10 
BULLETIN 660, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
economics and not cost keeping, although cost data have a most 
important part in the final determination. 
HIGHWAY COST ANALYSIS. 
An analytical chart has been prepared to place before the reader 
in concise and convenient form a summary of the foregoing discussion 
of cost elements applied to road work, and to show the relation be- 
tween the cost elements and the final cost of the project as expressed 
in totals and by units. The first column of the chart contains the 
four basic elements of cost. Opposite each element, in the second 
column, are the classes of expenditure, such as direct, indirect, etc. 
The third column shows in detail the specific application of the cost. 
Example, "for materials/' "for labor," "superintendence," etc. 
The fourth column contains a tabulation of the class of product 
resulting from the cost outlay, such, for example, as construction, 
maintenance, right of way, etc. The fifth column contains the final 
cost and presents it by units, by project, etc. 
Elements Classes 
of of 
cost. cost. 
Highway cost analysis. 
Application of cost. Product of cost. 
Summary of 
cost. 
Direct. 
Highway 
cost 
Labor 
cost... 
Material 
cost... 
Plant 
and 
equip- 
ment 
service 
cost. 
General 
expense 
cost. 
Indirect. 
Direct. 
Indirect. 
Wages of laborers, me- 
chanics, teamsters, etc. 
Wages and expenses of su- 
perintendents, foremen, 
timekeepers, guards, 
•watchmen, water boys, 
etc., lost labor days, la- 
bor expense. 
Materials entering into 
product as integral 
parts. 
( Supplies, used but not as 
"\ a part of product. 
Operation. 
Operating. \ Repairs. 
Idleness. 
{Depreciation. 
Interest. 
Taxes. 
Insurance. 
Project: 
Engi- 
neering 
and su- 
pervi- 
sion. 
General: 
Admin- 
ist r a- 
tion. 
Salaries and expenses of 
engineers, field parties, 
draftsmen, inspectors, 
and clerks; office expen- 
ses, tests, and miscella- 
neous expenses for indi- 
vidual projects. 
Salaries and expenses of 
executive, engineering, 
legal, and clerical staffs: 
expense of office main- 
tenance, experiment-, 
investigations, and fiscal 
operations; miscellane- 
ous fixed charges. 
Construction, 
maintenance, or 
reconstruction of 
road parts, right 
of way, grade 
and roadside, 
roadway, ditches, 
drains, bridges, 
and culverts, 
and supplemen- 
tary parts. 
Plans, specifica- 
tions, estimates, 
surveys, inspec- 
tion, and direct 
supervision of 
work. 
General direction, 
policy, over- 
sight, planning, 
control, legal, 
and financial 
provisions. 
By units, direct, 
as performed. 
By project; upon 
completion may 
be apportioned 
to units. 
On all operations 
over a period of 
time and appor- 
tioned to proj- 
ects. 
