Show z Proposed A Route t 11 i By E. E C. C Knowlton Assistant Engi En Engi gi neer CO CONCLUDED In In the consideration of this problem lem leni there are c certain fUl fundamentals to keep in mind and the main one Is that first and primarily the tho Uintah basin is to be served with the best possible regardless of where the outlet be and this issue must not be clouded by the question of the advantages or disadvantages to the interests ot of the different outlet outlet out- out let Jot p points ints Also it Is apparent that only one route into the basin can be placed on tike the seven severt seven per cent r federal deral highway system The ideal require meats ments for tho the route leading Into the basin might be fUated rated by three cardinal cardinal cardinal car car- dinal points First The route must furnish the the best all aU tho the year around outlet to fo the tho railroad Second Be De a link In iu a direct all year highway to Salt Lake City Third When a railroad is built over the Wasatch range into this country the route must be so located located located ed that it will not be abandoned when it is po no longer required as a feeder to the railroad In other words the Ideal route would have havethe havethe havethe the low summit and minimum snow trouble of the Price Myton ton nearness to o the railroad of the Castlegate- Castlegate Duchesne and the directness to Salt Lake Lalie City of or the Kamas route Obviously no one fulfills all an these requirements however however- the route that must be chosen to serve best jest the needs of or the basin and aud interstate Interstate in- in traffic is the one which combines combines combines com com- bines its characteristics most nearly in n accordance with the above re re- re This does not mean of course that the road on the federal highway system will Le tie the only one improved As inter-county inter interests demand other routes will be maintained maintained maintained main main- and improved I shall now consider three routes the My Price ton Duchesne Castlegate-Duchesne and according to the requirements requirements require require- ments just mentioned There enters into this requirement the he question of directness or minimum mini mum distance U that at of minimum snow fall over the the thigh high summits and that of grades Each route route willbe will willbe willbe be weighed In this scale The he Most Direct Route RouteS S Tha The Duchesne Castlegate-Duchesne road seems to have hive the advantage on this point it being 45 miles from Duchesne Duchesne Duchesne Du Du- chesne t to Castlegate the nearest railroad point however as Price the distributing point Is 11 miles south this thus distance must t oe De e added making a total of 56 miles The Avint road will certain certainly be a close second In point of distance No survey has been made here and the exact distance distance distance dis dis- dis- dis tance cannot be now stated but it will be between 50 and ana 55 miles The Price Price-Myton ton road is decidedly at a disadvantage in this comparison It has the great disadvantage of reachIng reachIng reaching reach- reach Ing the basin asin too far east which rakes necessary all ll travel from a territory west of My Myton ton to backtrack backtrack backtrack back back- track to My Myton ton The distance from My ton to Price over the Price Price-Myton ton road is 82 miles and the distance from Myton 1 to Price by try way of the Castlegate road is 76 miles The distance from Duchesne to Price by way of or the Price Price-Myton road is miles or nearly twide twi e the distance distance dis dis- dis- dis distance tance from Duchesne to the railroad by the western outlet Question of Winter Vinter Travel It might be well to state here that snow trouble as an obstacle to traffic depends ds not so much upon the depth of the snow covering as does the drifting of it upon the highway by the prevailing wind In other words words' two adjacent mountain summits summits summits sum sum- mits might receive the same amount of at snow fall but the direction of the wind may tend to sweep the snow from one highway location and aud drift it upon the other The first instanced will cause scarcely any tro trouble and the second very serious trouble Itis Itis It Itis is admitted that the Price Price-Myton road has the advantage of ether other routes into the basin whorl s measured from irom the of winter travel the summit of the mate Gate i Canyon is feet in V elp elevation and the Ninemile Ninemile Nine Nine- mile canyon feet Either of at these summits is more mere than 1000 1400 feet teet lower than either the Castlegate- Castlegate Duchesne or summits The Castlegate Duchesne summit serious problem a as 31 asto i ito presents a very to snow conditions It is 13 so 80 situated ed cd topographically that the Prevailing Prevail prevail- ing ins west wind drifts sno sni v out of or the south fork lork of the on the that mat durE during during dur- dur road