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Show 1917 SEES Pf ROAD PROJECTS INAUGURATED State Commission Is Very Active Throughout Year in Behalf of Rural Residents. PONDEROUS MACHINES TO SPEED UP WORK Big Extension of Highway Construction Planned for Ensuing Year; War Needs Give Impetus. A MAX buys an automobile today because be-cause he wants it as a reserve "tank1 lo help him. renew his thinking power. He uses his car as a nerve tonic. Fresh air. new sights, imposing scenery keep him going on "high' and ad 'J immeasurably to bin "upacity for work, for pJay and for maintaining main-taining his 'position in the community as a successful" American and a ratrlot. A man buys an auto because he firmly believes tha t he can drive it anywhere at any time. In this respect he is often grievously deceived. Road conditions limit his aspirations for long- "treks" into the country at many seasons of the year and beau I y spots that are not easily reached, yet which beckon the outdoor enthusiast and inveterate lover of Nature, jeinain isolated because of the lack of t;ood roads. . . ' Time was when the American people co Mid justly be called the most backward back-ward of nil peoples in the building of good roads. Only a generation ago it was a venturesome traveler who undertook to 'over any considerable distance except by rail or wa ten This reproach upon the intelligence and perspicacity of the American Amer-ican people will be out of order in a very irv years if the present :imazing progress in road building throughout the length i nrl breadth of the land is kept up. The passive policy of extreme localization localiza-tion held undisputed sway until about Wth year 3 St 1 . when the state of New Tersey paved the way to state participant participa-nt i.. on in road building by passing a law to Qm effect. The. progress of the next fif--k. years was comparatively slight, but a start had been made and sure results wpic to follow. U. S. Road Statistics. Iii 1104 the toial outlay in money and labor for construction and maintenance of both roads and bridges in the entire United States was approximately JSO.000.000. It is a far jump to the records of 191 fi. but In that year tha total expenditure expen-diture was about $2S8,0OO,0'H), and in 1017 the munificent sum of $3'0,000.OOO was spent by the federal government and the Prions states a nd local communities, or about four times the sum spent in 1904. Tho passage of the federal road act in July, ta 16. makes available during the f've-ycar period ending June l'0, 1P21, JT:"., Ono. 000 for post road construction, and fiiuinc the period ending June 30, 1926, S 1 ri.tmo.oro for forest loads, so that all government units are contributing toward the building of a great system of highways high-ways in all states. The growth of state , and national aid toward good roads may be expected to expand greatly during the years to come. The entrance of the United .States into the world's war brought home to the peo-' peo-' pie the dlro need of passable hichways for military reasons and, primarily, for domestic reasons. The advent of tho motor car, Its rapid expansion and its utility, both In the pleasure life and business world, has had much to do with all this vust road planning plan-ning and building of the past decade and a half. What has Utah done in Ihu way of providing pro-viding good roads? Thin pertinent ques-l ques-l ion can best be answered by a resume of the work done by the state road com-mission com-mission and the state engineer's corps during the past year. With the beginning of the year Is-1.7 Utah had many stretches of main highways, high-ways, but few good .ones. There was the road from Salt Jjko to Ogden, which Was :it that time In very good repair. It is far better now, having hoon hard surfaced sur-faced for many additional miles and to-wday to-wday presents one of, the best and smooth-a smooth-a surfaces for autft and truck travel to 'Njound anywhere In the western half oC the continent. Utah Speeds Up Work. But this is only one achievement of the (past year. Thero have boon many projects proj-ects started and, while few have actually been completed, the work has progressed to tho point where Utahns, collectively, have every, reason to be proud of the great stride forward that has been made. It Is a fact worthy of special notice that the state engineer, George F. McGonagle, and his force have laid all their road plans along lines calculated to secure the greatest amount of permanency In those sections of the stale where work is being done. Different soils occur in tho