REMARKS AT OPENING OF SOUTHBOUND LANE
OF U. S. 50

WYE MILLS—SKIPTON

May 25, 1961

This is a significant road opening, not because of the size of this
three-mile project but because it marks the first step in a highway im-
provement which is of great importance to the Eastern Shore and the
entire State of Maryland. Also, this is national highway week, a time
of the year when we all can be especially mindful of the great contri-
bution the modern highway is making to our lives.

The dualization of Route 50, the creation of a modern, safe, efficient
facility in this important travel corridor, will be a boon to the motoring
public. The benefits of this construction will accrue to the entire region
through the stimulation which it will give to the economy.

Today, highway travel is not measured so much in distance as it is in
time. The dualization of Route 50 will bring the verdant producing
areas of the Eastern Shore closer, in time, to the great market places of
the Atlantic Seaboard. It will bring the attractive recreational areas of
the Shore closer, in time, to the huge population centers of Baltimore and
Washington. Both of these factors will strengthen the economy of the
Shore and create jobs for its people.

The users of this road, the people who pay the bills for its construction
through gasoline taxes and motor vehicle levies, will also benefit eco-
nomically. In the first place, and I really don't have to tell this to anyone
who drives a car today, a dual highway is safer. It reduces, practically
eliminates, the risk of that most horrendous of highway tragedies—the
head-on collision. It decreases other types of accidents also. These
decreases will save untold heartbreaks associated with traffic mishaps
and that is something which cannot be measured in dollars and cents.
But, you can put a dollar sign on property damage, hospital bills, doctors'
fees and increased insurance premiums. You can put a dollar sign also
on the savings you will realize on the operation of your car. Statistics
show it is less expensive to drive on a modern highway.

So, the benefits of the dualization of Route 50 involve savings in lives,
savings in time, and savings in money. Add to that the overall strength-
ening of the economy of the region Route 50 traverses and the resultant
brightening of the employment picture and you have an idea of the
great value of this road.

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