STATE AND LOCAL EXPENDITURES 31

bridges. The figures represent all local expenditures on
account of rural roads that are not a part of the state highway
 system.
Net local expenditures in Missouri for rural roads
amounted to $13.8 million in 1929; gross expenditures,
which include payments for interest and debt redemption,
amounted to $16.3 million. The net and gross totals for
that year were exceeded only in 1924. It will be recalled
that in recent years the highway expenditures of the state
were predominantly for capital purposes. Table 9 shows
that in only four of the years of the period 1923 through 1929
were local expenditures for construction larger than those
for maintenance. For the period as a whole, however, expenditures
 for construction exceeded those for maintenance
by slightly more than one third.
Local expenditures for interest on funds borrowed for
rural road purposes did not exceed one million dollars in any
year for which data are given, and the 1929 amount was only
$619,000. This indicates a relatively small amount of county
and other local indebtedness for road purposes. It is apparent
 that a large part of the financing of local roads has been
accomplished without recourse to borrowing.
In order to obtain a complete picture of local expenditures
for road purposes, including streets and bridges maintained
by cities and incorporated towns, it is necessary to add the
expenditures of cities over 30,000 that are classified as for
highway purposes and the expenditures of all other cities and
incorporated towns for streets, bridges, and the like. The
net expenditures for rural roads amounted to $10.6 million
in 1928; the net total expended by Missouri’s four cities
over 30,000 for highways was $15.1 million; and the highway
 expenditures of all cities under 30,000, including incorporated
 towns, are conservatively estimated at $3 million.
These figures make up a total of $28.7 million for net total
local highway expenditures. Because of the inclusion of the
estimated amount of $3 million, it follows that there is some
margin of error in the total. However, since the estimated
amount is very small in relation to the total, the margin of
error is no doubt slight.