ECONOMIC SURVEYS OF COUNTY HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT. 83 
The marl-rock and limestone roads were surfaced to a width of 
9 to 12 feet and were built in two courses. The first course was 6 
inches in depth loose and the second course 3 inches loose. The 
shell roads were surfaced to a width of 9 feet and to a depth of 12 
inches loose. All rights of way were cleared to a width of 30 feet. 
The average cost of the 63.658 miles built, including culverts and 
bridges, was $3,966.50 per mile. The average cost per mile of the 
shell road was $2,400; marl-rock macadam, $3,800; and flint-rock 
macadam, $4,700 per mile. A contract let on April 21, 1911, con- 
tains the following unit prices: Clearing and grubbing, $40 per acre; 
erading, $0.10 per square yard; filling, $0.20 per cubic yard; marl in 
place, $0.75 per cubic yard; stone in place, $3.25 per cubic yard; 
screenings, $2.75 per cubic yard; sewer pipe in place, $0.70 per 
linear foot; and concrete in place, $6 per cubic yard. 
HOW THE ROADS ARE MAINTAINED. 
The improved roads have not been systematically maintained. 
The shells and mari rock of which most of the roads were built are 
soft, and these materials have not stood up well. The finer materials 
have worn and blown away and many of the roads are full of ruts and | 
depressions. Some of the worst places have been patched. About 
17 miles of rock roads were surface treated with bituminous material 
when they were constructed, but this treatment has not been renewed, | 
and practically all of the original surface has disappeared. 
The road from Manatee to Sarasota, about 10 miles, was resurfaced 
‘in February, 1916, and treated with bituminous material. The 
surface was scarified and shaped, after which a 2-inch layer of lime 
rock was applied and rolled. By means of a pressure distributor 
from 0.5 to 0.6 gallon per square yard of bituminous materials was 
then applied and sanded. After about 10 days a second application 
of bituminous material consisting of from 0.2 to 0.3 gallon per square 
yard was applied and sanded. The road was.treated to a width of 10 
feet and the work done by contract at a cost of 39 cents per square 
yard, or a total cost of $2,288 per mile. This, as with all other main- 
tenance work of the county, was paid for out of the regular road funds. 
The repair and maintenance work is done under the general direc- 
tion of the county engineer and under the immediate direction of road - 
overseers. There are 13 road overseers in the county, whose pay is 
$3 per day for time actually employed. Laborers employed for 
patch and repair work receive $1.50 per day. For use in this work 
the county owns a caterpillar tractor, 3 road graders, and 2 teams. 
_ EFFECT OF ROAD IMPROVEMENT ON LAND VALUES. 
It is difficult to determine what effect the road improvement has 
had upon the increase in assessed valuation of property in the county, 
but it might be well to compare the increase in valuation during the 
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