ROADS AND ROAD CONSTRUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES There are at present approximately 3,000,00o miles of public rural roads in the United States. Of these approximately 1,150,000 miles are surfaced and a large mileage graded and drained accord ing to good engineering standards. Of the surfaced mileage about 82% is improved with low-type surfaces such as sand, clay, gravel, and waterbound macadam, and 18% improved with sur faces such as bituminous pavements of various types, Portland cement concrete, and vitrified brick and other types of blocks. Highway construction, progressing at the rate of 55,000 miles of surfaced road a year prior to the depression, has since been maintained at a high rate. Reduction in local and State taxes available for road work has been offset by large sums of Federal funds appropriated primarily with the object of promoting em ployment.
The 3,000,00o miles of roads are divided into three main classes —Federal-aid roads, constructed with Federal-aid funds and State funds under supervision of the State highway departments and the Federal Public Roads Administration; State roads, built with State funds under the supervision of the State highway de partments; county and local roads constructed largely with county and local funds by county and local authorities.
In the Federal-aid system there are 227,00o miles of road that are almost all surfaced, but the system is not near completion. Many sections, built for a lesser and slower moving traffic, are in need of widening, straightening, resurfacing, and other improve ments.
For improvement of the Federal-aid system special appropria tions have been made by Congress for each fiscal year since 1917, with exception of the years 1933 and 1934. These funds are re quired generally to be matched by the States in at least equal amount. Formerly limited to $10,000 per mile and to expenditure on roads outside of cities, the Federal funds may now be expended without arbitrary limitation per mile and upon sections of the Federal aid system within as well as without city limits. The Fed eral funds are appropriated from any funds in the U.S. Treasury, there being no special Federal tax for road construction. In ad dition to improvements financed with joint Federal and State con tributions, other improvements are made on the Federal-aid sys tem but with State funds exclusively, and the mileage improved in this way to date approximates that improved with Federal par ticipation.
In addition to its contribution to Federal-aid roads, the Fed eral Government has also assumed as a rightful obligation the duty of building those sections of the major national system which lie in the national forests and parks and other parts of the public domain. In the forest highway system are 21,980 miles of road, of which 6,832 miles have been improved.
During the period of the depression large additional Federal appropriations have been made for the purpose of promoting road construction as a measure for the relief of unemployment. These appropriations have been expendable upon secondary and upon feeder roads as well as upon routes of the Federal-aid system, and represent the first departure by the Federal Government from the long established policy of participating exclusively in the improve ment of main interstate highways. Special funds have also been provided for elimination of highway-railroad grade crossings. These appropriations, unlike the earlier Federal grants, have not been matched with State funds.