Page:Highways for the National Defense.pdf/9

8 THE ROAD PROGRAM REQUIRED FOR DEFENSE OPERATIONS

The program for defense operations is made up of essential improvements of the following classes of roads, all of an emergency character:

Reservation roads.—These are the company streets and other roads within the Federal reservation areas of Army cantonments, depots, and bases, and the various shore establishments of the Navy. Their total usage is for defense purposes.

Access roads.—These include numerous roads, each of short mileage, that are required to give local access from main highways, railroads and waterways, to Army and Navy reservations, and industrial plants engaged in the defense-production program. Also included are certain roads and streets that connect with rail terminals and airports and that may be used to a considerable extent by traffic generated directly by the defense program, In many cases, the usage of this class of roads by normal civil traffic is small and the necessary improvements are required primarily by defense usage.

Tactical roads.—These include certain small mileages of roads which give access to more or less isolated points of strategic importance located generally along the coasts and borders of the country. They include also a larger mileage located near military reservations and in areas that may be chosen as the theater of tactical maneuvers. By reason of their location, they are likely to be used often for the practice training of our newly motorized and mechanized Army. Many of the roads of this class are little used by traffic of any kind, and are presently provided only with surfaces and structures consistent with such light usage. To prevent or repair damage by military movements in maneuvers and war games, substantial improvements will be needed, and must be charged almost wholly to defense. On other roads of the same category, which are more heavily used by civil traffic, the regular and frequent addition of military movements will necessitate improvement beyond the needs of the civil traffic. Such improvements also must be charged almost entirely to the defense program.

THE PROGRAM FOR IMPROVEMENT OF THE STRATEGIC NETWORK

The strategic network, shown in plate I, is a connected system of highway routes which have been designated by the War and Navy Departments as the routes of principal importance from the standpoint of national defense. Broadly viewed, the network consists of a system of main trunk routes totaling approximately 74,600 miles, and auxiliary roads approximately paralleling the mam lines on each side, with cross connections at frequent intervals.

The network includes routes joining all important centers of defense industry and all military and naval concentration points. Its main lines include the interregional highway system recommended by the Public Roads Administration in the report, Toll Roads and Free Roads; and with few exceptions these main lines are included in the Federal-aid highway system. The auxiliary lines are made up in considerable part of State and local roads not included in the Federal-aid system.