north ruiil soutii sections of ITtali. and these conditions have to be considered atid met in planning and building new hlghwavs. Hard -surfaced roads are the best, and the state officials am bending all their efforts In t his direction. Hut In manv h ca lilies where road w ork Is Imperat lv'e the road commissioner has had work done to put them in shape for traffic without considering permanency further than to grade them properly ,ul,j put n aj tne necessary culverts and bridges. An example of good road building that f.Morably compares with any permanent construction laid down in auv state of iho union Is t-Jm new road eon si ruction on tfomh State street, which evtends out beyond be-yond Murra y to the intersection of tho main highwav leading: to Mulvnle. Here i as been in id down a bed of concrete w wide ior all traffic purposes. It Is :i typo of the most modern and approved I'.iad bulldin and Is a credit to both T't : h and Sail Take county. That porno por-no n of unpaved State street within the so' 1 1 h city limits ha? also been put in shape, both sides of the street car tracks having been treated to a bed of concrete for the full width of the street. There is now a good hlphway for the entire distance dis-tance to V'rovo, but the future mav ee the concrete construction extended many miles south. Important Highways. Another bit of road that is noted for heavy travel, and the condition of which was a reproach to the state and county, ( .specially in wet seasons, is the connect- link between South State street and v i led wood road. This work is heimt yoiio by the state road commissioner on 'hii-ty-third Somh-nl.1 Fourteenth ui:t 1) and a ha rd surface of smelter j0r- v i thttITH THE ACQUISITION of ponderous machinery, like that shown herewith, and with the ' t. ! T addition of powerful caterpillar tractors, Utah's road commission has performed well dur-; , jK&P-i . : ing the last year on the main trunk roads of the state. Plans for the coming year are even ; " - more ambitious than those just consummated and even with a minimum of man power will be ' V $ x$P& j JA fullv carried out. The state officials have in mind the further acquisition of road-building ma-: - x f i HK i " 1 chinery, as the needs of the situation may dictate. AVhile trucks, tractors and other machines ; I .t '" f r yXf rj can supplement mpn power to a great extent, yet they cannot entirely eliminate it, and the road : fA rC'lfX" JSi - - ! programme for the coming year will be carried out in keeping with the needs of each section of ; J vSfS&4JIjZt: :; the state and with all the help available. j -SmVE-iMmkfi r""" ' ' 'SURFACE MATERIAL PLANT i- 'lf ' in, yrrzRz SOUTH- 0Jlimm r -:'"IIUl-. 33 SOUTH " T - JSHOWING 'MACADAM (dag, taken from the abandoned dump at Murray, is being used. A fine, hard roadbed is being laid down, and this will be surfaced with bitumen paving material. ma-terial. ' The street is receiving attention for the full width. When completed this will form an enduring en-during piece of highway on the main road to Garfield that the state may be justly proud of. Plans now contemplate the improving of the road through Magna and on to Garfield, passing the big smelter plant, where the highway is now in very poor condition. Other ambitious plans for roads within the state boundaries are being formulated formu-lated by the Lincoln Highway association associa-tion and the "U'tah Good Poads assocla- , tion, a body of Utah men who are interested in-terested in having permanent highways laid down all over the state where the traffic is sufficient to warrant. This latter lat-ter association organized in this city last fall lias gotten into the road game with evident spirit and determination and should spur the state and counties on to greater effort, as the membership comes, from every county of the state. ! The state road commissioner, Ira , R. Browning and his force, has had under ; Its care many projects during the past year. The Ephraim-Fruitland road has j received attention and also the Heber- I Frultland road, which communicates with United States post roads, forest roads and other federal road projects in that i section of the state. Another road in I the south part of the state that has come ; in for considerable attention and work by the state commission is the new high- way from Joseph City to Marysvale, by way of Sevier canyon. This road opens up new territory and was much needed in that portion of the state. Improvements in North Utah. The north end of the state lias received re-ceived a goodly portion of the attention of the state