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Show 0 'MIDLAND TRAIL THROUGH UTAH IS NOW PUvES PEAK HIGHWAY Efforts of state legislators to divert di-vert the Midland trail through Grand cbunty from a parallel with the Denver Den-ver and Rio Grande to a line running down the canyon o the Grand river to Moab and thence taking a sharp turn northward again by way of Valley City and Little Grand to Green River and the railroad again, ' have had the practical effect of diverting di-verting about afl the M'dHnd ral! traffic through Uintah, Duchesne and Wasatch counties to Heber City and thence into Salt Lake City, says the Price Sun. This is the report from that territory by W. A. Richmond, assistant state road engineer, who has just been on a tour of the eastern east-ern district of the state, accompanying accompan-ying J. H. Tuttle of Price, district road engineer. Richmond reports that the Midland trail traffic is now being diverted at Grand Junction towards to-wards the Utah and Colorado line, whence it comes to Jensen, and on into Vernal. From Vernal westward it follows state and federal aid roads -into Salt Lake City. In other words, the Midland trail road through Utah to Salt Lake City now is to all intents and purpose the Pike's Peak ocean to ocean highway. - Richmond says that the road up the Grand River canyon offers engineering engi-neering difficulties such as to bring the cost of construction to virtually impracticable figures. From Price to Green River, however, which is still a state road, considerable work is be-'ing be-'ing done in straightening out the old road and in turnplking. This highway, high-way, as soon as the local traffic gets to using it, will be in pretty fair shape. Efforts are being made to divert di-vert the traffic to newly constructed portions of the road by running a plow zizzag over the abandoned portions. por-tions. Richmond and Tuttle were accompanied over this part of the road by Engineer Lynch of the ba- reau of public roads district office at San Francisco. They considered mainly the best method to get work accomplished on the road from Thompsons to Moab, and decided that by letting station contracts to local people this road can soon be put Into In-to shape. The project is ready for the final approval at Washington, U. C, and in the meantime the state is authorized to go ahead with the work of getting the road into shape. Richmond and Tuttle also went over the road from Castle Gate to 'Duchesne, where prisoners are operating oper-ating a steamshovel, and there are also some gangs working on force account. This road is already in good shape, but will be better soon. However, How-ever, the heavy parcels postMrafflc, many thouands of tons a month on heavily loaded trucks, makes the maintenance problem for a graveled road a big one. From Duchesne Tuttle Tut-tle and Richmond went to Vernal and to Jensen to see what could bo done in the way of improving the road east from Vernal. That, however, how-ever, is not yet a state road, which . ends with the present postroad pro- ject at Vernal. j |