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Show ROCK 'ISLAND MAY INVADE UINTA BASIN By Connecting With the Moffat Road at Dotsero it Would Have an Outlet to the Pacific Coast. DenVerj Marh 11. -Again thte Dotsero cut-off and a rival linepar-alelling linepar-alelling the Rio Grande down the Grand canon, invading the Uinta country and joining the Moffat lin between Vernal and Provo, is looming up on the Colorado railroad rail-road horizon. It comes a3 a result of a visit of President H. U: Mudge of the Rock Island road and the revival of rumors ru-mors that a binding agreement has been made between the" Moffat road and the Rock Island line. It is stated that the James Peak tunnel tun-nel is to be constructed with a new line on the Opposite side of Grand river, in part utilizing the old Burlington Bur-lington right of way and grade to Grand Junction. Ffom Grand Junction the road is to be projected west into the Uinta basin and onto Provo over the Moffat survey into Salt Lake. From Salt Lake the Rock Island has a trafn agreement with the Union Pacific and Southern Pa cific which will give it a Pacific coast outlet. The cc nstruction of the James Peak tunnel and the Dotsero cutoff will put the Rock Island and Moffat Mof-fat lines within 10 hours of Grand Junction and will make the route 193 miles shorter tb Denver than is possible over the Rio Grande arid 120 miles shorter than possible over the Midland. The rumors that the Rock Island and the Rio Grande are to tie up in a traffic agreement do not look sound. The Rock Island has no particular need of the Rio Grande, but id looking for a short -direct route to Denver through Colorado from Salt Lake. The best line, everything considered, is a direct line from Provo to Grand Junction a distance of about 155 miles and from Grand Junction to Dotsero to Kremmling and into Denver. This will reduce the mileage by rail from Salt Lake to Denver by about 250 miles and cut down the running" run-ning" time about ten hours. |