commissioner. Portions of the state road near Logan city have been put in good shape and a two-mile stretch between Hot Springs and Wlllard was built in Boxelder county. Parleys canyon road received some attention, at-tention, but there is still much work to be done to make til is main highway to Wyoming a boulevard. The Isolated or practically isolated Uintah section has at last come into its own. By raising bumper crops and developing de-veloping its mines and all mineral deposits, de-posits, it has forced the attention of tho state to focus in that direction. New-roads New-roads have been planned and perhaps a railroad will be built to tap this now wonderland of Utah in 1918. The past year the road commissio'n has spent time and money on the Price-Emery road; also the Castle Gatc-Duchesne road project. The Priee-Myton road has been put in fair shape and more work will be done next year. It is planned to give tne Utntnh ba-sln a good outlet or several good outlets, in tact before the efforts of the state is done with road work in behalf of the pioneers of that little empire em-pire of western Utah. Other road projects that have been looked after are the Ogden-Hooper road and the Thompson-Monh highways. It has been the policy of the state road commission to make us extensive Improvements Im-provements on all through highways as the traffic and other conditions warranted war-ranted dunntr the year. Hard, permanent perma-nent surfacing on main trunk roads, selected se-lected surfacing materials for intermediate interme-diate roads, baa been the plan that has been carried out in all work attempted. Good road beds at minimum cost, is the slogan of the state officials and to attain, this end the work the past year has been directed. Good Roads Imperative. Now more than ever, with the countrv engaged In prosecuting a war that will tax Its farmers ro raise enough to feed the better and larger half of the world, are pood highways an imperative need Recognizing this the I' tab stale roar! commission Is to bend every effort during dur-ing liUs, as it did during the year just closed, to give every section of the state, 1 and especially the big farming regions, roads that they can move their big crops over without serious trouble, to the nearest near-est markets at any season of the year. The state road commission, as well as the entire membership of the Utah Good Roads association, Is interested in giv- , ing communities good roads as speedily as money and labor can be had to build them. The state of Utah is, perhaps, as well equipped, considering its population, for road construction as any other western state. The state commission now has five big White good road trucks, with a hauling capacity of fifteen tons, using us-ing two Troy trailers at each loadtrip. Also one monster Garford road-build ing truck that can handle a road load of fifteen or more tons, using two trailers. There are two big caterpillar tractors, each ninety horsepower, that haul fifteen to sixteen trailers, each trailer loaded with five tons of road materials. There are several other lighter trucks that are used in conjunction with the big road trucks for light but 'very necessary hauling. The state also has two Erie steam shovels, shov-els, built by the Ball Engine company of Erie, Fa. Theso leviathans have dippers that can lift a ton of gravel, slag or dirt, at each bite. They are man-power savers and when run to full capacity can load onto the trucks as much as 1500 yards of road material per day. Where cuts are needed the Erie machines walk through the obstructing dirt with ease and dispatch. These big, heavy duty machines have been put into commission commis-sion by the state officials to make up for the loss of horse and man power that has been so seriously felt since the declaration of war. Road Work Systematized. It is not too much to say that 1917 has witnessed a fine start on the part of Utah towards a system of road construction con-struction that promises great things for the future. It means the expansion of 11 Industries and the greater expansion, in the next few years, of the automobile automo-bile business in Utah to a position of first rank among western communities. Road work in all western states was seriously handicapped by the war. This Is true of the plans formulated for the extension of main highways in Idaho and Wyoming. But considerable improvement in many sections has been noted during the past year. The Salt Lake -Velio ws tone highway that was built during UUit, has been improved im-proved for its entire length and is now I in