Report of State Highivay Engineer. 43 



REPORT OF STATE HIGHWAY ENGINEER. 



Columbia. :\Io., December 28, 1909. 

 To the Honorable Members of the State Board of Agriculture : 



Gentlemen — In my report for the year, 1908, among other things 

 planned for the year, 1909, I mentioned a systematical study of the 

 road materials of the State, a census for the amount of travel, whereby 

 the roads could be classified, the collection of historical data upon the 

 old State roads, and the tests of paints and preservatives for steel 

 highway bridges. These plans had to be abandoned because of an insuffi- 

 cient ajjpropriation. The appropriation by the last Legislature for the 

 biennial period is not sufficient to carry on the regular routine work 

 of the office for the two years, aside from gathering useful information 

 or broadening the scope of our work. The office is constantly receiving 

 calls, the nature of which requires visits to the localities. In order 

 to treat all alike, after April 1st, we shall be compelled to request that 

 necessary traveling expenses be provided by the community or local 

 authorities desiring such services. With very little more funds, the 

 work of the office could be made many times more valuable to the State. 

 The prospect for the next year is not to enlarge, but to curtail the 

 work. 



DUTIES OF THE STATE HIGHWAY ENGINEER. 



The duties assigned by law for the State Highway Engineer are to 

 devise plans and estimates for road and bridge construction, best suited 

 to the needs of the different counties of the State ; to hold public meet- 

 ings in the various parts of the State, and to give assistance and advice 

 to local road officials whenever any of said officials may request it : to 

 disseminate information and instructions by bulletins, publications, 

 etc. ; to assist in the construction of demonstration roads, and to investi- 

 gate the character of the diff'erent road materials of the State. 



For the first of these duties, the office has made plans and estimates 

 by actual study and survey of the ground of something like seventy 

 miles of rock and gravel road, a few miles of which were superintended 

 during construction by the office. This does not include plans, estimates, 

 or specifications sent out from surveys made by local engineers. We 

 have made plans and estimates for fifty-four steel bridges aggregating 

 6,650 linear feet, and 123 concrete structures aggregating 1,420 linear 