and it Is quite certain E ing severe severo winters it will take superhuman superhuman super super- human efforts to asap it ep ap this open summit is The elevation of this thiH feet teet above sea level Another great that this disadvantage is the fact summit Is 20 miles mUes from the railroad l I which adds greatly to the resulting from and danger I s snow now blockades On this route the tha thes r 1 section through Emma park presents very serious difficulties also Jit It t must be stated hero that even eon though the postoffice department b bv very hard work It kept pt the mail moving moving over this summit last winter t ti the traveling public was compelled OU pV many occasions to either pa pay expensive expo sive save toll to be pulled through the snow or take the tho Price Price- Price Price-Myton road A close study of now mow conditions condition dm during ing the past winter which stud extended from front Fruitland to the studa Bam berger beiger monument revealed revealed tho f b b. b that the amount of of J siow on tn tile summit was i ill for this season This summit H Is its ay aja- aja 1 proximately feet above s v se level and it would be absurd T o o. o j claim that some snow snow- trouble will vi J not be encountered here liere I However i clue due to the fact that th Trail cre creek 1 o ott t the west side of or the summit and and andt t the west fork of the on all the thA I east side of at tho the summit ire lC S oriented with relation to the he he direction tion lion of the prevailing wind that with with i ithe the exception of a short short- distance distance fil one-half one mile at nt the summit the thet slopes of these two canyons where the road would be built bunt are almost en entirely i ely wind swept it Is the writers writer's opinion that this road can be kept open with very little difficulty and another big advantage lies in the fact that the snow rouble which Will be encountered will all be 8 8 miles mUes of Soldier Summit the railroad point Question of Gl Grades des The rood has bras a distinct advantage on this point a no maximum n grade of 6 can be obtained on both sides of or the summit Another advantage advantage advantage ad ad- vantage is that there is but 1600 feet of adverse grade to the railroad on this route that Is only 1600 feet Ceet of at the elevation surmounted Is Is' lost lostIn lostIn lostin In descending to the the level of th the White river just east of Soldier Sum Sum- mit mite Duchesne's elevation Is the summit at the head of at quin quitt l and the the point on the White river just just mentioned The grades of the Price Dayton ton route it Is thought could be kept at 6 however there is here feet of adverse grade leaving Myton Z at arc ari elevation of feet one one climbs to the Gate canyon summit which has hasan hasan an elevation of then descends to the mouth of Gate canyon to an an elevation of feet and then en climbs again to the summit of N Ninemile Ninemile Nine Nine- mile canyon which has an elevation n of feet and finally drops downto d down ne 1 wn to o Price at an elevation n of The Castlegate Duchesne road is also at ata ata ata a great disadvantage compared with the the grades on both sides side's of or the summit are upwards of at 10 and there is an adverse grade of feet The summit elevation feet requires an ascent of feet from Duchesne The PrIce Myton road measured as to value as part of a transcontinental transcontinental transcontinental route leading to Salt Lake City must be left entirely out of or consideration con con- as Price is within 20 miles of being as far from Salt Lake as is Myton measuring by roads west from tram both points Tyke The Castlegate- Castlegate Duchesne road by way of Bamberger monument and Colton gives a distance distance distance dis dis- dis- dis tance of approximately 14 8 miles from Duchesne to Salt Lake City while the route gives a distance of approximately miles A great disadvantage of the Castle- Castle gate Duchesne road as a a. link ink In the route to Salt Lake lies in the fact that from the Bamburger monument to Horse Creek the snow trouble will be nearly as serious as asat asat asat at the summit of Willow creek This fast was revealed by the study of last ast winter The hopes for railroad transportation transportation transportation tation have been raised and blasted so often orten that many are pessimistic I about Its ultimate realization However However However How How- ever It is hard to believe that it will willbe willbe willbe be many years before this great country will be tapped by a railroad Surely the state road commission must be permitted to include this contingency when considering the highway problem and the road which is to be placed place on the seven per cent highway system must now be so located that when the railroad comes conies it will n not t be abandoned To the writer it appears that the Price- Price Myton 1 route as an outlet to the Uintah Uintah Uintah