The Carbon County news. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1924-1931, 1928-08-02

IN September, the 1928 expenditure
on improvement of Montana highways
will have exceeded 2,750,000.
Under a new law passed by the
last session of the state Legislature,
income from the Scent tax on gaso-
line is placed in a state highway
fund for disposal of the commission
for construction and maintenance of
Montana roads. From this income is
deducted refunds to farmers, rail
roads, elevators and others not placed
upon the public highways, and also
the administrative expense of the
state commission. Since Jan. l this
year, up to and including July l, a
total of S984,344.28 has been collected
from the tax, which will be increased
to over S1,000,000 with the collections
for the present month.
The commission has to date ex-
pended $685., 783.01 from the gasoline
tax fund, Mr.. Whips says. The fed
eral government through the bureau
of roads has matched this amount
with S1,226,36681 and the counties
and railroads have contributed $751;
1853, making a total of $2,253, 264.85.
To promote better road construc-
ton in the several states, the federal
government matches state funds on
better than $3.50 basis, as the above
figures indicate, Mr.. Whips points
out. Certain counties of the state that
are DESTROYS of securing road work,
pay a portion of the expenditure and
railroads, in cases where an overhead
crossing is needed or viaduct, share
the expense. In the above tabulation
showing that the counties and rail
roads paid $191,115.O3, two railroad
crossings are included, one on the
Alhambra road southeast of Helena
and the other near Butte, both on the
Great Northern.
Beginning in March, this year, the
state highway commission opened
bids on construction work and in
five months let SO contracts to con-
tractors of Montana and adjoining
states. So popular has Montana high
way construction work become that
contractors from Washington, Ne
braska, Minnesota, Kansas, Wyoming
and the Dakotas have placed bids on
certain pieces of road work or bridge
construction.
At the beginning of the construc-
ton year, the commission figured
that approximately $2,229,000 would
be available for work in 1928 and
working on this estimate distributed
the work to the districts of the state.
There are IL construction districts,
the first including Lincoln, Flathead
and Lake; second, Glacier, Toole,
Liberty, Hill and Blaine; third, Phil
lips, Valley, Roosevelt, Sheridan and
Daniels; fourth, McCone, Richland,
Dawson, Prairie and Wibaux; fifth,
Garfield, Petroleum and Fergus;
sixth, Chouteau, Pondera, Teton, Cas-
cade and Judith Basin; seventh, Lew
is and Clark, Jefferson and Broad
water; eighth, Sanders, Mineral, Mis-
soula, Powell, Granite and Ravalli;
ninth, Deer Lodge, Silver Bow, Beav-
erhead and Madison; tenth, Meagher,
Wheatland, Sweet Grass, Park and
Gallatin; eleventh, Musselshell, Col
den Valley, Saltwater, Carbon, Vel
Iowstone, Big Horn and Treasure;
twelfth, Rosebud, Custer, Powder
River, Fallon and Carter.
Under an opinion of the Montana
supreme court since the first of the
present construction season, another
burden was added to the heavy sched-
ule of work of the state commits
sion, that of securing right of way
for all construction work. Previous
to that time, the counties through
which work was being done, con-
ferred with land owners and settled
all right of way difficulties before
actual work was begun. Although the
present system delays work in GER
tain instances, the commission has
had little trouble in its condemnation
work. The Montana Automobile as
ISOLATION proposes to present to the
next legislature a bill to the effect
that the state commission be given
power to start it's construction work
and leave the settlement of condem-
nation or other right of way prob.
lens to later date, thus speeding
up the highway work.
Announcement of the construction