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ECONOMY IN HIGHWAY TRANSPORT


American Government

ECONOMY IN HIGHWAY TRANSPORT

Roy D. Chapin
The New York Times
January 4, 1920


By Roy D. Chapin
Chairman Highways Committee, National Automobile Chamber of Commerce

In a day when every expenditure should be rigidly scrutinized and every effort made to overcome the burden which the world war has saddled upon us, the need of a national highway system stands out more clearly than every before.

Intelligent improvement and maintenance of our highways, at a comparatively insignificant cost, would save enough money in transportation costs to pay off the nation's war debt within the lifetime of the present generation and leave a handsome residue in the treasury.

This is a large statement. There are 6,500,000 passenger cars in the United States today. Assume that a national highway system of 30,000 miles should be constructed and maintained by the Government. If each of these cars traveled but 1,200 miles a year on the national system a saving of one and a half cents a mile in gasoline and tire costs would easily be effected or a total of $117,000,000 a year.

Government figures show that a saving of 17 cents a ton mile in commercial traffic is made when roads are improved. The Congressional investigation of 1912 deduced an annual highway traffic of 700,000,000 tons. A conservative statement would place the total today at 1,000,000,000 tons. On the assumption that but one-fifth of this traveled over the national system (and an improved road always draws much more) there would be a ton-mileage saving of $123,000,000. Since the average haul is ten miles an hour the actual saving per ton of merchandise would be $340,000,000 a year.

Thus in two items we have arrived at an annual saving of $457,000,000, or more than is asked for over a period of four years in the bill introduced by Senator Townsend of Michigan proposing the construction of such a system.

The vision of the United States bound together by a network of durable highways is one which we should seek to make a reality at the earliest possible moment.




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