MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



or bounties, on each mile of accepted road as 

 follows: 



Class A, clay-gravel road $ 250.00 



Class B. gravel road 500.00 



Class C, stone-gravel road 750.00 



Class D, gravel-stone road..... 750.00 

 Class E, macadam road 1,000.00 



The coming legislature will be asked to pro- 

 vide another class allowing rewards for con- 

 crete roads built under the state's specifica- 

 tions. 



Michigan's law is unique in that it pays a 

 fixed amount per mile regardless of the cost 

 of the road. The minimum width of metal 

 required is nine feet, making a single track 

 road. While the State Highway Department 

 recommends and urges that main roads near 

 populous centers be paved to a width of 15 or 

 16 feet, it can pay no more reward for this 

 extra width, and sees but little to be gained 

 by extra widths between nine and 14 feet, the 

 latter being the very least width that can be 

 considered a double track roadway. 



The minimum width of turnpike, or road- 

 way, on which state reward can be paid, is 18 

 feet, but greater widths up to 24 feet are rec- 

 ommended for heavily traveled roads. 



The Michigan state aid law became opera- 

 tive July 1, 100"), and the following figures, 

 giving the mileage built in each of the la=;t 

 five years, show that it is rapidly increasing in 

 popularity: 



Gain per year 

 Year. Miles Ruilt. Mires 



1005 20 (5 months). 



1006 40 40 



1007 80 40 



1008 160 80 



1009 214 54 



1910 276 62 



Total 790 



On July 1, 1910, the close of the fifth fiscal 

 year of the department, there had been com- 

 pleted 545.5 miles of road at a total cost of 

 $1,732,005.32, on which $392,299 of State re- 

 ward were paid. This shows that the average 

 cost of roads of all classes for the first five 

 years was $3,180 per mile, while the average 

 state reward per mile was $719. or approxi- 

 mately 22.6 per cent of the total cost of the 

 roads built. Roads have been built in 61 of 

 the 83 counties, and in 361 townships. 



The legislature has appropriated, all told, 

 ?660,000 for the use of the State Highway De- 

 partment during its first six years ending July 

 1. 1911 $600,000 of this to pay state rewards 

 pud $60,000, only 10 per cent of the money 

 paid for bonuses, was set apart for department 

 expenses. Following out this analysis, it will 

 be noted that at the end of the first five years 

 the department expenses had been 12.7 per 

 i-ent of the money paid out as bonuses, but 

 less than 3 per cent of the total cost of the 

 roads that came under its supervision. 



Michigan is not as well supplied with road- 

 building materials as many other states. 

 Gravel is not as well distributed as we could 

 wish, _and the only available road building 

 rocks in the lower peninsula are quarry lime- 

 stone and field cobbles. The only quarries 

 furnishing limestone are in the southeastern 

 nart of the state, the northern part of the 

 "thumb" district, and near Petoskev. Cobbles 

 rover only very limited areas. There is an 

 abundance of trap rock in some parts of the 

 I'pper peninsula, but thus far it has not been 

 rsed extensively any trreat distance from the 

 ctiarnes. The State Highway Department is 

 rrffing that a trap rock crushing plant be es- 

 tablished near Marquette prison and operated 

 by prison labor. 



Of the 545.5 miles of road completed on 

 July 1, 54.5 per cent were gravel, 43 per cent 

 macadam, with the remaining 2^ per cent di- 

 vided among the various combination roads 

 'n which state reward can be paid. About 

 eight miles of two layer concrete roads built 

 in Wayne county, in which the coarse aggre- 



PATENTED. 



"ECONOMY" 



THE ROAD DRAG OF MERIT 



SPECIAL OFFER 



Cut out this advertisement : Write your name and address plainly 

 in the lower left-hand corner and mail it to us at once. Upon 

 receipt of same at this office, we will promptly send you full 

 information, how to get an ECONOMY ROAD DRAG, 

 FREE. This OFFER IS LIMITED. Write to-day. 



F. L. GAINES, 



Ashton Bldg., Grand Rapids, Mich. 



gate is crushed stone, are included in the ma- 

 cadam mileage. The same county has built 

 about as much more one-course concrete 

 roadways, in which the coarse aggregate is 

 screened gravel, on which no state reward 

 could be paid, and which is not included in 

 the figures given. 



