492 ANNUAL REPORTS OP DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



In proportion to the demand there was also a pronounced scarcity 

 of the materials of construction. Sand, gravel, stone, and cement, 

 materials commonly used in road work, increased in price between 

 1917 and 1920 by from 50 to 100 per cent. Naturally, these increases 

 in the costs of the essentials of construction have been reflected in 

 the prices paid to contractors for road work. A comparison of the 

 costs of several of the common types of roadway in the fiscal years 

 1917 and 1920, shows an average increase in the cost of earth roads 

 from $2,160 to $4,100 per mile; sand-clay roads which in 1917 cost 

 $2,460 per mile on the average, this year have cost $4,685. Gravel 

 roads have increased from $4,535 to $7,250 per mile; concrete from 

 a cost of $21,165 to upwards of $40,000 per mile; and a brick road 

 which now costs $55,000 per mile could have been built in 1917 

 for $33,000. 



In view of the fact that the funds available for road construction 

 are largely limited by statute or by the returns from taxation, and 

 on account of the high prices prevailing, a majority of the States this 

 year have deliberately withheld work, the plans for which have 

 been completed, until such time as they could obtain a greater return 

 upon the expenditure. 



No small part of the reason for the hi^h contract prices is attributa- 

 ble to the uncertainty of rail deliveries of material. Contractors 

 who have been induced to enter the highway field in larger numbers 

 than ever before, and who have invested large capital in plant and 

 equipment designed to expedite construction, have lost heavily by 

 reason of the failure of the railroads to make deliveries of material 

 in accordance with anticipated schedules; and they have advanced 

 their prices on subsequent contracts in the attempt to recoup their 

 previous losses and to provide against similar contingencies in 

 the future. 



Reports received from the district engineers of the bureau at the 

 end of the fiscal year show that as against 141 Federal-aid projects 

 which were regularly receiving shipments of sand ordered, there were 

 68 projects which were seriously handicapped by delay in the receipt 

 of this material. As compared with 128 projects which were receiving 

 orders of gravel regularly, there were 108 which were held up by 

 failure to receive it according to schedule; and though 167 projects 

 were getting prompt deliveries of cement, there were 172 which were 

 delayed by the inability to get shipments of this important material on 

 time. 



In the spring of 1919 m^an}^ thousands of open-top cars stood idle. 

 As the season advanced, however, and highway work got under way 

 car shortages developed here and there almost continuousl}^, and 

 several times during the season this condition was general. Road 

 work was very seriously hampered, and many projects which could 

 easily have been completed had materials been available were carried 

 over to the 1920 construction season solely because of the delays inci- 

 dent to inadequate rail transportation service. In our endeavor to 

 secure the maximum service from the available equipment, and to 

 continue as much construction work under way as possible, close con- 

 tact has been maintained with the Pul)lic Service Division and Car 

 Service Section of the United States Railroad Administration. Much 

 has been accomplished through this cooperation. 



