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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 1920)
if jittttufttt K SECTION SIX Pages 1 to 8 A utomobiles, Road Trips and Northwest Highway News V s . - VOL,. XXXIX. PORTLAND, OREGON, SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 13, 1920 ; y 37 HOT STUFF GOING DOWN ON THE LOWER COLUMBIA HIGHWAY If Good Weather Continues, Paving Crews Will Complete Their Work and All-Paved Highway Will Be Open From Portland to Astoria by October 10. f , " ' -f VC5l 4H4'1N - ' 1t . - , i---Nv I ter-:-S I .... rfe ,'Sr, i-4vV4 JWiH1 rfj . bl?7wnc ' r-r . rCTn 7 miles yet to surface. , Jl , , . . . , ' - t , , v, O - s I lKJ & rA - i , ( 12 On the entire lVmile stretch be- J 4 7 -fe . - .-v - ft Vr - . A t-ween ScappooEe and Deer Island, so - j I ' 2rlxE'7s'S$'r91f'f .:'.:.:i.:-i.:: ,s . i- r. -i-? : v.'-. - - 7 i; 8 ? r"" w n!TrT,s5 f sj V-8 '--C j 5 l 1 fS long a nightmare of rough road, there r- ..'- . v, ' T AW ;"iw " , 'f f' t"7 . 3 I I - ' . A All BY 1. II. OREGOKT. PXJT down October 10 In your da,te book, Mr. Motorist, as a day for celebration, touring and rejoicing. For on that day tne lower Columbia river highway between Portland and Astoria, 15 miles of it from the For estry building In Portland to the As toria city limits, without a break en route, will be paved and open to travel. Officials of the Warren Construc tion, company, which is hurrying the pavlnr job through, made announce ment last week that their work will be done and the highway opened by October 10. Only decidedly unfavor able weather would prolong the open ing beyond that date. On the other hand, it may even be possible to open the highway a few days before. This includes both what remains to be paved between Scappoose and Houlton and Deer Isiand on that part of the highway between Portland and the Clatskanie, and tne work between Clatskanie and Svensen, this side of Astoria; the entire highway, in short. The company has five paving plants in operation on these two stretches three of which are operating on 16 hour bhifts. These three plants are the one at Scappoose, one at West port and one at Knappa. Only 7 Miles Vet to Pave. At this writing there remains un paved on the t-ntlre lower Columbia river highway only approximately 7H miles. The figures are approximate. because every day much new pave ment is laid, which cuts down the length of unpaved highway. But 7 miles is the maximum yet to be paved on the 105 miles of highway. Armed with a pocketful of-passes the writer drove over the highway last week in a Hupmobile car with Frltx Dean of the Manley Auto com pany to ascertain exactly how much pavement remains to be laid, and where. We checked up 8 miles of unpaved road by the Hupmobile's speedometer. The figures were out of date within a few days, for the latest official check.. from the War ren construction company shows only 7H miles yet to surface. On the entire lS-mile stretch be tween Scappoose and Deer Island, so long a nightmare of rough road, there now remains unpaved only three miles and a fraction. And cars are per mitted to use several miles of the fine new pavement, or from Scappoose al most to Warren. A week ago cars at this point were detoured over a back road eeven miles long into Houl ton. Within the past few days, how ever, thiB detour has been changed. At the first railroad crossing west of Warren station they are now de toured to the right over the old road. which is fair macadam, to Houlton, three miles, in place of the seven. Two Gnpa to Houlton. On this particular stretch of the new highway between Scappoose and Warren, there is now only a short one-mile gap that is not paved. This gap is at the top of the low rise known as Honeyman hill, near Honey- man station. And between Warren and Houlton. otherwise known as West St. Helens, there 1 another two-mile gap which the paving crews are fast closing. Almost this entire Scappoose-Houlton part o the highway is over new trade. Ihe old road here crossed and re- crossed the railroad track on several dangerous grade crossings. The new highway remains on the west side of the track all the way and uses the old road only in those places where it crosses to that side. From Houlton now all the way to Clatskanie there is only one unpaved strip, and the new pavement is in use over the whole distance. This little strip is at Tide Creek, a short distance below Deer Island, where 500 feet on the approaches to a new con crete bridge completed there a few months ago have been left until the last to settle. It will lfe paved by October 10. This leaves a total of a fraction more than three miles as yet not paved between Portland and Clats kanie. with only one detour of three miles. 1 Below Clatskanie there are now 2 "i.-. ---- - r 5 Jtr" ;y j1 in Portland to the Astoria city limits, heavy and there Is such a processiorl only iVi miles of highway to pave iWestport to where the road begins to open it up all the way to Astoria, the ascent of Clatsop Crest, the Crown Two gaps remain unsurfaced. (Point of the lower Columbia river The larger of these, 3H miles long. ! highway. Pavement- on the WIdby extends from a short distance below loops, where the road climbs 725 feet to the summit of the crest, was laid some weeks ago. On the Astoria side of the crest, towards Knappa, where a bis plant is working double shift, there is about one mile remaining. And that is all, This mile will be paved by Septem ber 16. Consequently, of the 105 miles of highway from the Forestry, building there Is now down approximately 97 miles of pavement. When the re maining Ihi miles is surfaced by Oc tober 10 there will then be continuous pavement on the Columbia river high way front Hood River, 68 miles from, Portland, to Astoria, 105 miles from Portland. Including the run through Portland this is a total in round fig ures ofjSome 176 miles of continuously paved highway, a scenic drive beyond comparison for its length with any in the world. Bllst Detour S-tUI Necessary. Until the opening of the lower high way below Clatskanie, October 10, it will still be necessary for motorists bound from Portland to Astoria, or vice versa, to detour around by way of the Inland highway via Mist. As- torla-bound tourists take this road at Clatskanie, there driving ahead up the hill and crossing Clatskanie moun tain to Mist. ' This road is 17 miles longer than the main highway and about two hours longer to travel. When cars were first detoured over it a couple of months ago it was in very good condition, but heavy travel has roughened it considerably since then. The alternative of taking this de tour route is to wait until 9:30 at night. Between that hour and 2:30 in the morning no paving crews are at work and cars are permitted to pass. The highway also is open all day on Sunday. But normal travel between Portland and Astoria is so of cars that to prevent paving work from being delayed the state hiehwa department some time ago had t make the order prohibiting trave over the main highway during work ing hours. Pavement IS Feet Wide, The new pavement on the I owe Columbia river highway appears to b a beautiful job. The sole drawbacl- U that it Is only 16 feet wide in plac of the 20-foot pavement adopted standard on all main highways ir Washington. This is somewhat offset; by the two-foot macadam shoulder or each side of the pavement, giving a 20-foot roadway At all points where there have beer, cuts or fills, a five-inch pavement consisting of three-inch black bas and two-inch top on five inches on crushed rock, is laid. Where th highway is over the old grade, lone beaten down by traffic, a two-inch pavement is laid over the old macad am, which is first scarified and then rolled down. . This old base is saved and used wherever possible. The entire 105 miles of pavement on the lower Columbia river highway. with the exception of ten miles at the Astoria end, Is the work of the War4 ren Construction company. That ten miles also is bitulithic pavement. ine warren company iaia tne first; pavement between Portland and As- torla three years ago when the 2" miles betwen Portland and Scappoos. was completed. Since then other sec 4 tions of pavement have been laid eacni year, until now the end is nearly, a; nana.
