78 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



and alignment and in some cases to widen the roads. Bridges and 

 curves, which had previously been safe, became dangerous with fast 

 traffic. To deal with these new conditions, the Road Board was 

 created in 1909. Its chief revenue is derived from motor spirit 

 duties and carriage licenses. In 1915 its road improvement fund 

 amounted to $8,104,870, and for the five years ending March 31, 

 1915, it had expended a total of $23,638,635 in grants and loans. 

 The roads of the country are divided into first, second and third 

 classes, and the advances are made according to class — the highest 

 proportion being given to the first class. As part of its duty, the 

 Road Board compiles statistics of traffic and maintains a laboratory 

 for testing road materials. 



The recommendation of a manufacturer or contractor is not 

 a consideration in selecting road materials in Great Britain. Local 

 authorities have learned that the only way to get good roads at a 

 reasonable price is by employing competent engineers, who can be 

 trusted to design the roads, select the best materials, prepare the 

 specifications, and supervise the work of the contractors. Manu- 

 facturers and contractors of road materials in England make suf- 

 ficient, but not excessive, profits, and they are strictly the ser- 

 vants of the engineer. County engineers, whose principal duty is 

 road construction and maintenance, are of the highest standing; 

 and in most English counties they are paid higher salaries than any 

 provincial deputy minister of roads in Canada. This is found to 

 be the cheapest and best method, and, indeed, is the only one which 

 is practicable, having regard to the necessity for good construction 

 and the strictest economy. 



Road Construction in Australia 



In Victoria, Australia, the report of the Country Roads Board 

 states, that road construction has never kept abreast of settlement, and 

 that the task of improving roads has quite outgrown the resources of the 

 shire councils; therefore some form of state assistance is advocated 

 The extravagance of a policy of cheap construction is recognized by 

 the board, and it is pointed out that many of the old, solidly built 

 roads have stood the traffic of years, while many roads of compara- 

 tively recent construction have utterly failed. The absence of a 

 systematic policy, as well as a lowered standard of construction, is 

 given as a reason for the deterioration. Large sums are being ap- 

 propriated for road improvement in all the Australian states. 



