8 BULLETIN 386, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



similar information was also obtained from the cities, boroughs, and 

 other mtinicipahties. This shows a total mileage of 20,445. 



New Jersey has an area of 7,414 square miles of land and 710 

 square miles of water, making an average of 2.72 miles of roads per 

 square mile of area. The State is divided into three belts — the 

 northwestern or hilly country, from which trainloads of dairy prod- 

 ucts enter the large cities each day; the central, or marl belt, from 

 which comes the name "Garden State"; and the southern, the flat 

 sandy region formerly considered the pine barrens, though by the 

 introduction of drainage and overhead irrigation in late years it has 

 become a rich farming and trucking region. As this section is near 

 the large cities of New York and Philadelphia, it has excellent 

 markets. 



Few people not residing close to the large cities will reahze the 

 additional cost, not only of construction but of maintenance, which 

 is required to keep in repair roads carrying a traffic of, say, 2,000 

 vehicles or 6,000 tons daily. They wonder that a State as small as 

 New Jersey should have so large a mileage of roads, constructed and 

 maintained at so great an expense. This is explained by the fact 

 that it hes between New York and Philadelphia, the two largest 

 cities on the Atlantic seaboard, and is composed largely of suburban 

 homes and manufacturing districts contiguous to these cities. New 

 Jersey itself contains several large manufacturing cities. 



In 1914, according to State registration, there was an average of 1 

 automobile for every 40 population and 6 automobiles for every 

 mile of road. This heavy traffic is a severe tax on the roads, and it 

 will, therefore, be seen that the cost of maintenance is necessarily 

 large. Also, there are a number of motor-vehicle manufacturing 

 concerns in New Jersey. When it is taken into consideration that 

 every new vehicle must be tried out on the roads, it will be seen that 

 this is an additional tax on their ability to sustain the traffic. This 

 is especially true of the heavy motor trucks. 



Some of the manufacturing cities of North Jersey are connected by 

 roads constructed over the tide marshes. These roads have been 

 under construction for a period of 100 years or more. The first step 

 was to form corduroy out of the logs and branches of trees. Later 

 planking was resorted to, and in recent years from 4 to 6 feet of 

 earth and cinders have been filled in on top. Owing to the fact that 

 these are practically pontoon roads, much of the material sinks below 

 the surface of the water, or shoves out to the sides, so that perhaps 3 

 yards must be furnished for an apparent gain of 1 yard of fill. Upon 

 this fill are constructed the most expensive types of pavement. 

 Some of these roads are now so solid that they are carrying two lines 

 of street cars, wide carriageways, and sidewalks. 



