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Way cleared, as the result of a hearing on January 28, for advertising projects totaling nearly $10 million from turnpike spur in Falmouth to Cousins River in Yarmouth. First project on this section advertised on January 29.

"DAVID H. STEVENS,

"Chairman, Maine State Highway Commission.”

Montana, February 3, 12: 09 p. m. "Reurtel January 29, lack of sufficient number interstate projects beyond planning stage precluded obligating 1957 funds before December 31. These funds were necessarily programed for grade-crossing projects to utilize limited State matching funds to the fullest extent possible to accomplish construction program on all Federal aid systems. Presently there are eight interstate projects scheduled for contract prior to July 1, 1959. Totaling more than balance of 1957 funds.

South Carolina, January 30, 2: 33 p. m.

"FRED QUINNELL, Jr., "State Highway Engineer."

"Retel, 55 miles interstate contracts let are only for grading and drainage which is less than half cost of base and surfacing. We receive more bids and better prices by stage construction. Will begin letting base and sufacing contracts this spring in addition to grading and drainage contracts on other interstate sections. We did not have State law for control of access until February 16, 1956, and were unable complete plans and proceed with right-of-way acquisition prior to that date. If original contracts had included base and surfacing, amounts would exceed 1957 apportionment. Our interstate program now progressing on satisfactory schedule. Eighty-five percent of apportionment through 1959 has been programed. We do not anticipate any difficulty placing contracts underway. Utilizing our apportionment in compliance with time specified Federal Aid Act 1956."

South Dakota, January 31, 8: 44 a. m.

"C. R. McMILLAN,

"Chief Highway Commissioner."

"South Dakota Legislature convened in January and February 1957. Added 1 cent of gas tax effective July 1, 1957. The additional funds from this tax were not sufficient in 1957 to meet full matching of Federal funds. Time will accumulate sufficient moneys so matching will be complete. This delayed our contract letting. Moneys were allocated in July 1956 without any provisions for matching until after legislature met. Also South Dakota does not have a rightof-entry law. Part of our projects were tied up on condemnation proceedings. These will be released within the next few months. Two years ago in January South Dakota was among the leaders in programing efficiency. If concerned Congressmen will make a survey of South Dakota position in July 1958 they will find that we are not only current but ahead of schedule. Several interstate projects are timetabled for letting in March, April and June. We cannot move before then because of financial difficulties.

"CHAS. J. DALTHORP,

"Director, South Dakota Department of Highways."

West Virginia, January 30, 12: 52 p. m.

"Retel January 29, West Virginia had no plans even preliminary for any sections of interstate routes and therefore started from scratch. Because of topography preliminary engineering and traffic studies took many more months than anticipated to secure comparative estimates of various locations and to secure approval of sections for actual design. Despite fact that outstanding consulting engineering firms were engaged on all interstate routes and have worked diligently completion of plans has been slow because of time consumed in reaching agreement between all parties on various phases of location and design. "P. C. GRANEY,

"West Virginia State Road Commission."

We wish to advise you that each of these States still had 18 months left on December 31, 1957, under the law yet to obligate 1957 fiscal year Federal fund apportionments.

We also wish you to observe that of the 8 States, 6 received a disproportionate and heavier share of interstate funds the first 3 years than were actually indicated on a needs basis.

With 49 highway departments (48 States and the District of Columbia) cooperating to build the Federal-aid program, we have never seen the time when all

departments were current and had advanced programs to the same level of development and with the many problems encountered by 49 agencies it is highly unlikely that we ever shall.

One highway letting, of the type projects involved in the interstate program, ean change the status of the funds obligated by the States very materially and change their relative positions as to the funds committed.

We are happy to advise that on December 31, 1957, the States had collectively reached the interstate program capacity of $1.7 billion of funds obligated per year and trends indicate an annual capacity rate of approximately $2.0 billion by the end of this current year.

The program is on schedule and the States have reached a rate above which the current trust fund receipts and section 209 (g) of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 can sustain.

In other words, the States have geared up to the rate that they must cut back if current legislation continues. We have been advised that the 1960 fiscal year interstate funds will be apportioned by the Commerce Department in December of this year and instead of the total apportionment being $2.2 billion as authorized in title I of the act of 1956, the total will be only $1.6 billion, or less than the capacity we had reached on December 31, 1956. We had intended to avoid any reference to this matter of interstate progress during our appearance before your committee on January 29, and testify entirely on H. R. 9821.

We are, however, happy to furnish the above explanations from the States involved and the general information, as your committee requested.

