OFFICE OF PUBLIC ROADS. 



717 



materials and new methods. This office furnishes at Government 

 expense one or more engineers to make the necessary surveys, esti- 

 mates, and specifications, supervise construction, and give prac- 

 tical instruction, while the local authorities furnish all machinery, 

 materials, and labor. Before undertaking this work in any com- 

 munity the officials having jurisdiction over the road to be im- 

 proved are required to make application to the office on a form 

 provided for that purpose. During the fiscal year 1911 two roads 

 which had been begun in the fiscal year 1910 were completed. Fifty- 

 two roads were begun and completed, and two were begun by the 

 office, but were completed by local authorities, while two others were 

 unfinished on June 30, 19il, and will be referred to in the next 

 annual report. 



Classed according to the materials of construction, these roads 

 were as follows : Three bituminous-macadam ; 1 oiled-asphalt-gravel ; 

 1 oiled-era vel-macadam; 1 oiled-gravel; 1 asphalt-slag; 2 oil-mixed 

 concrete; 3 macadam; 7 gravel; 27 sand-clay; 1 earth and sand-clay; 

 5 earth; and 2 graded, but not finished. The total cost of all the 

 object-lesson roads constructed under the direction of the office dur- 

 ing the fiscal year 1911 was $118,079. This does not include the 

 salaries or the expenses of the experts -and engineers furnished by 

 this office, but represents the total outlay by the communities in 

 which the roads were built. 



For the purpose of comparison, the following table is given show- 

 ino- the number of square yards of each tvpe of road constructed 

 during the fiscal years 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, and 1911, 

 inclusive : 



Object-lesson roads constructed during 1905-1011, inclusive. 



This table shows an increase in the amount of sand-clay roads 

 constructed, but a decided decrease in the number of square yards of 

 earth roads. This is accounted for by the fact that during the year 

 fewer applications were received for assistance in the building of 

 earth roads, and this has had the effect of reducing the total number 

 of square yards built during 1911 to about one-half the total con- 

 stnicted during 1910. Earth-road building is the cheapest form of 

 road construction, and a large quantity of work can be accomplished 

 in a short time. The reduction in the total number of square yards 

 built is, therefore, not important. 



