82 STATION BULLETIN 346 



ficially designated as II-A and II-B, so-called "Secondary Orange" 

 and "Secondary i'ellovv," respectively, because of the map coloring 

 which differentiates the two systems. The "orange system" includes 

 through routes other than trunk-line roads and connects highways 

 between trunk lines and those branch roads which lead from trunk 

 lines to isolated villages. The "yellow system" is composed chiefly 

 of so-called feeder roads. ^- 



Out of every ten miles of highway in the state there are approxi- 

 mately seven miles in the town system (Table 20). Sixty percent of 

 the total highway mileage is rural post roads. Class V, which are 

 regularly maintained by the town, and for the most part are not per- 

 manently improved. There are 951 miles of town roads. Class V, 

 which have been designated as part of the secondary system, but tliey 

 are still unimproved and are maintained by the town, and therefore 

 appear in Class V. However, they will ultimately be taken over by 

 the state, an act which will increase the state system to 33 percent 

 of the total highway mileage compared with 25 percent prior to the 

 creation of the secondary system in 1937. 



Table 20. Distribution of Highway Mileage in New Hampshire by Classes, 

 January 1, 1941* 



Number of miles 



Percent 

 of total 



Class System Sub- Class 



total total 



I Primary 1,422 10.5 



11-.^ Secondary Orange 1,717 



II-B Secondary Yellow 398 2.115 15.6 



III Unimproved Primary none 



IV Compacts 



on trunk line 62 



on II-A Orange 27 



on II-B Yellow 3 



remainder 632 724 5.4 



V Town roads 



on ll-A Orange 206 



on II-B Yellow 745 



remainder 7,167 8,118 60.1 



VI Town roads, not regularly maintained 1,015 7.5 



Unclassified — Forest highways, etc. 120 0.9 



Total 13^514 jqO'.O 



* Annual report of the highway commissioner, 1940. 



All of the primary system and nearly 90 percent of II-A high- 

 ways have been built and are maintained by the state (Table 21). 

 Of the 1,155 miles of .secondary yellow, only 398 miles have been 

 built and maintained by the state, whereas 103 miles have been built 

 and maintained by the towms. Approximately 56 percent of the II-B 



i^a Sixteentli annual report of State Highway Department, 1938. 



