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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 1922)
THE MORMXG OREGOXIAX, MOXDAY," JANUARY 2, . 1922 mii mmmiHiniiitnniiiiinmiiiiiiiiHiniiiimiifMiiNiiHwnntiniiMmHnmiimminHinniinimninm itimfmtmiiHiuiMiiuiiMttmmtmimimimimHHimi IIIHWmHMMIImmMmitlllMHIMHiri(lMltMMIIHimMIIIMWIIttlimiBIMIMMIMIIIIIHIIini COLUMBIA RIVER HIGHWAY BECOMES TRANSCONTINENTAL ROUTE 3 v 1 World Famous Scenic Drive Far More Than Builders Contemplated Thousands of Tourists Annually Pour Into Oregon Over Wonder Road, Grades Being Easy and Conditions Almost Ideal. v. ;.... ...,..ij. - - ? it ' - ' 8. i t 4- - . w . .i r f V . s i 4 r--'l i-;v " " - i - 4 1 1.1 "fAK'S-- ' - . v v ; ; ' - . 1 1 1 . J .. . - xf .). J1 ... - , .... i 1 . w i '') v- " - V ' z j I , .i v) i 'X,iflfr . f ' -.X-.-.. I-:-.-.;-.:- l 1 a'v - Hi VtffvV.-'" , I . : it X ' . V- " - - I JT" SToAl 'I l .- .A I : liU A?r" ,:1- VW " - , . M ,11 --V ti;; -. ,.v"-iTTif l! - . ; .s f It.v H. W. Lyniun, Auloinohile Editor of The OrrjconiHn. WHKN tht liiiiliicrs of the Colum biH rivir hlKhway drove the first stakt-a lor location of the new famous drive, over half a dozen yearn jiro. they thought of the new mul. no doulit. n an unusual scenic attribute for Portland something to lie shown off by proud I'ortlandera to visitors from all over the country, much as a splendid building; or a beautiful park. Few there were who could look ahead to the time when it would not only be a (treat attr action to show the visitor, but a great com mercial artery, a link of two trans constinental highways, over which the motor tourists from the east would pour In Increasing numbers. But such has the. Columbia river highway become. As each year has passed motor tourists in additional hundreds have come westward from New York, from Illinois, from Ken tucky, Texas and from every eastern, middle western and southern state, over the Rocky mountains to the Ta ciflo coast, entering the Pacific north west country over this logical artery. When the average motorist plans his tour, be be vacationist seeking the great scenic wonders of the far west or home Beeker immigrating to the land of opportunity, he studiously consults his maps, writes to his friends and acquaintances for infor mation and visits the local automobile clubs and road information bureaus. The atlas and the old geography at home are thumbed as he traces pos sible courses for his journey across the states. In all his investigations he has in mind finding the route where road conditions are the best, where cli matic conditions will be the most favorable and where the scenery will be of the finest. Taking these fac tors into consideration the motor tourist from the east, whose destina tion is a point on the north Pacific coast, no matter over what route he Tosses the Hocky mountains, will in evitably close his Journey to the far west over the magnificent Columbia river highway, come to. Portland and from here motor to his destination. The Columbia river highway, lead ing from Pendleton Into Portland, the only, all-year highway across the states of Oregon and Washington, Is fast making Portland the great clear ing house of automobile tourist travel for the north Pacific coast. The Im portance of the highway as the most scenic road in the world Is added to by the importance of the highway as the great east-and-west automobile artery of the north Pacific coast. The past year was one of great development for the Columbia river hfghway and saw the completion of a vast amount of grading and paving work on this route. With the work of the past year the programme of the state highway commission for improvement of the highway was vir tually brought to completion, and the 2MlllltltlllllllfHMHMIIIIHHIItllllHlllimilmillllHIMIHIII1rtIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIl FACTS KKI.ATIVK, TO t'llLl'M- I HI A RIYHK HIGHWAY. 1 The Columbia river highway is i famed the world over for its beautiful scenery of varying kinds, stretching from the east- em borders of the state to Port- land, the metropolis. 1 It has. In addition, developed Into a great transcontinental route leading directly from the eastern and middle western sec- I tions of the United States. It has the great advantage of I following the water-haul grades of the railway systems, which i have recently proved the wonder- 1 ful benefits of this means of i transportation, and thousands of i tourists annually travel over Its smooth surface entering or leav- I ing the state on their travels. i TlHHMltiHitlimiHliimHimniimiiiiiMmHiilinmiimiiwmHitiuMiMHiiiiiMi? eight-tenths miles still to be paved, has at last taken on its permanent expression. Before spring has given way to summer of this year this last portion will have been paved and the Columbia river highway will be entirely completed. And what a highway it is! It stands as one Of the greatest pieces of construction in the west and as, perhaps, from the standpoint both of utility and beauty, the greatest high way in the world. In its present nearly completed state the Columbia river highway is 234.S miles In length, of which dis tance 92 miles is hard surface pave ment and the remaining 147.6 miles Is excellent macadam. The one gap in the pavement still to be completed consists of 4.8 miles at the Rowena loops, between Mosier and The Dalles. This stretch has been graveled and was under contract for paving last year. The. surfacing was deferred, however, until the coming spring to allow additional settling of the grade during the present winter. When this work is completed the highway will be. paved all the way from Portland to Seuferts. three miles east of The Dalles, a distance of 97 miles, and macadamized the rest of the distance of 137.6 miles to Pendleton. This Is the permanent condition of the high way as planned under the present highway commission programme. The Columbia river highway bears much the same relationship to auto mobile travel as the Columbia gorge railroads