BULLETIN OF THE 



ffiPMHlOfAW 



No. 53 



Contribution from the Office of Public Roads, Logan Waller Page, Director. 

 December 31, 1913. 



OBJECT-LESSON AND EXPERIMENTAL ROADS, AND 

 BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION, 1912-13. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The United States Office of Public B-oads is empowered by a 

 provision of the agricultural act to expend a portion of its appro- 

 priation " for investigations of the best methods of road making and 

 the best kinds of road-making materials, and for furnishing expert 

 advice on road building and maintenance." ^ The terms of this clause 

 have been interpreted to include the construction of short stretches of 

 various kinds of roads in different communities for the purpose of 

 serving as object lessons to the officials having charge of the roads 

 and to the citizens who use them. The desire of the office has been 

 to demonstrate in a practical way the need for good roads and at the 

 same time show to the community the proper method of economical 

 road construction. 



The work of the office is limited to furnishing the services of one 

 or more expert engineers to make the surveys, estimates, and speci- 

 fications for the road, to supervise its construction, and to give prac- 

 tical advice to the local authorities who must furnish all machinery, 

 materials, and labor. The community where the road is to be built 

 is first required, through the officials having jurisdiction over the 

 proposed road, to make application to this office on a prescribed form. 



As an illustration of the growth of the office the following table 

 is given. It shows the area in square yards of each type of road con- 

 structed during the fiscal years 1905 to 1913, inclusive : 



Area, in square yards, of ohject-Jesson roads constructed during 1905-1913, 



inclusive. 



Material. 



1905 



1906 



1907 



1908 



1909 



1910 



1911 



1912 



1913 2 



Brick 













526 

 1,004 







2,055 



















3,218 















1,917 





1,744 

















5,500 



Bituminous-surfaced con- 



















4,178 



Bitumiaous macadam 













45,832 



41,551 



34, 453 





1 Aarir-ultural act, 1914, Public No. 430, 62d Cong., 3d sess. 

 2 Includes experimenial roads. 



17627°— Bull. 53—13 1 



Approved March 4, 1913. 



