The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 12

12 DES MOINES SUNDAY REGISTER AUGUST 17, 1980 crisis led to road transfers Czech paper charges Western press bias PRAGUE, CZECHOSLOVAKIA (AP) The Communist Party newspaper Rude Pravo Saturday accused the Western press of distorted reporting about Czechoslovakia. The attack came four days before the 12th anniversary of the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, which Rude Pravo called "the internationalist assistance to our country." Armies of the Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria invaded Czechoslavakia on Aug. 20-21, 1968, to end a liberalization movement under the leadership of Alexander Dubcek. The Western news media give a negative shape to public opinion and glorifies dissidents while ignoring other aspects of Czechoslovakia, the newspaper said. Lahore houses collapse ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (AP) -Three days of heavy rains collapsed several houses in Lahore, killing 14 persons, police said Saturday.

Richardson said Iowa transportation officials are hoping the road classification process will encourage county officials to examine their rural roads and consider ways to reduce the number that axe used only infrequently. Many carry fewer than 25 vehicles per day, he said. Smith, the Hamilton County engineer, agreed. "There's no question that somehow or other, we've got to get rid of many of the miles we have in the county road system. We never could take care of 90-some thousand miles, but that's even more true today." Strl HEARING AID said McGrath, the former DOT commissioner.

"It's only when the people of Iowa decide to Improve their trans portation network and the Legis lature agrees to take up the problem will it be solved." Hamilton County engineer Wesley Smith agreed. "The sad part is, we can't get the public aroused to see the problem." And problems are what officials in places like Adair, Melrose, and Clarke County foresee if they inherit state highways. Adair, for instance, has about 130,000 a year to spend on its streets, according to city records. Replacing the old bridge on what now is U.S. 6 would cost the town about 3650,000, Mayor Mertes said.

"It would be impossible," he said, noting that the town's bonding limit probably would not allow it to undertake such a major project, even if city officials were willing to forgo any other municipal improvements for years to come. That is similar to the situation Clarke County would find itself in, according to Connell, the county engineer, if the DOT succeeds in turning over the U.S. 69 segment from Osceola south to the Decatur County line. Built about 50 years ago, the highway probably has about 10 years of service left before it will have to be replaced, Connell estimated. County officials will have to cut back on the maintenance other county roads get.

"It means we're going to have mud showing up more frequently," Connell said. It will be a tremendous strain on county finances when it comes time to replace the old highway, Connell predicted, and the county will be forced to postpone other needed road and bridge projects for some time. The county receives between $275,000 and $300,000 a year for major construction projects, he said, and replacing the U.S. 69 section would cost about $10 million, based on current prices. "I'm glad I'm going to be retired when that time comes," he said.

Richardson, the DOT official, said Connell's estimate is too high, and the road probably could be rebuilt for about $2.5 million. But the DOT official said the problem the old bridge presents to Adair is a serious one. "Maybe this is a problem the Legislature will have to address by setting up a hardship fund," he said. and roads according to the types of motorists using them has been around for more than 10 years. Iowa's counties stoutly resisted the classification system for several years, but the DOT'S predecessor, the Iowa Highway Commission, finally succeeded In pushing it through the Legislature.

The state agency has a sizable stake in the classification and transfer process because about 65 percent of this year's operating budget for the DOT'S highway division is earmarked for maintenance work. Based on the DOT'S average cost per mile for maintenance about 34,000, a spokesman said a 500-mile reduction in the de partment's road system could save the DOT more than $2 million annually. Forced to Spend Local officials point out, however, that what the DOT is able to save, the cities and counties are being forced to spend. And William F. McGrath of Melrose, a former member of the Iowa Transportation Commission, said of the ownership transfers: "The only problem is, we are not solving anything.

The state's problem and the counties' problem are so closely tied to the funding question that you can't solve one without creating more problems for the other." It was not until the last year or so, when inflation and fuel conservation efforts began chewing into road budgets, that local officials became particularly concerned about having extra miles of roads added to their cities' and counties' systems. Harrison County, for example, now has about 1,060 miles of roads, prompting county engineer Truman Langager to comment: "I hate to add even one mile to that. We have enough to take care of." But the county is faced with having about 19 miles of state highways added to its system through the reclassification process. Officials in most cities and counties have begrudgingly accepted their "gifts," but Clarke County and the city of Osceola have sued the state road classification board in an attempt to block the transfer of U.S. 69.

