4
SECTION SIX
Automobiles, Road Trips and
Northwest Highway News
VOL. XLI
PORTLAND, OREGON, SUNDAY MORNING,.;'. JUNE 25, 1922
NO. 26
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BY H. W. LYMAN.
UPON the North Bank highway
In Washington, Just east of
Cooks, on the route from that
point to White Salmon, there used
to be one of the most startling roads
In all this part of the country. For
three miles the road, wide enough
for one car and sometimes hardly
wide enough for that, with turn
outs for passing other cars at but
rare Intervals, and with hairpin
turns so sharp and narrow as to
make the motorist's teeth chatter,
wound around the mountain side
above the Little White Salmon river.
Motorists who have made that trip
need no further description,-if-as
much, for they hav already iiden
tif led the road. It Is 'not .an exag
geration to say that it was com
parable to the Mount Ralni-w road
around Ricksecker - point, & little
wider, perhaps, but possessing the
disadvantage of being a two-way
rad Instead of a One-way, as i the
Mount Rainier road, so that the mo
torist was forced to expect a car
coming in the opposite direction to
dash around each point as he ap
proached It. ' Speaking In a rough
and western ' manner,; the . driver
could lean out from his seat and ex
pectorate down a hundred feet or so
almost anywhere. - .
iW say -''there- used -to be ad-.
visedly, for already the road is a
thing of the past Work of widen
ing the grade to standard width
and of making minor changes In the
grade and in the locations so as to
eliminate former steep grades and
sharp curves has already begun, and
by this fall the motorist will be able'
to drive over this road In perfect
ease and to laugh In glee as he re
calls the road as it used to be. Until
the hew road is finished, however,
the North Bank road above Cooks
will continue to be closed, as It has
been for- some weeks past, making
It impossible to reach White Salmon
or Undarwojj b7 the North Bank
except- by- -crossing-over to the Ore
gon side and making use of the Co
lumbia River highway from Cascade
Locks to Hood River.
. Trip Hade With Engineer, -To
ee what Washington is doing
to Improve its North Bank road and
make It a fitting complement to the
Columbia River highway, the writer
made the run to Cooks and thence
over the new work one day last
week with R. M. Glllds, state, high
way engineer for the southwest dis
trict of Washington, with headquar
ters at Vancouver. On. the trip other
points on the road where work is In
progress were visited and a compre
hensive Idea secured of the develop
ment of this road which runs east
ward from Vancouver to Cooks and
eventually will follow the north
bank 6f the river as far as Lyle,
Wash., and perhaps further. The
grading Job at Cooks is the most
important work now in progress,
although several other smaller Jobs
are under way, while at least one
important piece of construction is
planned for the near future.
Going eastward from Vancouver,
the first construction work encoun
tered was the paving operations at
the Biddle cut-off, a few miles west
of Camas. When the Vancouver
Camas section was paved this cut
off. approximately a mile and one-"
half of new grade, was left to allow
for further settling and the old road
was continued In use. This spring
work of paying this gap was begun
and within a few days the final con
crete will be poured.: The curing
process will require a month or so,
however, so that it will be about
August 1 before this new section Is
open to travel. This will make the
'paving complete all the way from
Vancouver to Camas.
- Frota Camas ' to Washougal the
gravel road is in good conditions and
from Washougal eastward to Steven
son considerable gravel spreading
has been done, which has put that
portion of the road in better shape
than It has ever been before. The
concrete bridge across Rock creek,
Just west of Stevenson, begun last
fall, was recently completed and
now is in use and represents a no
table improvement In the road In
that section. In order to connect
the bridge with the highway on the
west with proper grade and curve
a deep cut through solid rock had
to be made and a short section of
new grade built. This work was re
cently completed.
East of Stevenson, between, that
point and Cooks, ;a considerable
Amount of gravel surfacing has al
ready been done . this year, while
more work of this kind is In
progress. The result of this work
already has been to make this sec
tion of the road better than It has
ever been- before. The gravel sur
face, in fact, is as smooth .as pave
ment and the road is wide and solid
throughout.
"At Cooks the road now comes to
an end and it is Impossible for
motorists to drive further eastward.
This point marks the starting of
the new work, in which three miles
of the old road is being widened
and Improved. This is the section
that In former days was a terror to
motorists. . Within the three miles
the Toad climbs from Cooks, which
is located on the Columbia and prac
tically at the water level, up the
west side of the Little White Sal
mon canyon. The Little White Sal
mon Is one of the most rugged
streams in that part of Washing
ton, descending to the Columbia in
a continuous series of rapids and
water falls, and the canyon through
.whicl) It flows Is of equally rugged
character. The west side particu
larly Is steep and rough. In many
places almost perpendicular.
$85,000 Contract Under Way.
The contract which Is now being
carried out provides for Improving
from Cooks to the top of the grade
into the upper Little White Salmon
valley, ' a distance of three miles.
The contract price Is given as $65,-
000, and the road is being widened
throughout to a width of 26 feet,
and in some instances new locations
and grades worked out. This will
provide curves of safe and satisfac
tory width, and will cut the grade
throughout down to a maximum of
7 per cent. In many places the
road Is being widened from scarce
ly eight feet to 26 feet. The entire
work for the three miles will In
volve moving over 80,000 yards of
earth and rock. After the grading
is completed a gravel surface seven
inches thick will be applied.
With, the work now progressing
in satisfactory manner it is expect
ed to have the entire Job completed
by the middle of August and to
throw the road open to travel at
that time. This will mean that there
will be a good road all the way up
the north bank from Vancouver to
White Salmon.
While it was, of course, impossible
for us to motor beyond the work at
Cooks, information furnished by Mr.
Gillis Indicated that activity beyond
that point is putting the road in
better shape than it has ever been.
For the motorist unfamiliar with
that section it may be' said that
from the upper Little White Sal
mon valley the highway swings
southeast along the east bank of
the Little White Salmon, climbing
to the top of the Underwood bluffs
above the Columbia river. Thence
it climbs down into the White Sal
mon canyon and to the town of
Underwood, which Is located on the
Columbia river at the mouth of the
White Salmon. This entire section
is being graveled and improved, so
that when the Cooks unit is com
pleted and opened this remaining
portion of the road eastward will
be In good shape.
Underwood Bridge In Use.
A bridge across the White Salmon
river at Underwood was completed
last year, but as the adjoining sec
tions of the highway were not com
pleted the brides was not put into
use. This year for the first time the
bridge is being made use of, the
highway crossing the bridge and
climbing the east side of the White
Salmon canyon to the heights upon
which are located the town of White
Salmon.
The greatest additional develop
ment planned for the immediate fu
ture on the North Bar.k road. Mr.
'. (Concluded on I age 2.)