Respectfully submitted.

C. R. MCMILLAN, President.

Mr. FALLON. Our next witness is Mr. R. R. Bartelsmeyer. Will you come up and have a seat, please, and I will have somebody present you to the committee who knows more about your reputation and accomplishments than I do.

Mr. Gray?

Mr. GRAY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is a real pleasure to have the opportunity to introduce to my distinguished colleagues the next witness, Mr. R. R. Bartelsmeyer, the chief highway engineer of the State of Illinois, a man who has done much to better the highway program in the State.

As all of you know, geographically the State of Illinois is located in the Midwest, and we hope to be an integral part of the Interstate System when it is finished. Mr. Bartelsmeyer is doing a tremendous job administratively and engineerwise to help speed up that program. I wanted to have an opportunity as a Member from Illinois to introduce him to you at this time and say we are happy to have him. He has been a great credit to the State and the Nation on this program. I yield to my distinguished colleague, Mr. Kluczynski.

Mr. KLUCZYNSKI. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I do not know why we Democrats of Illinois should praise a Republican of Illinois, but I have known Mr. Bartelsmeyer for a number of years. I have served in the house and senate of Illinois, and I know what a job he has been doing and the job he will continue to do.

We are happy to have him here this morning.

Mr. Bartelsmeyer is just like the members of this committee. We are neither Democrats nor Republicans. We are an all-American committee, and I am sure Mr. Bartelsmeyer and the membership of his great organization, the American Association of State Highway Officials, want to do and will do a great job to stop the slaughter on the highways and get more miles per dollar out of it.

We are happy to have you here, Mr. Bartelsmeyer, and I know you will continue to do the job you have done in the past.

I yield to Mr. Byrne.

Mr. BYRNE. I want to associate myself with my two good friends, the Democrats on this committee from Illinois. As a Republican, Í want to endorse the fine work you are doing too, Mr. Bartelsmeyer. I am sure some of the polish that you have displayed undoubtedly is attributable, too, to our fine Governor back there, Bill Stratton.

Mr. FALLON. May I say the affiliation of some of the members will appear in the record at this point. I might say to you, Mr. Bartelsmeyer, we could take some members from that side and put them over on this side, and from their conduct and voting on this committee you could not tell them apart.

You may proceed, Mr. Bartelsmeyer.

STATEMENT OF R. R. BARTELSMEYER, CHIEF HIGHWAY ENGINEER, ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS, VICE PRESIDENT, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY OFFICIALS

Mr. BARTELSMEYER. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am appearing before you as the vice president of the American Association of State Highway Officials. My only statement will be a very brief statement endorsing President McMillan's formal statement and testimony.

I do, however, want to emphasize the importance of providing funds for the continuance of what is commonly known as the ABCthe primary, urban, and secondary Federal funds for highways as are provided in H. R. 9821.

We in Illinois, those of you who have the record know, are well along on our expenditure and programing in putting under contract Interstate System funds. We are also well along in the ABC categories. Therefore, we feel it is very important that this phase of highway construction be continued at the rate you have suggested, and as has been suggested in our formal statement.

Mr. FALLON. Are there any questions, gentlemen?

Mr. KLUCZYNSKI. What is Illinois' position on this program where you mentioned some States have programed up to 80 and 90 percent? Mr. MACK. I have the figures here. You have programed 89 percent of the money allocated to you, and only 11 percent is unprogramed.

Mr. KLUCZYNSKI. Thank you. That satisfies me.

Mr. FALLON. Are there any further questions on my left? Any questions on my right?

(No response.)

Mr. FALLON. Thank you very much, Mr. Bartelsmeyer. The committee appreciates your coming down for your testimony. Now, gentlemen, the next witness probably needs no introduction to the other members of the committee. However, since we have a representative on the committee from his State-who I would not say knows more about the gentleman than I do because I have been associated with him for a long time I would like the Representative from Texas, Mr. Wright, to introduce our next witness.

Mr. WRIGHT. Mr. Chairman, it will be a pleasure. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I want to say that down in Texas we are inordinately proud of our highway department and of its execu

tive officer, DeWitt Greer. He has been our State highway engineer for some 18 years, I believe. During his administration in that capacity we feel that he has given us ample reason for pride in the development of our Texas highway system. We think DeWitt Greer has done a tremendously good job and it would be a pleasure for me to introduce him anywhere, or to any group.

