important to the national defense. These are now being employed for the several classes of roads, as follows:
Reservation roads.—Provision for the construction or improvement of roads and streets within Army and Navy reservations is being made in contracts awarded by the War and Navy Departments and financed by appropriations available for expenditure by these Departments. Other improvements within reservation limits are being provided through the medium of Work Projects Administration projects sponsored by the War and Navy Departments. For payment of the engineering costs of surveys, plans, specifications, estimates, and supervision of construction of such intrareservation roads, the Federal-aid funds apportioned to the respective States are available with the consent of the State highway departments. These funds are being used in some instances for work of this character which the State highway departments have been able to undertake. Whether the provisions made and measures devised for improvement of roads and streets within the military and naval reservations are entirely adequate is a question for determination by the War and Navy Departments.
Access roads.—Early in 1940 the War Department indicated a number of Army posts and reservations of several sorts. It requested the Public Roads Administration, in cooperation with the post commanders, to make preliminary studies of the condition and desirable improvement of all roads essential for adequate access to the posts indicated. From time to time the number of posts thus indicated was increased. Somewhat later the Navy Department made similar requests with respect to certain of its shore establishments.
Up to the date of this report such reconnaissance studies had been completed by district engineers of the Public Roads Administration in conference with the respective post commanders or commandants for 140 reservations. The report on each reservation specifies approximately the access-road improvements desirable with estimates of their cost. It is accompanied by a map of the reservation and vicinity scaled 2 inches to the mile, showing all existing roads in the area and all improvements recommended in the report.
A majority of the reconnaissance studies were made prior to the passage of the selective-service and National Guard mobilization acts. Some of the conditions originally assumed have therefore been altered, and the improvements recommended in the reports are now subject to revision.
In the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, fiscal year 1941, and in the Federal Highway Act of 1940 similar conditions were laid down to govern application of the exceptional provisions made by each of the acts with reference to national-defense projects; viz, formal certification or recommendation of the projects as important to the national defense by appropriate defense agencies.
In conformity with these provisions of the two acts, the Secretary of War bas from time to time certified the military importance of projects for the construction or improvement of access roads leading to 157 military posts, stations, and concentration areas. These reservations, included in identical priority lists furnished separately
