WAUPACA COUNTY NEWS

November 1, 1923

CO. ROAD WORK

HIGHWAY COMMISSIONER TELLS WHAT HAS BEEN DONE

AMOUNT OF MONEY SPENT

Federal and State Funds Meet Most of Expense

Projects Completed During Past Year

What Bridge Constructions and Repairs Cost County

            While traveling through a community, did you ever stop to think that he general condition of the roads and highways was a splendid criterion of the degree of progressiveness displayed by the citizens in general?  This is probably more or less true of any locality in the country, and a section where the roads are of the best, is sure to receive favorable comment from travelers both far and near.

            Along the line of road construction, the State of Wisconsin has been among the leaders of the country, and our own county of Waupaca has been one of the most progressive in the state. For Waupaca county has not only constructed some splendid roads in the last few years, but maintains them in the best possible condition in so far as available funds will permit.

            The various laws, Federal, State and County, governing the disbursement of funds for road construction and maintenance, are rather complicated and intricate, and in order to get at the root of the proposition, The News requested a statement from Mr. John Huffcutt, Highway Commissioner of Waupaca county, regarding the amount of money spent during the last fiscal year, where it came from and what it was used for.  When the facts are sifted down, fractions disregarded and the information put in form to be assimilated by the layman, the road situation for the county at the close of the present fiscal year will be about as follows:

            During the period, under consideration, the most important expenditure was for new construction.  This item totaled more than $300,000, the most of which was furnished by the Federal government and the State. To be exact the funds from these sources amounted to $235,000, leaving only $65,000 to be provided by the county and various towns in which the actual construction took place.  The county seems to have gotten off pretty easy according to the figures, but that is not all.  Again the state furnished another $10,000 of this work, leaving only $55,000 to the county and various towns.  Of this amount the former provided approximately two thirds and the latter the remainder.

            The next important item was that of maintenance.  This work called for an expenditure of approximately $75,000 for the year, exclusive of bridge construction, which will be touched on presently. From all appearances the county again seems to have been the beneficiary, as $38,000 of this amount was furnished by the state, as state trunk maintenance funds.  But this is not all.  The county received 25 per cent of all money collected for automobile licenses within her boundaries.  This sum totaled $18,000 and was used in road work. After all these items are deducted, there is only $19,000 left to be born by the county alone.

            Bridge construction and repairs called for an expenditure of $10,000.  State and Federal aid for this item of course was not available, and the amount was born by the county and various towns, each sharing equally in the cost.

            Following are some of the more important road projects completed in the county during the past fiscal year, together with brief descriptions and costs.

            Weyauwega-Fremont project No. 324.  This project consists of 7.2 miles of road, and a full width street through the village of Weyauwega. It was constructed entirely from Federal and State funds, has an average width of eighteen feet, a nine inch curb where necessary, and so built as to give the best surface drainage.

            Bear Creek-New London project No. 138.  This project consists of one mile of concrete road, eighteen feet wide, and was constructed entirely with county funds. This road is beign traveled at the present time, although work is not quite finished.

            Clintonville-Marion project, State Trunk No. 39.  This road was surfaced from the village limits of Marion for about four miles south east toward Clintonville.  Almost 11,000 cubic yards of gravel were used in the work, with the average haul less than one half mile.  The cost of this work was approximately $13,000, 75 per cent of which was born by the county and the remainder by the town.

            Besides the above mentioned projects, there were several others of various kinds, especially where surfacing was done with screened gravel.  And although the list given here is not complete by any means, still it serves to show the general way in which funds for road construction and maintenance are expended.

            There will be a meeting of the road committee, the division engineer, and the county highway commissioner on the 8^th of November, at which time plans will be discussed for the coming fiscal year.