are bringing about the rapid deterioration of the pavements and in some cases actual destruction, have become increasingly critical.

The relaxation of the enforcement of State motor-vehicle laws as they affect commercial vehicles engaged in hauling war goods, at the request of the Federal authorities, has hastened the rate of pavement deterioration. This, together with the fact that we can no longer reconstruct these pavements, is rapidly building up a backlog of essential projects which has already reached huge proportions and which will continue to grow as long as the war lasts.

As of February 24, 1944, our inventory shows that requirements for the reconstruction of the rural portion of the Illinois primary system are:

One hundred and nine miles of four-lane pavement; 1,536 miles of two-lane pavement; 67 miles of bituminous surfacing of existing pavements; 58 railroad grade separations; and 14 highway-highway grade separations.

All estimated to cost $123,770,000. Right-of-way for these projects is estimated at $7,880,000.

On the urban portion of the primary system, the inventory shows requirements for the reconstruction of:"

Two hundred and twenty-five miles of four-lane pavements, or wider; 268 miles of two-lane pavement; 13 miles of bituminous surfacing of existing pavements; 137 railroad grade separations; and 26 highway-highway grade separations.

All estimated to cost $114,980,000. Right-of-way is estimated at $36,600,000.

The requirements for the secondary roads differ from those of the primary system in that the need is for new roads rather than the reconstruction of existing roads. Of a total Federal-aid secondary system of 10,000 miles, Illinois has already selected 7,000 miles of roads to be included in this system, 2,333 miles of which have been improved to satisfactory standards.

In the initial selection of roads only the most important were placed in the secondary system, and certainly when the remaining 3,000 miles are selected it will be found that practically all of the additional mileage will need improvement in some degree. As the State is highly developed industrially and agriculturally, it might be claimed logically that the immediate improvement of 7,667 miles of secondary roads is necessary, and there is no question that such improvement would result in great public benefit. However, in making an inventory of post-war needs, the fact that there is a considerable range in the relative importance of the secondary highways not already satisfactorily improved has been given proper weight so that our estimate of requirements has been confined to essential improvements on the most important highways in the Federal-aid secondary system. The estimate includes 698 miles of medium and low-type surfaces and two individual bridge projects, all estimated to cost $17,500,000. Right-ofway is estimated at $1,000,000.

Although handicapped by limited engineering personnel and the necessity for completing projects directly related to the war effort, Illinois has been able to make good progress in planning for post-war highway construction. Out of the $256,250,000 included in the inventory, work estimated to cost $114,250,000 has been definitely programed and surveys and plans have been authorized. On March 1,

1944, 70 percent of the survey work and 35 percent of the plans had been completed. In addition, good progress has been made in the advance engineering survey program authorized by section 9 of the Defense Highway Act; surveys and plans have been authorized for projects included in this program estimated to cost $64,650,000. All available personnel is being used in developing plans for post-war construction and all administrative officers of the division of highways responsible for the development of plans are devoting as much effort as possible to this work.

From the estimates herein given, which are conservative and include only the work which is urgently needed now, it is apparent that needed highway construction in Illinois is far in excess of any program of construction that could be accomplished with the funds to be provided by H. R. 2426. There is no question as to the ability of Illinois to complete the surveys and plans necessary for a program of the scope contemplated by the bill. Because of the unprecedented decline in highway revenues due to wartime restrictions on travel, the State cannot hope to finance unaided an immediate post-war program of the size indicated by the inventory which accompanies this statement, but it will be in a position to provide its share of the cost of the program contemplated by H. R. 2426 and thus assure the completion of its part of the national program of post-war highway construction.

I have attached here a detailed inventory, which I will file for the record.

The CHAIRMAN. That will be placed in the committee files. The CHAIRMAN. We are obliged to you for your statement, Mr. Polk. Do you have any suggested amendments to this bill?

Mr. POLK. No, sir; we do not. We favor the bill as it now stands. The CHAIRMAN. And according to the statement you have just made, Illinois is ready to proceed with the program as outlined in this bill.

Mr. POLK. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Are there any questions?

Mr. WHITTINGTON. Your chief problem is the modernization and bringing up to date of your primary system?

Mr. POLK. That is correct.

Mr. WHITTINGTON. That is stated in the very excellent paper you have submitted. What is your gasoline tax?

Mr. POLK. Three cents in Illinois.

Mr. WHITTINGTON. You issued bonds for the construction of your system, much of which is now obsolescent, as I understand it.

Mr. POLK. That is correct. We have had two bond issues in Illinois; one for $60,000,000 and one for $100,000,000.

Mr. WHITTINGTON. Were the proceeds from those bond issues used in the primary construction of these 11,300 miles?

Mr. POLK. Yes, sir.

Mr. WHITTINGTON. How much of that is still outstanding?

Mr. POLK. $88,000,000, which is also the entire State indebtedness. Mr. WHITTINGTON. Does that include Chicago?

Mr. POLK. I am talking of the State.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Isn't Chicago in the State?

Mr. POLK. Yes; Chicago is in the State.

Mr. WHITTINGTON. But you have no State indebtedness except the $88,000,000?

Mr. POLK. Which are highway obligations, that is correct. Mr. WHITTINGTON. What as to the life of the bonds? Was it intended that the bonds should liquidate during the life of the highways, the indebtedness incurred for their construction?

Mr. POLK. Yes. We have an annual charge now, I think, in the neighborhood of $9,000,000. I believe the last bonds will be paid off in 1960. I am not sure of that, but I think that is the date.

