MICHIGAN 



ROADS 



DETROIT, MICH., MARCH, 1910. 



Michigan Road Makers' Association 



W. W. Todd, Jackson, President; P. T. Colgrove, Hastings, First Vice-President ; C. C. Rosenbury, Bay City, Second 

 \/ice-President; E. N. Hines, Detroit, Secretary; E. B. Smith, Detroit, Treasurer. 



Board of Governors: Royal T. Taylor, Cheboygan; D. L. Case, Detroit; Frank F. Rogers, Lansing; W. W. 

 Trayes, Hancock. 



State Highway Commission 



Doing a Splendid Work 



The county, road institute held at Clare Feb. 23 

 losod a series of winter institutes held for each 



fe aent old hay lawhich 



cquircd these institutes tc, be held in every 

 ounty in the state and in the case of many coun- 

 ies had called the highway commissioners of ad- 

 oining counties to the school of instruction in 

 oad building held in a central county. In nearly 

 very instance this has been found a very profit 



d in better inst 

 n Career at en ince is well a Jreitlv re" 



f the dpnYrT 

 depart - 



Each highway commissioner is entitled under 



1C law to one day's pay and actual necessary 



-aveling expenses in attending these institutes 



iiid this feature of the law has had a good effect 



pon the attendance. These meetings are of 



real benefit to roadmakers throughout the state. 



I hey take advantage of the opportunity afforded 



lem to ask questions and be set right on the 



iany varied problems confronting them. No 



vo localities have the same problems. There- 



>re, the greatest good resulting from these in- 



itutes is supplying the individual needs of many 



riVrent communities. 



To make these institutes profitable requires a 

 ist amount of energy and patience, together 

 ith a wonderful store of technical knowledge of 

 ad building and of the governing laws. A man, 



conduct these meetings properly, must be in 

 ct, if not in. name, lawyer, expert road builder 



d general adviser to 1.250 highway commis- 

 , iners and through them to the great interurban 

 ipulace of Michigan. It is no small matter to 

 >ld a position of this kind and supply each 

 d every requirement. 



To carry on this work successfully requires a 

 st amount of detail work for the state highway 

 partment and a goodly amount of the tax- 

 yers' money. Although Commissioner Ely has 



thorized the use of about $300 of the funds re- 



from auto licenses for this purpose, the 



<>st of the institutes for the lower peninsula 



ngregate nearly $000, exclusive of salaries, 



i<\ involves the time of three persons and travel- 



j a distance of nearly 1,500 miles. Notwith- 



Binding all these facts the State Highway De- 



irtmcnt feels amply repaid for its work and be- 



Ivi-s that the people of Michigan are repaid 



iiny times for the money expended which will 



tuilt in the betterment of the wagon roads of 



t? state. 



In addition to these institutes the State High- 



y Department has upon request sent its engi- 

 i|crs to many points in the state to speak at pub- 

 gatherings where bonding propositions and 



new road building projects were being promul- 

 gated. 



The Department now exercises the same super- 

 vision over the construction of bridges upon 

 request that it does over roads thus giving the 



of its ex- 



will provide for a bridge engineer, an 

 ! nvestlnent * will save the people of Mich- 



Tb^tterTridges for the "am e amount* of 

 , same l mOUI ot 

 " n , ow . 'nvested All plans and specifica- 



fo f K br ' dgeS Cf sh U ' d be draw " f r at . leas j 

 fP.P ro ved by the State Highway Department, and 



thls De P artment should also be in a position to 

 see that such P lans and specifications are carried 

 out to the letter of the contract. Then blank 

 form contracts should also be furnished by the 

 Same stat f authority. The greatest possible 

 ^"M ^ P r ! nd t lv . ldua ' " eed seems 



* be , ' M t T ' ? * P ltC ?, and * ia " Ot to b w - on - 

 dered . at tbat . the mileage. of permanently im- 

 P r v( T d roads ln M ' chl g an 1S increasing by leaps 

 and bounds - 



NEW HIGHWAY IN CLARE. 



It is expected that the townline road between 

 Hayes and Hatton in Clare County will be 

 opened up this spring. As soon as the snow 

 goes off the survey will be made, after which the 

 work of clearing the right-of-way will be started 

 immediately. Hatton township is ready to do 

 her part and so is Hayes. When the proposed 

 highway is finished farmers will be able to get 

 to Harrison without climbing mountains. Good 

 roads, good markets and right prices are what 

 bring the farmers to town. Show us a town 

 without the support of the farmers from the sur- 

 rounding districts and we will show you a place 

 which never prospers.. The new highway passes 

 the county farm. 



OSCODA'S NON-PROGRESSIVES. 



An effort is being made to have the county 

 road system again submitted to the people of 

 Oscoda county. It is a matter of regret that 

 there should be any body of such unprogressive 

 residents in the county. The blessings of good 

 roads are too well established. Michigan Roads 

 and Forests does not believe that the opponents 

 of good roads in Oscoda will be able to muster 

 enough support to make their petition effective. 



At a meeting of the taxpayers of Allegan 

 township, Allegan county, it was voted to 

 abandon the present one-district system and take 

 up th- four-district system, and give it a fair 

 trial. The present system has been tried out for 

 two years and found to be unsatisfactory. The 

 change will be made by the town board and the 

 highway commissioner, who are authorized to do 

 S o by law. 



$1,000,000 For Good Roads 



In Michigan in 1910 



"I am asked many times each week 'anything 

 doing in good roads'?" says Horatio S. Earle, 

 president of the National Convict Labor Good 

 Roads association. "Here are some figures which 

 speak for themselves. They comprise the ap- 

 propriations so far authorized for the building of 

 good roads this year: 



Alger county $ 7,936.87 



Alpena county 15,699.45 



Baraga county 6,000.00 



Bay county 51,464.00 



Cheboygan county 14,903.00 



Chippewa county 24,692.79 



Delta county 23,000.00 



Dickinson county 31,137.09 



15,498.13 

 16,865.52 

 5,998.31 

 30,00.00 

 15,485.23 

 4,000.00 

 15,000.00 

 52,214.00 

 13,244.79 

 3,700.00 

 20,923.02 

 40,000.00 

 11,000.00 

 13,493.00 



county 



Genesee county 

 Gladwm county 



S ^ 1 ^ COUnty 

 brand Traverse county 



losco county 



Iron county 



Kalamazoo county 



Kalkaska county 



Luce county 



Mamstee county 



Marqttette county 



Mason county 



Mecosta county 



Menominee county ................. 15,742.00 



Missaukee county .................. 2,100.00 



Muskegon county .................. 33,792.22 



Ontonagon county ................... 13.354.00 



Saginaw county .................... 75,981.84 



Schoolcraft county ................. 5,793.04 



Wayne county ..................... 132,646.93 



Wexford county $14,500 by tax, 



$5,500 donation) .......... . .. ---- 



Grand Rapids Good Roads District. . 21.000.00 

 Caro Good Roads District ........... 



State reward ........................ 150,000.00 



Redford township, Wayne county ---- 50,000.00 



Detroit citizens' subscription for 



Royal Oak township, Oakland 



county ... ............. ......... 16,000.00 



Estimated in other townships in the 



state .............................. 150,000.00 



Grand total for good roads in 1910. $1,124,665.2:1 

 "In 1910 by dint of hard work I was able to 

 raise by subscription enough money in Port 

 Huron to build the first mile of water bond 

 macadam road in Michigan, and I have taken a 

 great deal of pride in tabulating the above figures 

 that the people of Michigan may know that the 

 state has in ten years advanced from no money 

 for good roads to over one million a year. 



