264 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



Referring again to the report of the Milwaukee County Highway 

 Department, they give the following as the reasons for the selection 

 of concrete as a paving material. 



First. Durability. 



Second. Low maintenance cost. 



Third. Cheapness and availability of materials. 



Fourth, fe'implicity of construction. 



Fifth. Low initial cost. 



These all resolve into a question of economy which, when combined 

 with ease of traction, smoothness, non slipperyness, cleanliness, and 

 sanitary qualities, make concrete as nearly an ideal pavement for 

 rural highways as could be devised for Milwaukee county. We be- 

 lieve that similar results can be obtained in Pennsylvania, through a 

 properly constructed concrete pave. With mills for the manufac- 

 turing of cement, and with other maiterials for concrete work near 

 at hand in all sections of the State, this method of road buildings is 

 certainly more economical and practical than the imported asphalts 

 required in the construction of the bituminous surfaced paves. To 

 increase the efficiency of the paved roads, and also, reduce their cost 

 so that it will be possible to construct roads of this nature through- 

 out the entire state, we recommend that a plan for road building 

 somewhat similar to the old time turnpike, with eight foot pave con- 

 struction in the center, allowing for an additional eight foot of 

 macadam on one side, and eight foot of dirt road upon the other 

 side, giving a total road bed of twenty-four feet, suitable for all 

 manner of traffic, at all the seasons of the year: 



Ditch. 

 8' Macadam 

 8' Pave 

 8' Dirt 



Ditch. 



For reasons of safety, utility and economy, we further recommend 

 that no road should be improved that is of less width than twenty- 

 four feet from ditch to ditch. Whatever system, or kind of mater- 

 ials, for building of improved highways are selected, the aggregate 

 cost will, for all time to come, be a severe drain upon the revenues 

 of the State. 



We heartily endorse the recommendations of the Special Road 

 Committee for the purpose of devising ways and means to build and 

 maintain the highways of the Commonwealth, as reported and 

 adopted at the Stroudsburg meeting of the State Board and printed 

 in Department of Agriculture bulletin No. 253. We would call 

 special attention to the third item, which recommends, "a pay as 

 you go" policy, and as opposed to a bond issue, feeling confident 

 that the revenues of the State, properly applied, are sufficient to 

 carry on this work. We believe that the indiscriminate appropria- 

 tion of the State funds for all manner of educational and charitable 

 institutions not owned or controlled by the State, many of which 

 could, by proper management, be made self-sustaining by the muni- 

 cipalities in which they are located, is both wrong in principle, as 



