BUREAU OF PUBLIC ROADS. 463 



and there lias been a natural disposition to designate other roads of 

 less importance as the Federal-aid highway system for the State. 

 The final outcome, however, in all of such cases lias been the designa- 

 tion of the most important routes for inclusion in the Federal-aid 

 system. It is realized by the States that the provision of the law, 

 which permits the extension of the system under certain conditions, 

 will successfully meet the practical requirements of construction as 

 they arise. Another condition exists in some of the western States 

 where the population is widely scattered, road distances are com- 

 paratively great, and financial resources for road building narrowly 

 restricted. The designation of a system of roads in such States 

 adequate at once to serve local requirements and at the same time 

 correlate satisfactorily with the roads of adjoining States demands 

 very careful adjustments in order to keep the mileage, the resources, 

 and the service value of the roads properly balanced and economically 

 justified. 



It has been found that the limitation of the interstate highway 

 mileage to three-sevenths of the whole system in some States of large 

 area and limited total mileage precludes a sufficient length of inter- 

 state highways to make connections with the systems of all adjoining 

 States and in such cases it has been found necessary to make use of a 

 portion of the secondary mileage to complete the interstate systems. 



At the end of the fiscal year none of the tentative systems sub- 

 mitted by the States had yet been approved by the Secretary, but 

 agreement had been reached with considerable definiteness regard- 

 ing a large part of the system for the State of Oregon. It is expected 

 that further conferences by districts will be held during the summer 

 and fall and that the approval of the designated systems will com- 

 mence shortly after the end of the fiscal year. 



In order that Federal-aid road construction might not be inter- 

 rupted during the period required for the designation and approval 

 of the Federal-aid systems required by the law, provision was rnade 

 for giving approval to particular projects that might be submitted 

 by the State where a reasonable showing could be made that such 

 projects would in fact be included in the probable system. This 

 procedure was authorized by the law, and adequate administrative 

 methods were devised for carrying out construction under these con- 

 ditions, so that there has been no interrruption or delay in the Federal- 

 aid program of the several States on account of the creation of the 

 Federal-aid system for the country as a whole. 



The law requires that within two years from November 9, 1921, 

 maps shall be issued showing the progress in designating the Federal- 

 aid system and thereafter from time to time showing the progress of 

 selection, construction, and reconstruction. Very careful studies 

 are now being made in an effort to arrange satisfactory production 

 of these maps, and in every way possible use will be made of other 

 map-producing agencies of the Government with minimum require- 

 ments in the way of original drafting. 



PROGRESS IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION. 



From the viewpoint of Federal-aid progress this year, the sixth 

 since the inauguration of the Federal-aid work, divides itself into 

 two periods, the one before and the other after the passage of the 