bear to railway travel. Other routes across the Cascade mountains are forced to climb to great heights to cross the range. What a contrast to the Columbia river highway, which pierces the Cas cade range through the gap made by the Columbia river. The grade down the entire length of the highway from Pendleton to Portland is of the easi est, almost a water grade the entire distance. From an engineering stand point it is a virtual railroad of high ways, with its grade, its curves and the surface looking not to the prestnt but toward the tremendous traffic of the future. For ithe'jnotor tourist planning to come from the east to the Pacific northwest there are now and always will be two main arteries of travel across the Rocky mountains. These are the northern route, which is taken in general by the three northern transcontinental railroads, and tht central route of the Union Pacific system. Railroad engineers discov ered the easiest routes to the Pacific northwest years ago. and road build ers followed their lead. Of the sev eral northern highways which have been logged the best known is the Yellowstone trail, while the main cen tral trail is the Lincoln- highway, which leads to California and has a branch to the northwest. Both of these routes lead directly to the Co lumbia river - highway, making this great highway the logical final traf fic link to the coast country.. The Yellowstone trail crosses North Dakota, Montana, tapping the Yellow stone national park en route, and northern Idaho, and enters Washing ton by way of Spokane. From that city the route runs south over excel lent highway to Walla Walla. From there the motorist has the choice of two routes to the coast either the Snoijualmie pass road from Walla Walla up through the Yakima valley, or the Columbia river highway, which he joins by driving from Walla Walla over paved road to Pendleton. This choice holds true only during the summer and fall months, however, for at other times the Siioqualmie pass road is blocked with snow and the Columbia river highway Is the only route. More and more motorists are coming to recognize the advantages of the southern route and are coming Into Portland over the pavement and smooth macadam of the Columbia river highway. For those who wish to go up to Seattle the trip from Port land to the Puget sound city is hut a shprt day's going, with paved road nearly the whole distance. The central transcontinental route, the Lincoln, highway, crosses or tra verses portions of the states of Ne braska, Colorado; Wyoming. Utah and Nevada into California. The route In-to Oregron. which is known as the Old Oregon trail and follows closely the path hewn by the early pioneers who came to Oregon by ox team, branches off from Granger. Wyo., or from Salt Lake City, cut's a diagonal through the" southern portion of Idaho, touching Boise and other lead-y ing towns of that etatc, and enters Oregon near Huntington. From that point the road goes northwesterly through the Oregon cities of Baker and La Grande to Pendleton, where it connects with the Columbia river highway. While this southern route Is im passable in the winter time, as of course are all transcontinental roads at the present time. It is in excellent shape during the late spring, summer and fall. . v. Few people, even Oregon ians, real ize the extent of work involved and money expended in bringing the Co lumbia river highway to its present splendid state. But cicht years ago lllllllllHimilllllllMlllllltHllllllllllHIUIIIIIIMIiMMIIIIIMIIIIIIIIMIKIItllllllliniti: i M A X - M A U V. Fll H KST V I II KS t.UWI-: MKVtt'K. According to statistics rnmi piled by the forest service 70 per f I cent of the fires iji onr forests I I are classified as "man-made." Only 30 per cenj are caused by lightning. 1 Fires left by campers are the I worst of all menaces to the great and immensely vaia.li!e stands of all kinds of trees in the I I northwest. Efforts of the personnel of the I forest service are being directed toward teaching campers and I others to be jus: as careful when I n the woods as in their own homes. 5 Men of the forest service who e doing airplane work risk 1 their lives oaily while flying I over forests, mountains and val- I I ;es, where no convenient land- ing p'aces are available. f Surely the general public --I'.ould at least co-operate. .llHIUIliMllltllMHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHItUIIIIIIHIIHIIHIHIIIIllMllllllllinilUUfllntit me highway was no more than the dream of Oregon road builder antf boosters. Not n stone had beta turned, not a load of gravel rolled fr a yard of asphalt ic concrete laid. Yet In the short ."-pan from 1314, when construction work was started, to the present, the hlRhway, including 2J4.6 miles of grading, 92 miles of hard surface pavinvr. 14 2.6 miles of ma cadam, five tunnels, and bridges, cul verts, viaducts and retaining walls running Injo the dozens, has been built. By late next spring the job will be finished, with the pavement of the 4.S miles left uncompleted thla winter. A recent summary prepared by the Oregon state highway department, showing expenditures on the differ ent jobs -on the hlghwav, including the final paving still unfinished but under contract for next spring, g'ves the totil cost of the Columbia river highway as $7.fi27,195.28.' Of this sum $4.550,,K7H.hy. or considerably more than half, was put up by the stat The government contributed $!. 604.71, while the remainder, with the exception of J22.SS3.22 put up by rail road companies in connection with work at crossings, was contributed by the counties alon the route. Thus, .by this great expenditure of money, by this consistent and far seeing p'Jicy of highway building, Oregon has brought to complefon across the state this great road a highway which Is not only an artistic and scenic triumph, bin a commercial artery of primary Importance, the great highway of the future over which motor tour.ists from tse east will cross the Cascade barrier to tha Pacifio-