IMPROVEMENT PRIORITY RATINGS FOR LOCAL RURAL ROADS IN INDIANA

The 92 county highway departments of Indiana which are respon sible for over 76 thousand miles of road, may well be described as "big business" enterprises as evidenced by the fact that as a group they received more than $26 million from the M otor Vehicle Highway Ac count in the calendar year 1954.The allocations received by the individual counties in that year ranged from a low value of $62,043.23 (Ohio County) to a high value of $1,402,906.76 (M arion County).If the available funds per county in 1954 are divided by their respective county road mileages for the same period, the available funds per mile of county road varies from approximately $232 to $994 per mile, rep resenting 64 cents (Spencer County) and $2.72 (M arion County) per mile per day respectively.Ohio County, with the least mileage (180 miles) received about $345 per mile, while Allen County, with the greatest county road mileage in the state (1,512.20 miles), received approximately $480 per mile.The statewide average was $341.82 per mile or 94 cents a mile per day.A brief glance at the above data quickly reveals that the available funds appear to be inadequate if each mile of county highway is to be developed and maintained in such a manner as to satisfy the desires of each taxpayer and motor vehicle operator.In fact, if each mile of county highway had more than a gravel or stone surface, road funds presently 116