The State Highway Department has taken 

 little part in advising as to the kinds of 

 road that should be built, within the limita- 

 tions of the law. In most localities this is de- 

 termined bv the material available. In the in- 

 terior of the state and awav from' large cen- 

 ters of population, gravel, if it can be found 

 of fair quality and within team haul, which 

 may be said to be anvthing less than five miles. 

 has generally proved the most satisfactory and 

 economical. In districts like the Saginaw Val- 

 ley and some parts of the southeastern por-. 

 tion of the state, which have no local road 

 building materials, it generally has been found 

 more economical to ship in stone than grave'. 

 In fact, as a rule, we do not find it economical 

 to pay railroad freights on gravel unless it has 

 been screened. 



Except near cities, the automobiles have not 

 seriously injured Michigan roads. Thus far, 

 with one or two exceptions. Wayne, Saginaw 

 and Bay counties are the only ones that have 

 attemoted anything to resist automobile wear. 



In Bay countv nothing has been done ex- 

 cept to coat their water-bound limestone ma- 

 cadam roads with oil once a year, usually in 

 Tulv. AH that this does is to lay the dust 

 fairly well for the remainder of the season. 



Sapinaw county tried concrete the past sum- 

 mer for the first time. It has also built one- 

 half mile, in which the surface layer was 

 bonded with rock asphalt. 



As alreadv mentioned, Wayne county has 

 some 16 miles of concrete roadways, all on 

 verv heavily traveled roads entering the city 

 of Detroit. One road has had nearly two sea- 

 sons' wear and presents nearly a perfect sur- 

 face. This county has built several roads, tar 

 bonded bv the penetration process, but all 

 hnve had more or less repairs every year. 



One-hplf mile of road was bonded with rock 

 asnhalt this season. It looked well when win- 

 ter set in. 



So far the concrete roads have cost no re- 

 nairs and thev look as if they would resist a 

 hcavv traffic for many years to come. This 

 county has recently bonded for $2.000.000, and 

 unless the County Road Commissioners find 



something that look? better, it is probable 

 that a large part cf this money will be ex- 

 pended on concrete roadways. 



Michigan has not spent as much in depart- 

 mental supervision .as most other states, but 

 it has been reasonably exacting and has re- 

 quired that roads of all classes be brought to 

 a fair degree of excellence before the state re- 

 ward has been paid. The commissioner em- 

 ploys none but engineers experienced in road 

 building for inspections. The policy of the 

 department has been to help the man on the 

 job. who is trying to help himself, and it is 

 much more anxious to see a mile of first-class 

 road en the ground where people can use it 

 than to see many miles en paper, or read 

 about them in reports. 



That the peop'e are fairly well satisfied with 

 the Michigan law is clearly >In.\vn by the use 

 they are making of it. 



STATE WIDE MOVEMENT. 



The greatest campaign ever launched in 

 Michigan for universal good roads has just 

 been inaugurated by the Michigan Automobile 

 Association with Dr. F. C. Warnshuis, secre- 

 tary of the state association, leading the 

 forces of the motorists. The campaign is pri- 

 marily carried on to increase the membership 

 of the association and in this way work for 

 better roads in the state and better legislation. 

 It is the plan of the association to embrace all 

 of the motor clubs of the state in its member- 

 ship and then to bring the concerted efforts 

 of the 18.000 Michigan motorists to bear in 

 the quest fcr improved highways. 



The Michigan association took its first step 

 toward obtaining better road conditions this 

 fall, when the "sign board" campaign was car- 

 ried on and this work will be continued next 

 season and kept up until all of the main 

 traveled highways of the state*, are placarded. 

 Brt this latest movement .is a stupendous one 

 and is calculated to continue until a general 

 improvement in all roads is brought about. 



The association is a live one and is sure 

 to bring about results. 



A half-mile of state reward road extending 

 south from McKibben's corner near Carlton 

 Center, Barry county, built under the super- 

 vision of H. A. Nichols, has been accepted by 

 the state. 