Mr. WHITTINGTON. My point is, has your experience out there been that the roads lasted as long as it took to retire the indebtedness for their construction? I have a very high regard for your views. I am much interested in them, because I know your State was a pioneer. Mr. POLK. I would say not. In some cases those roads wore out before the bonds were paid off.

Mr. WHITTINGTON. That is your concrete roads?

Mr. POLK. Yes.

Mr. WHITTINGTON. What is the life of the concrete roads you have constructed out there?

Mr. PCLK. We have found, of course, that present wartime trafficMr. WHITTINGTON. Well, let us eliminate the wartime. How about prior to that time?

Mr. POLK. Well, 20 to 25 years. Of course there has been a great deal of change in the design of pavements. The ones we are building today will last much longer, I can assure you.

Mr. WHITTINGTON. But the roads you constructed generally, under your program in Illinois-and you were one of the first States to build a concrete road, as I recall.

Mr. POLK. That is right.

Mr. WHITTINGTON. Those roads will have a life of 20 to 25 years? Mr. POLK. Oh; I would say 20 to 30 years. Most of the roads in bad condition today are roads which are heavily traveled and have had a life of 20 or 21 years.

Mr. WHITTINGTON. And those were among the first

Mr. POLK. Yes; they were.

Mr. WHITTINGTON. That is all.

The CHAIRMAN. Are there any other questions?

you constructed?

Mr. WOLCOTT. Mr. Polk, according to the study which has been made, Illinois paid into the Federal Treasury-I will put it this way: They get back, under this formula, about 75 cents for every dollar they pay into the Federal Treasury in road-use tax, gasoline tax, motorvehicle tax, and so forth. So far as Illinois is concerned, it would be better for them to finance their whole highway-construction program-would it not-than to have the Federal Government participate?

Mr. POLÊ. I don't quite get your question.

Mr. WOLCOTT. So far as Illinois is concerned, it would be financially better off if it built its own roads and did not get any Federal money; would it not?

Mr. POLK. You mean if this money did not go to the Federal Government at all and stayed in the State?

Mr. WOLCOTT. Yes.

Mr. POLK. Yes.

Mr. WOLCOTT. According to this study that has been made, you would only get about 80 cents back for every dollar that you put in.

98217-44-vol. 1-18

Mr. POLK. That is right.

Mr. WOLCOTT. That is all.

The CHAIRMAN. Are there any other questions? Thank you very much, Mr. Polk; we appreciate your testimony. We are pretty well up with our program. Mr. White, of Iowa, has been before the committee before, and his time is limited here. If he desires to appear at the present time, we will be glad to hear him again.

FURTHER STATEMENT OF F. R. WHITE, CHIEF ENGINEER, IOWA STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION

Mr. WHITE. Mr. Chairman, I have prepared a statement and summary for the State of Iowa, which I would like to submit for the record. I will not take the time of the committee to read it, but I want to call the committee's attention to the estimates appearing on pages 4 and 5 of the statement which show the estimated needs of the State of Iowa, for Federal-aid roads, $182,000,000; for secondary and feeder roads, $209,000,000; for urban roads, $72,000,000; or a total of $463,000,000.

Those are the estimated needs of the three classes of highways in the State of Iowa as of the present time. If this measure were adopted as it stands, Iowa would receive approximately $24,000,000 per year, or a total of $72,000,000 for the 3 years, and when the State match money is added to that, it would bring the total up to about $96,000,000.

In other words, if this bill is passed just as it stands, covering a 3year period, it would provide sufficient funds for definitely less than one-quarter-to be exact, or more nearly so-one-fifth of our presentday needs. This bill extends over a period of 3 years, and if it provided for one-fifth of our present-day needs, then it would take in the neighborhood of 15 years, under this legislation, to meet our presentday needs, and all the time, of course, the needs are piling up. I recite that merely to show that this program is not a large program when measured in terms of what our total needs actually are.

Iowa is essentially a rural State. The products of her mines and her factories amount to a very considerable sum, annually. But the economic glory of the State lies in her soil and in the products of her soil. Good soil is spread over the entire area of the State. There are no waste spaces. Abundant and dependable rainfall brings bountiful and dependable crops.

Iowa citizens have shaped their lives and their fortunes around these gifts of nature. Every part of the State is fully developed and geared to agricultural production. The population is uniformly distributed over the whole State. The 1940 population was as fol

lows:

The average farm is 160 acres, or four farms to the square mile. Each farm is a production unit. There are 213,000 of such farm units. Roads must reach to each of these units.

These natural circumstances demand a vast and closely knit network of public highways. We have 101,523 miles of rural public highway. These rural highways are classified into three system or groups:

The county trunk roads and the county local roads are collectively called "secondary roads." All secondary roads are by law under the control and jurisdiction of the county board of supervisors. There are 99 counties. The townships have no control over any public roads. The primary road system of 8,601 miles outside of municipalities is under the control of the State Highway Commission. The Federal-aid road system of 8,465 miles is all included in the State primary road system. The urban highway system (in municipalities over 10,000 population) contains 3,600 miles. Municipalities less than 10,000 population contain 8,432 miles of roads and streets.

The condition of these various highway systems is as follows: In the primary road system:

Paved, mostly concrete_.
Bituminous surface_

Gravel, untreated__

Unsurfaced_____

Total

In the urban highway system, in municipalities over 10,000:

Miles 5, 489

762 2, 330 20

8, 601

On the secondary and feeder roads, municipalities over 10,000:

A listing of mileage of the different types of surfacing on the various road systems does not give a true picture of the road condition. The age and condition of the surfacing, condition of the road grade, clear sight distance, alinement, width, and condition of bridges, traffic volumes and many other factors go to make up the over-all picture of the highway condition.