Statesville Daily
Report comes from Raleigh that the engineers of the State Highway Commission have found that road maintenance is costing about twice the estimate, the unexpected increase being due to the fact that the number of vehicles operating on the roads has increased twice as fast as anticipated. The traffic being twice as much as expected by this period, the wear and tear of the highways has doubled the cost of maintenance. Which is another and farther evidence of the fact that road maintenance is yet the unsolved problem. It is unsolved in the counties where many millions of dollars were first wasted in poor construction. While construction methods have improved, the experience being gained at tremendous cost, the maintenance problems is still with us, either because we lack sufficient funds to take care of the roads or because a satisfactory method of upkeep is yet to be evolved. Both obstacles no doubt hinder in most counties.
The State Commission, with the best obtainable talent, with ample means to experiment and test, was believed to have the last word in road building and maintenance. But the State Commission people say it was beyond belief that traffic would increase as it has increased. One can understand that by looking around in almost any community. Every year here has been anticipation that the number of motor vehicles had reached the peak, and every year the number increases. While the increase in vehicles increases the road revenue, the doubling of the cost of maintenance upsets the calculations. That may affect he road building program. Of course there are numerous people who feel that we should have the good roads at all hazards. Most motor vehicle owners feel that way. If the road enthusiasts had their way, $100 million additional road bonds would be issued rather than $35 million. But there are limitations which leave the $35 million in doubt. Gov. McLean has put out the word that there are other State interests that much have attention. While the roads will have their share, what can be given in justice to the other departments of the government, we can’t drop everything and center all on building roads, desirable as that is. There are of course enthusiasts who can prove by the figures that it would be money in our pockets to do that, but the enthusiasts are thinking only of the thing in which they are most interested.
We all have hopes of more paved roads. But while it is unpleasant to think about it, a little reflection will show that all the paved roads all of us want are an impossibility; the tremendous cost will have to bespread over a long term of years. We will feel that it is a backward step to have to put the machine in the garage and take the train or the horse-drawn vehicles at such periods as we have experienced this January. But it won’t kill us. It has been but a short time since we were doing that.
If we center the attention and effort on road maintenance that its importance deserves, we will have fair soil roads except in the seasons of unusual weather. At such times we may have to do, for a little while, as we did before we had the automobile roads.
This isn’t a forecast that there is to be no more money for paved roads. That is to be determined; but it is a hunch that we may as well lower our expectations to the minimum. The good road building may have to slow down along with some other things that have been running at too high rate of speed—at least at a higher rate than can hold out. We can hope for the best and be patient. But as a matter of commonsense we cannot finance a road proposition that will put paved roads all over the State in a half dozen years, or a decade, and we had just as well quit trying to believe we can.
From page 6 of the Concord Daily Tribune, Jan. 24, 1925
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073201/1925-01-24/ed-1/seq-6/
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