MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



(ir 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 width* 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. 1905. and the following figures, 

 giving the mileage built in each of the la'it 

 live years, show that it is rapidly increasing in 

 popularity: 



Gain per year 

 Year. Miles Built. Mires 



1905 20 (5 months). 



1906 40 40 



1907 80 40 



1908 160 80 



1909 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 

 $1,732,995.32. on which $392,299 of Slate 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- 

 rartment during its first six years ending July 

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

 pnd $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 

 <-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- 

 Iniilding 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 

 r>art of the state, the northern part of the 

 "thumb" district, and near Petoskev. Cobbles 

 rover only very limited areas. There is an 

 rbundance of trap rock in some parts of the 

 fpper peninsula, but thus far it has not been 

 rsed extensively any preat distance from the 

 cuarrics. The State Highway Department is 

 frying 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 

 en which state reward can be paid. About 

 eight miles of two layer concrete roads built 

 in Wayne enmity, 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 anything 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 gravel. 

 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 county nothing has been done ex- 

 cept to coat their water-bound limestone ma- 

 cadawi 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 alrearlv 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 by the penetration process, but all 

 have had more or less repairs every year. 



One-half 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 

 hc-avv traffic for many years to come. This 

 county has recently bonded for $2.000.000, and 

 unless the County Road Commissioners find 



something that Irok- better, it is probat 

 that a large part of this money will be 

 pended on concrete roadways. 



Michigan has not spent as much in depar 

 mental supervision as most other states. 

 it has been reasonably exacting and has rej- 

 quired that roads of all classes be brought 

 a fair degree of excellence before the state re 

 ward has been paid. The coHimi-Moncr en 

 ploys none but engineers experienced in roa 

 building for inspections. 'The policy of til 

 department has been to help the man on 

 job. who is trying to help himself, and it 

 much more anxious to see a mile of first-cla 

 mad i 11 the ground where people can use 

 than to see many mile- i n paper, or rea 

 about them in reports. 



That the peop'e are fairly well sati-fied wit 

 the Michigan law is clearly shown by the US 

 they are making of it. 



STATE WIDE MOVEMENT. 



The greatest campaign ever launched 

 Michigan for universal good roads has j 

 been inaugurated by the Michigan Anton: 

 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 wnrk for 

 better roads in the state and better legislati 

 It is the plan of the association to embrace 

 of the motor clubs of the state in its member- 

 ship and then to bring the concerted effo 

 of the 1S.OOO Michigan motorists to bear 

 the quest for improved highways. 



The Michigan association took its first s 

 toward obtaining better road conditions t' 

 fall, when the "sign board" campaign was c 

 ried on and this work will be continued n 

 season and kept up until all of the ma 

 traveled highways of the state^are placard 

 Rrt this latest movement -is a stupendous o 

 and is calculated to continue until a gene' 

 improvement in all roads is brought aboi 



The association is a live one and is su 

 to bring about results. 



A half-mile of state reward road extend! 

 south from McKibben's corner near Carlto 

 Center. Barry county, built under the -upt 

 vision of II. A. Nichols, has been accepted b 

 the state. 



