The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1926-08-24
1926 TRAFFIC
CENSUS SHOWS
HEAVIER, ROAD
bismarck. Mandan Road Has
Heaviest Travel, With Daily
Average Of 2,422

Traffic on North Dakota highway,
shows q normal increase over 1926
the census taken this year shows.
At So census taking stations whers
one.day count was made. 1880 We.
hicles OF all kinds weret counted. IN
average Of AZ for ecah point dur
ing the 24-hour period. The Bis
rAarck- Mandan road. the only bridge
crossing the Missouri river In
North Dakota, led the list with 3,7l1
for the one Sunday on which the
count was taken. and nm average Of
1922 for the seven days in the week.
A census Of only 20 points was TAX
en- in 1926 and showed an average
OF 572 vehicles per point. The 1S
additional stations added this year
however, were all in rural districts
and tended to reduce the average
In many cases the census taking
point was moved farther from the
towns than was the case last year
nd this also is believed to have re-
6uccd the count.
Some Comparisons
A division of the traffic showed
that domestic cars comprised Is per
cent Of the vehicles listed. II per
cent were cars from other states, O.G
per cent were commercial trucks and
buses, Sc per cent were trucks
privately owned) and only l.8 per
cent were horse drawn vehicles.
In 1925 n per cent Of the motor
ears were domestic, Is per cent for
..eign, commercial buses and trucks
slhe same lis this year, trucks 81
peru and horse-drawn vehicles
f23 pEr cent. Horse-drawn vehicles
were more common in tho rural dis
tricts than in the cities.
The Fargo Cassclton station show
ed the next heaviest traffic in the
state and was unique in that it was
only slightly heavier on Sunday than
on most week days and was exceeded
by Saturday, the comparison being
1880 to l,534 and the daily average
1919.
Explanation Given
Commenting on the heavy traffic
over the Bismarck Mandan highway
the current issue of the State High
way Bulletin says:
"Due to the fact that there are
large cities whose population is
greater or rs large as the combined
population of bismarck and Man.
dan. the heavy traffic ut this point
demands some explanation.
"After due allowance Is made for
other communities whose roads ra-
date out to perhaps greater degree
than ut the station in question, and
which perhaps cause n more even
distribution of the traffic in and
nut 81 these other places. other fac
tors in explanation must be sought.
L. nk HIT lie.
marck and Mandan is paved for it's
full length, it crosses the Missouri
river bridge and lies between the
two towns whose combined p0pula-
ton is about $4,000 inhabitants. 1t
offers a pleasant and enticing drive
for the evening or afternoon and a
form Of recreation and pleasure.
What would be more natural to drive
over it to visit friends in the neigh
boring city or just for the pleasure
of the driver Hence @pleasure drls-
inr accounts to O large degree for
this heavy count. This is borne out
by u comparison of Sunday with
other days which proves that the
Sabbath day use Of the road is nearly
twice that Of the other days. Again,
u comparison of the domestic cars
with the foreign car count demon
strates that the domestic car traffic
ut this point is nearly three times
as heavy as that at any other point.
Those familiar with traffic conditions
on the route are Of the opinion that
between the hours of in the after
noon and 10 at night the traffic is
about twice as heavy as during any
other period Of the day. This road
emphasizes the general contention
that paved highways tend to increase
the traffic over the road, and, If so
desired, its condition can be en-
ployed as an argument for more paw
ing in this state on the theory that
paved roads, by reason OF the in
creased traffic and consequent gaso-
line consumption, soon help to pay
for themselves"
Heaviest ON Sunday
The count at the eight stations
where a seven-day check was made
show that traffic was SO per cent
greater on Sunday than on the aver
age work day and Is per cent great
err on Saturday than any other work
day. !.
The evcnness Of the count on the
Fargo Casselton route is explained
by the fact that pleasure traffic on
Sunday from Fargo is generally east
ward and there is comparatively little
westward recreation travel. This
point leads the state in the truck
count. largely due to the heavy traf-
fic to the Fargo packing plant. the
average for the seven days being
l48 trucks daily.
Commenting ON the reason for the
statewide traffic census and it's
value, the Bulletin said: "Seven day
counts were made at eight places
during the two census years and Mt
all Others the count was. for one day
only. While it might have been de-
sirable to have made longer count
ut many other points, economy in
census taking was the guiding pur-
pose. Owing TO the fact that the
maintenance division is now main
tanning an accurate and complete
cost record for each patrol section |
and that these can be combined for
any stretch Of highway and the cost
determined per mile for such length,
the census data, together with the
cost records. supplies accurate in-
formation rs to tie probable life oil
the road aud the probable annual
and periodic cost of maintaining that |
state highway system. It supplies Q !
portion or any other portion OF our |
fact basis for budgeting our main
tenance program for the future
Resmlts OF C0unt
The result Of the seven-day count |
at the eight points in the state where
they were made follows:
state Aver.
Route Point Total age /
Fargo-Casselt 80. 0034 1870
Valley City Sanborn. 4734 GIG
bismarck Mandan ..f(3955 2422
Grand FOrks-Larimore 4649 COL I
q Iaknfa. navila Lake k2N1 TAR