The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-27
BUILD ROADS TO LASTl

BUILD ROADS TO LAsTI
 Only one consideration can justify the decision of the state highway com mission to proceed to the expenditure of seven million dollars of the author ized bond issue above and beyond the sum matched by federal funds. That consideration is the construction only of such roads as will survive the first two or three years of wear and tear. If the commission means to proceed with its proposition to construct a series of dirt or graveled roads to be turned over to the counties for main- tenance, then the people of Alabama know full well that the commission means to take seven million dollars of the peoples money and throw it to the winds and the rains.
 The state has had sufficient experi- ence with what are commonly called hardsurfaced roads. They were all right once, before motor vehicles came into use. Now their construction is justified only by neighborhoods and in some instances by counties where local materials are abundant and con- venient. The people expect better things from the state, however. If the state means merely to repeat the costly mistakes made by the counties, what excuse can the state give for ant
 Regarding Telegraph road, leading northward from Mobile to the Wash ington county line, which for much of its distance is a state-aid graveled highway, the Mobile News-Item says that the highway administrations are spending annually many thousands of dollars in repairs to hard-surfaced roads, only to have the intended bene- fits destroyed by the first heavy downpour that comes. The probabil- ity is that Telegraph road through out it's length has cost all told forty thousand dollars a mile. Yet it is impossible at places after every great rain. Beyond Axis it was resurfaced at heavy expense during the last year, but already shows theS wear and tear of traffic and weather. This road is cited only as an illustration of the short-sightedness of our highway pol icy. The situation is much the same on all roads.p The same newspaper goes on to say that the only local roads that have given uniform and constant serviceability without heavy expense of upkeep have been two short stretches of paved highway near the city, and that "it is time to stop wasting the public money on repairs to dirt, gravel and clay roads which will be liability as long as they exist"
 That is good summary of all main hard-surfaced and dirt roads-"a lia- bility as long as they exist" The function of the state highway. com mission is not to put an additional liability either upon the state or upon the several counties. Let the counties themselves not be misled into think ing that they are getting a bargain when they agree to maintain state dirt or gravel roads. The counties would get far greater return for their money if they would invest the proposed maintenance money in paved roads, even though they build no more than one or two miles of paved road per year. They would be just so much ahead.
 In proceeding to the additional ex- penditure, the highway commission of course understands that, once state expenditures are made without wait ing for federal aid, no federal money will be forthcoming to match state money already spent. Therefore, the money that is spent this year in ex- cess of federal aid will be money for which federal aid will not later be forthcoming. If that is understood, ;nd the people do not object, well and good. But let that money be most jcalously guarded so that, in days to come, when people ask where it went, the highway commission may be able to point to a certain definite mileage of permanent highway and say "There it is." They will not be able ! to say that of gravel or dirt roads, unless they are asked that question within six months after the. completion l'of such roads.