No one expects the controversy over the ownership transfers to diminish until the financial picture brightens for the DOT and local governments. "I don't see any magic answer," :369 Sears regular price (ear mold not included) Illustration fnlmrgetl mppriuimnlrly 4 timet it'll original me to ifcov detail. This is our smallest hearing aid fits all in your ear. Ac-cusonic amplifier reduces distortion. Low cut tone control.

Extended Lattery life. Wide range of fitting capabilities. Appoinlmenlfc are neeegsary for the hearing aid Intl. I SE SEARS CONVENIENT CREDIT PLANS Pigs in mosque incite India riots NEW DELHI, INDIA (AP) -Violence sparked when pigs appeared at a mosque during prayers in Moradabad touched off Moslem riots in 10 other Indian cities, leaving at least 134 people dead, officials said Saturday. The rioting began Friday on India's 33rd anniversary of independence from Britain, raising fears of escalating communal violence in a country where more than 10 per cent of the 650 million people are Moslems.

An estimated 130 people died in the violence at Moradabad 100 miles east of here. It was described as one of India's worst communal disturbances. The pigs appeared on the grounds of a mosque during prayers marking the end of Ramadan, the Moslem holy month. Moslems consider pigs to be unclean, and the eating of pork is forbidden. Witnesses said people began throwing stones at the pigs and worshippers battled police.

Nearly half of those killed were trampled to death after gunfire broke out, authorities said. FLOOR 1056 SQ. FT. In 2) I I 44'0" 4 DINING tjtdh 3s li LIVING ROOM M. 1 1 1 STEPPING 0UT Merle Hay Mall 4000 Merle Hay Rd.

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Highway 6. "I told the DOT man there's no way the city of Adair would be able to maintain that bridge. If we did get it, it would have to sit there and deteriorate until it fell down." In the Monroe County town of Melrose, Mayor Parley Batten was echoing Mertes' worries last week. Having to take over maintenance of a mile segment of Iowa Highway 68 will "break us wide open," he said. "It'll wreck us." Melrose has about 200 residents and a road budget of about $10,000.

The town is not in a position to keep the road in good condition, Batten contended. "The only thing we have here is a mower and a brush cutter." The transfers of ownership of sections of- roads like Highways 6, 68 and 69 and the accompanying responsibility for their upkeep are occurring under terms of legislation passed in 1978 by the Iowa Legislature. Involved in the process is what bureaucrats have termed the "functional classification system," which assigns to cities and counties those roads primarily serving local residents and gives to the state those roads mainly carrying longer-distance motorists. 700 Miles Since the transfers began last year, approximately 700 miles of highways that had been under the control of the DOT have been turned over to cities and counties or will change hands in the months ahead. About 200 miles of former city streets and county roads have been added to the DOT'S road system.

That amounts to a net reduction of about 5 percent in the DOT'S highway mileage. According to DOT records, the jurisdiction over another 300-plus miles of state and local roads remains in question because of appeals pending before a slate review board. And the responsibility for yet another 700 miles of roads is in doubt because of decisions yet to be made by county road classification boards and the state review board on DOT appeals. Most of the ownership changes involve short pieces of state highways that connect small towns with main thoroughfares. But some lengthier stretches also are involved, such as 41 miles of highways in Woodbury County paralleling Interstate 29, 32 miles of U.S.

Highway 6 in Guthrie and Jasper counties, 30 miles of old U.S. Highway 30 in Boone and Story counties, and 21 miles of old U.S. Highway 20 in Delaware County. The DOT also is attempting to pass on to local governments several other long sections of road, including U.S. 6 across Dallas County, Iowa Highway 144 through Boone and Greene counties, Iowa Highway 107 south from Clear Lake through Cerro Gordo and Franklin counties, and Iowa Highway 99 from Burlington to Wapello.

Lowell Richardson, the DOT'S liaison with the counties, says the controversy surrounding the process has resulted from a financial crisis the DOT and local road budgets are experiencing. "The philosophy of functional classification, no one will argue with, I don't think," he said. "But it's being consummated at a time when all jurisdictions are short of funds and don't want to take on any more responsibility." Beneficial Effect But the transfer process has had a beneficial effect in some counties where county roads were found to be carrying a large number of motorists who were driving from greater distances. In Appanoose County, for example, about 20 miles of county roads around Lake Rathbun are being incorporated into the DOT'S road system. Likewise, about 25 miles in Polk County and about 17 miles in Jasper County are being passed to the DOT.

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