Uin Uin- tah basin would be absolute worthless worthless worthless worth worth- less with the coming of a railroad Duchesne Castlegate-Duchesne road and the would then be of no value except as asan asan asan an road The road on the other hand liand being lo located 10 as it is would still be the main highway based purely upon Its va value ue transcontinental link as an all year leading into Salt Lake City With the facts above outlined under under under un un- the cardinal points der the three state road commission felt justified in submitting to the secretary of ot agriculture agrIculture agriculture ag ag- the road for approval as part of the seven per percent percent percent cent system Criticisms of at Upon the announcement 1 by y theOn theOn the theOn On Last Pago Page n mI PROPOSED A VIN QUIN ROUTE From Page Pago One state road commission of ol Its selection selection I tion of the road there I Iwas was agitation especial especial- especially ly Iy in ill Carbon and Wasatch counties and also quite determined opposition Tho The objections to date dato might be cr crystallized in the three following points mst first that there aro are enough highway routes opened into tho the Uintah Uin- Uin tah tait basin and there Is no justification tion at present to expend large sums Bums of money on another one second that the proposed route toute cannot be kept open due to snow trouble third that Price has been boen the dis- dis point for tho the Uintah basin country since he beginning anti and that the railroad romp company y commercial interests anti and the government have expended large sums in constructing facilities to handle the tho trade the trade trado of the basin and anti that it is presumptuous to think that the basin distributing point can can he be moved In answer ver to the first contention it must be admitted that there have fi been m mistakes made Blade in hi the tho t- t ture turc of of- money of-money money on roads leading caning Into mios Uintah basin hasin However one one cans can s 's safely foly say that the sooner the proper proper- r routs route Is chosen and constructed U ted the better it will bo lic for the tho state stater It m must Rt also aso be admitted that at the present time the basin is Is suffering severely severely due due to the tte Ie unsatisfactory factory highways Something must be he done at once to remedy the the- the con COll- con It Is true that with the tho expenditure expenditure ex ex- of a large sum of money the Price Price-Myton ton road can ean be bo made satisfactory a outlet t to the tIte r railroad but is the state road commission justified justified justified jus jus- In III recommending a r route ufo as part of or the highway system which has the objections enumerated In ill detail above even the secretary of agriculture would approve approve ap ap- approve ap- ap prove their recommendations In answer to the tho second point asto as asto asto to whether the proposed route can be kept open it is firmly believed that with reasonable effort this can be accomplished and it might be stated here that even If It this route be approved by the secretary of ol agriculture there will be at least one more winter before any actual work takes place upon It and there thero is yet opportunity for tor those who desire to make a careful study of oC the situation during the period perlo-l J of heavy snow We Ve now come to the third contention contention contention conten conten- tion namely that Price has b been bien en the distributing point and ancI Is the natural outlet to the Uintah basin One can cannot cannot cannot not look upon the history of or this matter but with a great deal of admiration admiration admiration ad ad- for the Price business men who have so jealously guarded this claim of theirs theIrs the the basin business Anyone at all acquainted with the facts will readily see the serious consequences to ItO Price of ot the proposed proposed propos propos- ed change But Dut I believe the foresighted foresighted foresighted fore- fore sighted citizens of oC Price will concede that the fundamental problem before belore the commission is to furnish the best I transportation possible to the struggling struggling gling basin country and if It they can be convinced that the proper route will not lead to Price they will support support support sup sup- port the commission in n th the route chosen I also believe that Price will concede that the tho state road commissIon commission commis commis- sion slon with its entire organization Is endeavoring endeavor by sincere thorough Inv In Investigation In- In v to arrive at a solution for this very serious problem In conclusion It can be stated that from an engineering standpoint a feasible road can be built from Soldier Soldier Sol Sol- dier Summit to Duchesne for a reasonable reasonable rea ron cost Tho The final decision rests with the bureau of public road and the secretary of ol agriculture |