the county
commissioners he said. They
spent lot of money on the Mis-
souri, River bridge and the concrete
"oad to the bridge, which we all
recognize as of great value to the
city and Burleigh county, and there
FORE could not spend so much on the
roads of the county,
Last year, he said, the county un-
dertook systematic maintenance of
the main roads for the first time,
and the same thing was planned
;his year.
Would Reach EmmOns
he advocated building federal
aid highway north from. the EN-
mons county line, saying that EN-
mons county has straight stretch
OF 55 miles of federal aid road from
the Burleigh county line. The road
up to Sterling, he said, ought to be
made as good as the Emmons county
road, because great deal of travel
would come into the county.
ne expressed belief that the Assoc
lation of Commerce should work with
the county officials on a road pro-
gram, whereby federal aid would be
obtained. He said the county, he
ielt, ought to build eight miles of
federal aid road on the Sterling
Moffit road this year. After that, he
suggested, there might be program
each year whereby by spending $1O,-
600 the county could get perhaps
$4,000 more from the federal gov
ernment and state, which would
make it possible to build 10 miles
of federal aid road a year.
He said that the hiuhway COW,