ECONOMIC SUEVEYS OF COUNTY HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT. 85 



$15,000, or about $517 per acre. A brick road is to be built by this 

 place. 



A tract of 40 acres one-fourth mile off Manatee-Sarasota Road (see 

 PL XXXIV, fig. 2) , 6 miles north of Sarasota, which was unsalable 

 before the roads were improved, recently sold for $2,600, or $65 per 

 acre. 



Between Sarasota and FruitviUe, along the improved road, a 10- 

 acre tract was being held for $2,500, or $250 per acre. 



On Manatee-Sarasota Road, about 2 miles south of Manatee, 15 

 aci'es of uncleared land was offered in 1913 for $2,500, or $166 per 

 acre. 



Another tract of 55 acres, 4-| miles out of Bradentown, on the 

 Palma Sola Road, wMch sold at the time of completion of the road 

 for $20 per acre, was again sold 2 years -later without additional 

 improvements for $50 per acre. On the Palma Sola Road, about 5J 

 miles from Bradentown, a tract containing 160 acres was originally 

 set to grapefruit. When the road was improved the owner sold 40 

 acres for $1,000, and this has since been subdivided and resold for 

 over $6,000. 



A tract of a little more than 400 acres along the road from Ellenton 

 to Parrish, about 2 miles above Ellenton and 1^ miles off the road, 

 recently sold for $20 per acre. The same land was offered 2 years ago 

 for $10 per acre, but a purchaser could not be found. 



Additional examples of the increased land values might be given, 

 but the foregoing statements are sufiicient to show that the increases 

 have been remarkable and that the improvement of the roads has 

 probably done more to bring this about than any other factoi. 

 From all of the iixformation available it appears that there have been 

 added from 50 to 100 per cent or at least $15 per acre to the selhng 

 price of all lands within one-half mile of the new roads, a total of 

 appi'oximately $611,000, which is more than twice the value of the 

 bonds issued. 



EFFECT OF ROAD IMPROVEMENT ON TRAFFIC. 



To ascertain the volume of traffic on the improved roads and the 

 relative cost of hauling before and after the roads weie improved, 

 information was obtained as to the farm production during the years 

 1912 and 1913. It was found that in 1912, 3,720 acres of land were 

 devoted to the raising of vegetables and 4,950 acres were devoted to 

 groves of citrus fruit in bearing. In 1913, while there had been no 

 material increase in the citrus-fruit acreage, the area devoted to 

 vegetables had increased to 5,195 acres. The yield of tomatoes alone 

 during the season of 1913-14 was 450,000 crates or 11,250 tons. 

 The yield of cabbage was 128,000 crates or 6,400 tons. Celery 

 comprised 336,000 crates or 13,440 tons, and citnis fruits yielded a 



