William Howard Taft

“ The highway with which we are concerned is known as route 16, and is one of the chief arteries of travel between central New Jersey and the lake and mountain regions of the northern part of the state, northeastern Pennsylvania, and the lower counties of New York. In connection with two other highway routes, it has become one of the principal roads between New York and Philadelphia. The traffic diagonally across the state is so heavy and so constantly growing that no one road can carry it all. ”

“ This highway is not infrequently crowded with vehicles. When route No. 29 is completed, it will certainly be more crowded. The immediate prospect of using new route 29 makes greater room in the roadways most desirable. The large expenditure to secure such advantages does not seem to be arbitrary or wasteful, when made for two busy highways, instead of one.
It is not for the court to cut down such expenditures, merely because more economical ways suggest themselves. The board has the discretion to fix the cost. ”

“ The witnesses for the railroad testify that 6-degree curves are not dangerous, and that the additional cost of $100,000 for preserving the straight road is not within the limit of reasonableness. The advantage of straightness in such a road through a tunnel is clear. The curves in the cuts of from 5 to 10 feet in the railroad plan would tend to increase the embarrassment of driving and to obscure the clearness with which the drivers can see those ahead in and through the tunnel and the curves. ”

“ The state of New Jersey, lying between New York and Philadelphia and the West, has always been a throughfare for intrastate and interstate commerce. The state has issued bonds to the extent of $70,000,000 for the improvements of its roads, and they now aggregate 1,500 miles in length. ”

“ Based on this, it is said that the board has no right to order these unreasonable expenditures for construction, because they exceed the legal duties of the carrier and the reasonable requirements of public safety and convenience. It is not necessary for us to controvert the proposition that unreasonably extravagant grade crossings are to be enjoined, not only as violations of the Fourteenth Amendment, but also as forbidden by the Transportation Act. ”

“ It was certainly not intended by the Transportation Act to take from the states or to thrust upon the Interstate Commerce Commission investigation into parochial matters like this, unless by reason of their effect on economical management and service, their general bearing is clear. ”