The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1924-12-30
ROAD WORK COST
GOES MUCH HIGHER
MAINTENANCE ITEM LARGEST
IN LIST THAT TOTALED A
$1,000, 100000 FOR COUNTRY.

Although it will be some months
before accurate figures are obtainable
which will show the vast sums spent
for highway construction in the Unit
ed States during 1924, authoritative
estimates place the total fully 20 per
cent in excess of the 1923 figure, which
was approximately $1,000,250, 900. This
amount puts the highway industry in
the select class of billion dollar en-
terprises.
A goodly proportion of this amount
is appropriated to maintenance, as
those in charge of highway work are
fully alive to the fact that even the
most scientifically constructed roads
must be maintained. No one has yet
discovered a road surface that can be
put down and then left alone.
Constant Care Needed.
The continued stream of traffic that
passes over the well-paved highways
OF the country inexorably takes its
toll, and it requires unremitting at
tention on the part of those to whom
the highways are entrusted to keep
them in good condition.
Different methods of maintenance
are in operation in different sections
of the country. States counties, cities
and various other municipal organiza-
tons all have roads to maintain, and,
as was inevitable, they have all fol
lowed the same practice.
For a number of years the necessity
for constructing new roads and recon
structing old ones to keep pace with
the enormous increase in automobile
traffic showed the maintenance prob
lem into the background. In the last
few years, however, most OF the states
have been making intensive studies OF
their highway maintenance problems
They have not all reached the same
conclusions, but so far as the tunda-
mentals are concerned they are ap-
preaching uniformity.
Discussion Is Planned.
A thorough discussion of state main
tenance of highways is on the pro
gram of the annual convention OF the
American Road Builders Association,
to be held in Chicago on January 5th
to 9th. Frank T. Sheets, chief high
way engineer of Illinois, has been Sc
lected to discuss this subject.
The sort of maintenance needed, OF
course varies with the type OF road
maintained. The hardsurfaced road
such as concrete road or the asphalt
surface, requires considerably less at
tention than a gravel or other second
ary surface. No state in the country
is lucky enough to have reached the
point where all of its roads are OF the
hard surfaced type. Therefore one OF
the first problems is so to organize
the maintenance department that 1t
can work equally well on either type
of road. This phase OF the problem
will be discussed by Mr.. Sheets.
Snow Removal Problem.
Another problem that comes under
the head of maintenance is snow re-
moval. 1t was not so many years ago
that only the bigger cities spent, con
siderable sums for snow removal, put
now in all the northern states the
highway departments are removing
snow on the country roads under tilelr
jurisdiction. ~,
Work of clearing the snow. on the
through routes between the big cltles
usually begins before the snow stops
falling. Most of the states have snow
removal foyces all ready to turn out at
any hour OF the night or day TO begin
WOrL