OFFICE OF PUBLIC ROADS. 879 



to be continued annually until the roads are improved, and as long 

 thereafter as may be necessary in order to obtain complete data 

 regarding the beneficial effects of the improvements. 



This investigation concerns the methods of financing and admin- 

 istration, the methods and cost of construction and maintenance, and 

 the effects of road improvement on the cost of hauling, character and 

 quantities of production, incoming and outgoing shipments of farm 

 products, valuation of farm lands, school attendance, etc. Much 

 valuable information has already been obtained on these subjects, and 

 it is hoped that, when the investigation is completed and published, 

 it will stimulate road improvement in many parts of tlie country. 



BOND-ISSUE INVESTIGATIONS. 



The method of financing road construction by bond issues is becom- 

 ing very common and is receiving considerable attention from the 

 office, with a view to giving accurate and reliable information to 

 those who contemplate such methods of raising money for road 

 improvement. At the present time the office is collecting from each 

 county and township in the United States where bonds have been 

 issued data regarding the amount of bonds issued, the rates of 

 interest, the dates of issuance and maturity, the assessed valuation 

 of property subject to taxation for road purposes, and the rate of 

 taxes necessary to pay interest and retire bonds. This information 

 will be published as soon as the investigation is completed. 



MAINTENANCE EXPERIMENT. 



In July, 1911, a contract was made with the board of county super- 

 visors of Alexandria County, Va., under which the Office of Public 

 Roads assumed the experimental maintenance of 8 miles of earth 

 road in the Arlington and Jefferson road districts. By the terms 

 of the contract the county undertook to put the entire mileage of 

 roads in good shape before maintenance was begun. Ilhe repairs 

 were completed in December, and maintenance under the patrol sys- 

 tem commenced on December 17 and continued during the fiscal 

 year 1912. 



The earth road selected consists essentially of three parts — a por- 

 tion of the Alexandria and Georgetown Road, or north Mount Vernon 

 Road, running north from Nelson's Corner along the east side of the 

 national cemetery for a distance of 2i miles to a point where the road 

 is crossed by Rockv Run; the Mount Vernon Avenue Road running 

 south from Nelson s Corner to a point near the old race track at St. 

 Asaphs for a distance of 2J miles; and the Columbia Turnpike, run- 

 ning west from Nelsons Corner to the F'airfax County line for a dis- 

 tance of '^ miles. There are on the entire 8 miles of road 4 bridges 

 and 19 culverts. There are also 54 ditch pipes under driveways, 59 

 intersecting roads, with pipe drains, and 42 intersecting roads and 

 driveways without pipe drains. There are also 10 small wooden 

 bridges across the gutters. 



The repairs carried out by the county consisted in shaping parts 

 of the road with a scraping grader, clearing and widening the ditches 

 and clearing culverts, and the appliciition of gravel to portions of the 