As the chairman pointed out, those of you who have been here on the committee for a number of years have been hearing from DeWitt Greer off and on for as long as he has been coming up here, but I do appreciate this opportunity to present him to the members of the committee and to say that we in Texas feel we have as able and as efficient a State highway engineer as there is anywhere in the country and we kind of feel that DeWitt Greer knows what he is talking about.

Mr. FALLON. Mr. Greer, will you proceed?

STATEMENT OF D. C. GREER, STATE HIGHWAY ENGINEER, STATE OF TEXAS

Mr. GREER. After that introduction I am slightly thrown for a loss. I appear before the committee with the same humility that I have always appeared before you to express to you my personal appreciation, and on behalf of the States, of the great wisdom and foresight you have shown to give us leadership in highways throughout this country. I do want to supplement our President's statement about the ABC system.

First, I feel quite proud that you have called these public hearings for the purpose of hearing the ABC system itself. You have not gone off and left the fundamental systems of highways of this country, the ABC systems. The Interstate System has the glamour and what not as we have been publicizing it publicly before and during the passage of the 1956 Act. But the ABC is the system that touches the very lifeblood and roots of our whole country. You have so acclaimed it over the 30 years of its existence, and it is still just that. It touches every man, woman, and child in America who drives an automobile.

The Interstate System touches a part, but this touches all of it and it will always be a popular program with the people of this country. So, I am quite pleased that you have conducted these hearings and I think our people will be glad when you have passed and enacted into law H. R. 9821 exactly as written.

That is the way I personally would like to see it done. It is a beautiful job of composing, and that is the way you sort of stated your case as you passed the 1956 act. You have reaffirmed it by the writing of H. R. 9821, and I think all of us are inclined to say to you on the State level that is exactly the way we would like to see it passed-just like it was written.

That, sir, is the total statement on behalf of H. R. 9821. I would like to call your attention to this: Previously the Federal Highway Administrator, Mr. Tallamy, injected into your records a table called table 4. That was with his formal presentation. That shows you the progress of the primary, secondary, and urban programs. You will see if you have that before you that seven States as of that date were operating in the 1959 money. I would add to that that seven States

are still operating in the 1957 money. The rest of the States in the middle bracket are in 1958 money. At this date, sitting here now, those figures being a little out of date now, I think you would find at least 11 or 12 States in their 1959 money.

What does that mean? It means that the prompt passage of H. R. 9821 and, I might add, if the Secretary of Commerce can see fit to do so, the immediate apportionment to the States of these moneys, is highly important to keep the highs and lows, the peaks and valleys, out of the construction program. That is what costs us money and slows us down-when we get down into those peaks and valleys on the construction program.

At the State level we should try to keep it level and level it out where the volume goes on all during the year. In that way your competition in bidding is better and it is a more economic way to carry on your work with your supplies of materials and everything else.

If you see fit to pass H. R. 9821, even though it might appear that there is not sufficient money to move the Interstate System ahead according to pattern, the first one to get funds from the trust fund is the ABC system. There are certainly funds for that apportionment. We have been accustomed to having the apportionment come in the late summer. The statement has been made we may not expect these until late December. It will hurt these 12 States in the possibility of the leveling out the programing to eliminate the peaks and valleys in their construction program.

If they are fortunate enough to have a lot of State money they can throw it in there to fill the breach.

Mr. FALLON. It is a matter of administrative decision.

Mr. GREER. It is. It is not written in the act, although in the act of 1956 you gave the apportionments or urged them to make the apportionments immediately after the passage, for the remainder of 1957 and probably 1958 and 1959, which was actually done. It gave us the impetus and a start in moving forward this program.

Mr. FALLON. Do you suggest that we make the same suggestion? Mr. GREER. I doubt it is necessary to write it in. There is no prohibition against the earlier apportionment and, let us say, we might wait on the Secretary and see if we can get it done that way, believing that if he does it, maybe we can take the peak out of this. If we have to slow down on the Interstate System in those areas where some of the States are heavily into the 1959 money, as Mr. Mack knows from his chart-if they have to slow down on the Interstate System they can take the slack out with the ABC and keep their programs on a level.

That is all I would like to say unless there are some questions I might be able to answer.

Mr. FALLON. Are there any questions?

Mr. DEMPSEY. Mr. Greer, if the allocation of funds is held up until next December, as has been publicized and as has been stated might happen, what is going to happen to the contractors who bought all of this heavy equipment who believe there will be a continuation on a level basis as you pointed out?

Mr. GREER. That is exactly the problem, Congressman Dempsey, we are up against now.

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