Improvement Systems Cost 251 



provement system, it will be necessary to budget the annual im- 

 provement funds to take care of the normal depreciation due to 

 wear, washing, settling, breakage, windfall, land sHps, new growth, 

 etc. The percentage of first cost required for annual maintenance 

 will vary somewhat with each class of improvements and in a 

 given class or project, with the period during which it has been 

 in use, A new building should require but little expense for some 

 years. Later, new shingles, new floors, repainting, etc., are re- 

 quired, the expense of maintenance tending to increase with time 

 until the entire building is so in need of repair that it is cheaper 

 to wreck it and build anew. With such improvements as trails 

 and telephones, it is usually better to have the first construction 

 stop short of full completion so that use may indicate the exact 

 location and degree of additional work to be done. Such work 

 is, then, usually done during the first two or three years after 

 the project is in operation. This work is perhaps more properly 

 charged to first cost than repair. But later, real repair work will 

 be required and the necessity tends to decrease from year to 

 year, at least for a number of years. This is because the timber 

 likely to fall has been felled, the regular patrons anticipate trouble 

 and prevent it by a minimum of timely work, the line wire is 

 adjusted so as to give it the required slack or tightness, bad 

 ties or joints are found and repaired so as to maintain them- 

 selves indefinitely. With trails the tread is firmed and the 

 roots which are exposed by packing and scuffling, are removed, 

 side-hill washes are cured by water-breaks, soft spots are filled 

 and bad rock is taken out; save for the regular minor yearly 

 repair and the removal of occasional windfalls, the trail stays in 

 shape. With roads the maintenance costs will depend largely on a 

 number of factors, varying with region, individual location, 

 method and quality of original construction, and traffic. A well- 

 made dirt road used only when it is dry, will stand up indefinitely, 

 where a few days of heavy traffic when the road is soft may 

 require immediate and expensive repair. Puncheon and cordu- 

 roy require constant attention and periodic renewal. Gravel 

 roads, properly crowned and drained, if dragged in proportion 

 to the traffic over them, stand up for many years but in time 

 require resurfacing. Wooden culverts and cribs become unsafe 

 or useless and have to be replaced. Still better quality roads, 



