The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1924-11-06
State Road Census Shows
Very Large Traffic Gains
Minnesota Trunk Highway Usage
More, Than Fifth Greater than
Last Year

Last Year
Used by more than 500, 900 motor
vehicles and 10000 horse-drawn We
hicles, Minnesota trunk highways
carried 26 per cent more traffic this
year than during 1923, according to
annual trunk route census figures
made public this week by Charles M.
Babcock, state highway commission
er.
Actual counts at 178 points on the
big state wide 1000 mile system re-
veal average mile traffic of SAG We
hicles a day-fve vehicles to every
four using them in 1923. Travel on
pavements ran higher than 5000 rigs
a day for the first time and all but
one pavement carried upwards of
1000 vehicles day. Counts at con-
siderably more than half the stations
ran over 500 vehicles daily-the av-
erage held by engineers at which paw
ing becomes more economical and sat
isfactory than crawling. Mr.. Bah
cock stated, however, that paving
projected for 1925 and 1926 subject
to provision of funds approximates
only $50 additional miles on the T.
600 mile system.
Serving 6,101 vehicles daily on the
average now, against 1851 in 1923,
the section of T. H. No. through
Robbinsdale, just north of Minneap-
oils, continues the heaviest travelled
rural pavement in Minnesota, the
census shows. The smallest number
counted at any station was 80 vehicles
daily on T. H. No. II between Pei
land and Baudette.
Second largest count was 5,629
against 5,404 last year, made on T.
H. No. 1 pavement between st. Paul
and White Bear.
The heaviest travelled graveled sec
ton on the system is on T. H. No. 1
through Hugo, just north of White
Bear, which is serving daily aver
age of 1884 vehicles this year. This
is also the most expensive piece of
road on the system. 1t is costing
auto tax payers $3,1O1 mile, in
Guiding $2,745 mile yearly for
maintenance constant repairing
and dragging. Interest at $1,000 a
mile added in, there is an annual out
lay of only $1,678 mile on the
heaviest travelled pavement referred
to and serving more than twice as
much traffic.
The 1924 census shows that of
each 100 vehicles now using the
state trunk routes nearly "a are light
or "A tag automobile and At are
heavy or B. tag cars. The light cars
showed 13 per cent increase and
heavy cars Sc per cent increases in
number. More than one car GU of
every 10 carried tags from other
states, although such tourist travel
showed per cent decrease from
1923. The drop is attributed to
less favorable weather conditions and
possibly to greater good roads adj
vancement in neighboring states bid
ding for tourist business.
Commercial buses numbered LOG
out of each 10000 rigs counted, and
trucks for hire Al out of each TO-
900 indicating that the big volume
of traffic on Minnesota highways is
of privately owned and operated mo-
tor vehicles. However, a half more
buses and a third more trucks for
hire than last year were listed.
Horse drawn vehicles on the high
ways continue to decrease in number,
there being IL wagons this year
where 13 were counted last and on
ly three fourths as many buggies as
in 1923. More than 80 out of every
100 vehicles on the trunk highways
now are motor driven.
Vehicles on the trunk routes are
enumerated on seven days scattered
through the year and seven consecu-
tive days during an average travel
week, and the two sets of figures
carefully cross checked. The 178
stations are located at points believed
to represent, collectively, the aver
age travel over the entire 1000
miles.
The counts are made principally by
school teachers and boy and girl
scouts between the hours of 600 A..
M. and midnight each day of the CEN
sus and are regarded as accurate.
"The traffic census may impress
upon taxpayers that the highway de-
partment is big traffic agency
charged with the duty of building and
maintaining roads under widely vary
ing volumes of traffic as well as und-
er very different physical conditions"
said highway official.
Printed copies Of the 1924 trunk
route traffic census report are avail
able for distribution under the depart
ment policy of maximum public ser
vice.
STATE LEGISLATORS QUlZZED
President Reed of the Minnesota
Farm Bureau Federation recently adj
dressed letter to members and pros