The Daily Alaska empire., 1928-11-20
NEW PROJECTS
 ARE APPROvED; FUNDS NEEDED
Alaska Road Commission Favors l6 Projects
 Depends on Finances

MOfh III almost every pOTIlOn O Alaska are favorably considered by tho Alaska Road Commission for inclusion in it's program when and if funds are available, wa made known today by Major Ma colm Elliott, President. He gave list of these with brief com ments on each.
 They are not announced neces- sarily in the order of the import ance nor as they may be program med by the Commission. Pending the securing of the needed re. sources for construction if is not possible to make any definite an- nouncement as to when the work will be done and which will be advanced on the program
 25 Years Old
 The Commission, Major Elliott pointed out, is now entering on its 25th working year. It was estab- 1 lished in 1905 under Gen. Wilds P. Richardson. Since that time it has constructed and there Is new road system comprising; 1923 miles of wagon road, a large DOT tion of which is used for automo- bile traffic: 1875 miles Of sled roads over which sleds drawn by dogs, horses, and tractors are op- erated 7,O44 miles of trail and i TIP miles of Jagged trail. This gives a total of 10,754 miles in the system.
 It reaches many of the areas oi importance in the Territory, pro tsviding connections with mos. q the accessible waterways and raj routes, thus linking them up with the Outside.
 Expend Large Sum
 Up to the end of the fiscal year 1928, the expenditures of the Con- mission on the system had aggre. gated about $13,300,0G0. Of this sum $S,700,000 was derived from direct Federal appropriations ant the remainder, $4,600,000 iron Alaskan sources, about 35 per cent of the total. In addition to these funds, the Commission has su peryised the expenditure of some thing over $1,OO0,0OO by the sey eral district road organizations.
 Without suitable highways, Ma jor Elliott said, freight must b' carried on mems backs at cos of about $25 per ton mile, packed by horses at cost of about VI per ton mile. or by dogsleds at cost of about $650 per ton mile With suitable sled, wagon or autt truck roads, these freight rate can and have been reduced L from $.60 to $1.30 per ton mile.
 Maintenance Cost Increases
 The large mileage on whicl construction has been completed makes necessary a large annua expenditure. This has resulted il a material proportion of the an nual appropriations in the pas few years being spent for main tenance.4 However, as it wa !. noted Iby Major Elliott. there ha . always been fair-siZed balanc : available for new construction. But all of the needs of tn Territory for additional roads hay not been met" Major Elliott add ed. The Commission has endeay ored to keep in close touch wit the situation and has studied eS isting conditions with a view undertaking the most badly need l ed projects whenever 1t has sui ficient funds.
 Sixteen such projects, elthe wholly new or new extensions existing routes, have been put l this class. While they have bee favorably consisted, it is net pos l otDiC iO hClinltCly PlOS NANt for initial construction pending al propriations therefor.
 On Upper Yukon
 One such route is that connect
 ing Eagle, on the Upper Yuko
 River with the 40-Mile distric
 where a summer freight route needed to link the river wit placer mining areas. This rt
 zion is now served by a winte sled road and summer trails. Proi pecting, dredging and hydraul mining operations are in progre'
 there in the vicinity of Dome an
 Chicken creeks.
 Another route is that betwee
 Gulkana and Chistochena and | . future extension to Chisana. Tn is highly mineralized area col ! taining known deposits Of silye 1 lead copper and gold Operation