ROAD MILEAGE AND REVENUES IN NEW ENGLAND STATES, 21 
ROAD MILEAGE, 1914. 
According to reports received from the towns, Rhode Island, at 
the close of 1914, had 2,169.70 miles of public road, of which 693.42 
miles, or 31.95 per cent, were surfaced. Of the surfaced roads 352.92 
miles were macadam, 107.40 bituminous macadam, 230.10 gravel, 
and 3 miles granite block. According to the 1909 report, the State 
had 2,120.75 miles of public roads, of which 1,042.07 miles, or 49.14 
per cent were surfaced, a decrease in surfaced mileage for the 5-year 
period of 348.65 miles. This apparent decrease probably is due to 
overestimates in 1909. 
Information in regard to road mileage for each town in the State 
is shown in Table 20. 
CONNECTICUT. 
By C. G. Nichols, Collaborator and Chief Clerk, Connecticut Highway Department. 
Connecticut has a land area of 4,820 square miles, a total road 
mileage of 14,060.82, and a population, according to the 1910 census, 
of 1,114,756. There is a population of 231.3 per square mile of area, 
and 79.28 per mile of road, with 2.92 miles of road per square mile of 
area. Of the population in 1910, 10.3 per cent, or 114,917, was rural, 
or 8.17 per mile of road. 
The State has 8 counties, 157 towns (or townships), 10 cities, and 1 
borough. Within the boundaries of 33 of the towns there are 9 
additional cities and 24 boroughs. In these latter cases, however, 
the city or borough and the town lines are not coincident, but are 
really incorporated communities separate and distinct from the town 
government. From this system of creating such communities 
within towns comes the expression a New England's borough system, 7 ' 
which affords certain complications in the apportioning of money for 
road and bridge purposes. The plan adopted generally in these cases 
is for the town, through its proper officials, to apportion to the city or 
borough a certain sum for construction and maintenance of roads 
within the borough limits. 
ROAD ADMINISTRATION. 
There are three county commissioners in each county. If any 
town neglects or refuses to maintain roads properly, petition may be 
filed with the county commissioners, who, after a hearing, may order 
the town to make necessary repairs. The town failing, the com- 
missioners may have the work done and charge the expense to the 
town. All road matters in towns are under the jurisdiction of the 
board of selectmen, usually three in number, unless the town has 
placed the control of highways in the hands of a superintendent of 
streets, a highway commissioner, or similar official. The larger towns 
are gradually adopting the " centralized authority'' feature of road 