fair shape for traffic at the upper ; end. leading from Ash ton, Idaho, to the ! entrance of the park at Yellowstone. This road is perhaps the best highway In the 1 Gem state and has proven to be a constant con-stant source of pleasure and profit to , resident and non-re.sident motorists. I Intermountain Roads. The character of the soil in southern '. Idaho, in many localities, is such that dirt roads even with a gravel surfacing, will not endure for lorg. Where lava ash occurs, as in 1 he Burley and Twin Kalis districts, only eonerete roads will stand the test of time. But all that is possible under existing conditions has been done and the programme for this year eoinemplates extensive road improvements im-provements in nil sections of the state. The Lincoln highway, perhaps the most used road through Wyoming, was in very poor condition throughout 1P1T. Plans have been made, however, to repair re-pair and construct wheri" necessary, n:fz stretch'--? for This highway early this year. This will be good new? to the trans -continental tourists who come west ov-ry season to imbibe the western spirit and to sre anew the ever changing chang-ing a r.d inspiring western mountains and plains. The war moans that the man power of the country must, in a larger measure than ever before, be call-d upon to fight for liberty, here. machinery irupt do the work. With this view of the situation sit-uation in mind the various intermountain 1 states are planning to secure tho necessary neces-sary equipment to insure the proper extension ex-tension of all highways. New road building and improvement of old highways has been systematized by the state road commission in accomplishment accom-plishment of valuable aid in the war situation. The transportation question is becoming one of i he most formidable with which the nation has to contend. Rapid transfer of supplies from place to place, and especially transport of food products to market and shipping centers, are matters ciosely associated with the war programme of the country. System Adopted. For the next five years the state road commission has outlined a tentative programme pro-gramme involving the outlay of Sl.S(i2.-S01, Sl.S(i2.-S01, from which every county in the commonwealth com-monwealth will receive some benefit in the construction of post roads through expenditure of sta,te and federal funds. In prosecuting these projects the aims of the slate road commission include harmonious har-monious work with county officials ; to connect up a system of state highways which shall bring all parts of the state into closer road communication and make each section of the commonwealth accessible ac-cessible to the transcontinental highways passing through Utah; and to bring food-t food-t producing centers of the state closer to I the markets by building roads which shall be utilizable all the year lrom these dls-I dls-I trtcts to railroad points. I Plan Post Roads. j The post road system of road projects, ! which are to be built or Improved through the joint expenditure of state and federal funds, embraces a total of 06414 mites, divided between thirty-two sections of highway between given points where they are considered to be of greatest benefit. As much advantage as possible is being taken of the provisions of the federal aid road act, while counties have levied special road taxes to belli In the work. As helpers In the enlarged road building build-ing programme the state road from mission mis-sion has appointed a road agent or ; agents in each county. These follow: Beaver, James E. Robinson ; Boxelder, , K. c. Wright and T. P. Melster; Cache, C. W. Sa nders ; Carbon, V. S. Dunlevy ; : Davis, Frank Williams ; Duchesne, A. 31. ; Murdock; Emery, Cart Wilberg; Garfield, James A. Worthen : Grand. R. C. Clark ; Iron. D. Claude Urle : .Juab, Charles A. Hall: Kane, H. C. Esplin and A. M. Findlay ; Millard, Frank T Slaughter: Morgan, Conway Morris; Piute, Le Roy Da! ton : Rich, James Stuart: Salt Lake. R. E. L. Collier: San Juan. D. P. Black; .aniv-te. C. T. Drage ; Sevier, Joseph A. Smith: Summit. J. Dnn Birch: Tooele. R. R. Judn: Uintah. George T. Goodrich: Utah, Ben E. Argyle,: Wa sntch, i lenry T. Colema n ; Washington, J. H. Cot tarn ; Wayne, W. H. Morrell; Weber, W. H. Taylor. The state road commission i? now constituted con-stituted as follows: Simon Bamberger, governor; Harden Bennlon. secretary of state : Pn 11. Shields, a torney general: Joseph Rtri, slate auditor; Geore F. M'"Hiorijgle. state engineer; Ira R. ! Browning, state road engineer. i X PIACS vyr3r jit ft''i f ?IF 9S- i ' i-" " I |
