Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-24
IMPETUS GIVEN
ROAD BUILDING
Highway Officials Make Plans
in Line With Presidents
Program.
BY JAMES w. BROOKS,
Director, American Highway Educational
Bureau.

Bureau.
Impelled by forces now getting be-
hind public work Of every character,
and especially under the leadership of
President Hoover, plans are in the
making for increased activity in road
building as one of the most far-reach-
ing and constructive agencies in ma
tional progress.
In preparation for this objective, and
for the consideration of other matters
concerning highway Improvement, MEM
berS of the American Association OF
State Highway Officials have just held
their regular annual meeting at San
Antonio, Tex. This body Is composed
exclusively of highway off1cialS who rep
resent every State in the Union and who
also cooperate closely with the Federal
Government in the administration Of
Federal aid. At this meeting, legislative
and financial needs in highway work
for the immediate future were dis
cussed and a resolution was passed rec
ommending to Congress that the Fed
eral aid appropriation be increased to
$125, 000, 900.
Stress Completing Projects.
In carrying on their part of the Ma
tons work, highway officials are stress
ing the importance of completing the
main Federal aid project as originally
planned. This plan, it viii be recalled,
was to complete State and interstate
routes first in order to save motor
vehicle revenues from the drain Of ex-
ceSsive repair costs where roads are not
built sufficiently strong in the first in
stance to sustain frequent and heavy
trafflc.
AS to the wisdom of proceeding with
increased activity on the original pro-
gram, those in highway leadership as
sert that they are in line with President
Hoover'S engineering views on such
matters. These views were expressed in
one of his prediction speeches at st.
Louis and again on his recent visit to
Cincinnati and Louisville in connection
with waterway improvement. Tersely
stated, 1t was the Presidents expressed
Judgment that trunk line waterways
should be improved first and highway
officials in their conferences at San An
tonic have again attested to the sound
ness of that principle as a means of
conserving and making the safest pos
sible use of highway construction cap
ital.
Use Of Highways Increasing.
Taking the country as a whole, the
use of public highways is increasing at
an amazing rate, likewise motor vehicle
operating waste Is increasing where
highways have not yet been brought up
to modern standards in construction
This situation may be taken as lesson
that not only should there be no let-up
in road building, especially on routes
that are heavily travelled, but that pub
lie work of this character should be in
tensihed. 1t may be taken also as q
reminder that there should be no eva
sion OF the obligation due to motorists
who have acquiesced in gasoline tax
leyies in the various States upon the
assurance that the main traffic channels
OF the country would be pressed to
completion as early as possible and thus
take care Of between IS and IS per cent
OF the countrys traffic before attempt
ing to stretch the Federal aid principle
beyond its present scope.
With the initiative which President
Hoover is taking In all internal i'm
provement matters, it is expected that
highway building soon will be greatly
increased and thereafter maintained at
speed that will insure not only sus-
tanned employment in that particular
field, but great profit to the country.