The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1928-12-13
Address BY c. NJ. Babcock, High
Way Com, Long Prairie, Dec. 6

more, North Carolina, which is
slightly ahead of US.
In trunk highway building, we
do not rank SO high among the
states. We are eighteenth in to-
tai miles paved, twenty fourth in
"per cent of state highway sys-
tenn paved" eleventh in total miles
of primary roads surfaced with
gravel or higher types, and four
teenth in per cent of primary roads
surfaced with gravel or better.
We have been grading, crawling
and paving with current funds,
while other states have issued
bonds to build large primary road
systems. Illinois has issued $780,
100000 bonds and paved not on
ly the greater part of its primary
road system but made a good
start paving the secondary roads.
Missouri issued $60,000,000 in
bonds eight years ago and last
month voted to add another $751;
100000 to complete the system.
Iowa last month voted for a
$1O0,000,000 state bond issue. In
Wisconsin the counties have voted
bonds to build trunk highways so
that the Badger state has three
times as much paving as we
have. Thirty-five states have a
higher gas tax than we have in
Minnesota. We have been stand
ing still while others have gone
ahead.
When I say we have been stand
ing still, l do not mean that we
have not done anything. could
quote you figures showing more
than a thousand miles paved and
large part of the remainder Of
the trunk systlm graveled. The
only trouble is that traffic has
been growing more rapidly than
our road work. Our trunk high
way system would be in splendid
shape if we have the roads of
today with the traffic of 1921. The
trouble is that many of our gravel
roads are entirely inadequate to
the traffic they must carry.
Registration has increased 100
per cent from 1921 to 1928. But
our traffic census shows that sum-
mer traffic has increased 1876 per
cent in the same period. This,
however, is not the whole story.
Fall, winter and spring traffic has
increased much more than summer
traffic, due to the general use of
cars the year around. Average
speed has increased, causing great
er wear and tear on roads. There
are more trucks and they carry
heavier loads.
Engineers generally agree that
500 cars per day is the economical
limit of an unpaved road. A
gravel road however, can usually
be kept in fair condition for trav-
ell with from 500 to 1000 cars per
day, although the maintenance
cost is larger. But when the daily
traffic runs over 1000 vehicles
per day, the maintenance cost not
only mounts very rapidly but it is
difficult to keep the road in good
condition at any cost.
A year ago we had about 900
miles of unpaved trunk highways
upon which traffic averaged more
than 1000 vehicles per day. Dur
ing the past year we have paved
ITO miles. If traffic had remain
ed the same, the mileage of un-
paved roads carrying more than
1000 cars per day would have
been reduced to 100, but instead
of that it has increased to LOO
miles. Why? Simply because traf-
tic is increasing more rapidly than
we can build roads to take care of
it.
But what has happened to trunk
highway funds in the meantime.
In 1927 a ruling went into eff
feet giving the oil companies sixty
instead of ninety days to make
their gas tax settlements. This
cut off whole months receipts, or
nearly a half million dollars dur
ing the year 1927. On January 1,
1928, new rates on "X" trucks
and new classification on "Y"
trucks went into effect. In spite
of the increase in registration of
20, 433 vehicles, our motor We
hicle receipts up to Nov. 1 were
$97,85 less than at the same rate
in 1927. If the same average rate
had prevailed this year as last
year, our receipts would have been
$426,196 larger than they ac-
tually were. Then on top of this
the voters have adopted constitu-
tional amendment taking away one
third of the gasoline tax and
placed it in the State Road and
Bridge fund for use on secondary
roads. \
The state highway department
was placed in an embarrassing sit
uation during the campaign for
the amendment to divert one-third
of the gas tax. We did not like
to see this amount of much needed