Evening star., 1947-04-24
Pay-as- You-Go Highways
Virginia Finance Plan Maintains It's Entire
Public Roads System
By Aier r.. Preston
hiqhloay systems
OF Maryland Virginia The third iH appear tomooWJ
By Aler r. Preston

States ability to sell them to lending in
Stitutions.
Senator Byrd, Democrat, of Virginia.
is credited with the act of the 1892
General Assembly under which the Old
Dominion took over from 81 of its 100
counties disconnected assortment of
$4,000 miles of back country roads, in
cluding 5000 miles of unimproved high
ways. Now, Is years later, only 5000
miles Of unimproved highways remain
in the secondary system, which has
grown to $4,000 miles.
Arlington, Warwick and Henrico Coun-
ties, which voted to remain out of the
Secondary Road Actor Byrd plan
also have made considerable progress in
bringing their highway systems to mod
ern standards. The State, of course, has
full charge of the primary highways
within these county lines but county EN-
gineers maintain their less important
roa6s. Funds for this are derived from
a sharing of the gasoline tax.
Each year Virginia cities receive $4, 900
per mile of primary roads within their
limits.
Bus Routes Stressed.
With wars end, the network of Sec
ondary mileage was in bad condition
by Virginia standards. AS in other
States, the war placed emphasis on roads
essential to defense, gasoline revenues
dropped severely, labor and material
were impossible to obtain, and highway
engineers went to war.
At the wars conclusion, special en-
phasis was placed on Virginia bus
routes, the department adopting the
slogan, "Not school bus day lost due
to mud during the school year 1861"
The department made history the past
winter when not one school day was lost
because of buses nlired in the mud Some
roads were impossible because of deep
snow, but the secondary improvement
program had advanced to the stage
where back country roads along school
routes have been made passable at all
seasons.
The biennial cry OF rural legislators
in the General Assemblies of both States
is, Get the farmers out of the mud"
Virginia law requires that at least 30
per cent of its highway revenues be
spent on secondary roads, and the latest
1-cent increase in gasoline tax, for
total of 6 cents, was earmarked for
secondary roads.
Maryland divides its highway money
differently. The gasoline tax there will be
increased from 4 to cents this year.
under new law. The State gets so
per cent, Baltimore receives 80 per cent
and the counties the remaining 20 per
cent
The latter amount is allocated on the
basis of the proportion of county roads
in each county.
A similar division between State, Ball
timore and the counties Is made of the
total funds from license and title fees.
Highway departments OF both States
constantly face arguments when they
propose to spend money for the expen-
sive primary roadways. The impor-
tance of the primary network is real
lied from the fact that it comprises
1913 per cent of the rural mileage of Vir-
ginia but carries 80.2 per cent of all rural
traffic. In Maryland the primary sys-
tenn comprises less than one-fourth the
total rural mileage but carries "a per
cent of the traffic.
The lightly travelled roads in the
Virginia primary system cost the State
$l9,395 per mile while the divided four
lane highWays cost S1l8425 per mile