ON THE PACIFIC HIGHWAY IN THE SISKIYOU MOUNTAINS, JACKSON COUNTY.
MACADAMIZED IN 1917
Third Biennial Report
of the
Oregon State Highway Commission
Covering the Period December 1st, 1916
to November 30th, 1918
OREGON STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION
S. Benson, Chairman
W. L. Thompson, Commissioner; R. A. Booth, Commissioner
Herbert Nunn, State Highway Engineer
Salem, Oregon:
State Printing Department
1919
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
Salem, Oregon, December 1, 1918.
HONORABLE JAMES WITHYCOMBE,
Governor of the State of Oregon,
Dear Sir: In compliance with Section 5, Article II, Chapter 237, Laws of 1917, we have the honor to submit herewith the report of the State Highway Commission for the period December 1, 1916 to November 30, 1918.
The Commission desires at this time to express its appreciation of the courtesies and assistance rendered to it by the various state officers and county officials in the work of the past two years.
Respectfully submitted,
OREGON STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION,
S. Benson, Chairman
W. L. Thompson, Commissioner
R. A. Booth, Commissioner
Attest:
Roy A. Klein, Secretary
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page Letter of Transmittal to the Governor 4 Table of Contents 5 Report of the State Highway Commission 7 General Resume of the Work of the Biennium 7 Proposals Received on Construction Jobs 9 Bond Sales 10 Financial Statement 11 State Highway Engineer’s Report to the Highway Commission 13 Letter of Transmittal 14 Work Accomplished 17 Moneys Available and Expended 17 Paving 18 Macadamizing 18 Grading 19 Bridges 19 Elimination of Grade Crossings 21 Federal Cooperation 22 Post Road Projects 23 Forest Road Projects 23 The Pacific Highway 27 The Columbia River Highway 28 County Work Supervised by the Highway Department 29 Construction Work by State ForcesLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
- On The Pacific Highway In The Siskiyou Mountains, Jackson County. Macadamized In 1917
- Little Jack Falls On The Columbia River Highway Between Goble And Rainier In Columbia County
- Reinforced Concrete Bridge Over Hood River, Nearing Completion, On The Columbia River Highway At Hood River City. Built In 1918
- Mount Ashland From The Pacific Highway In Jackson County. Elevation Of Highway 4,480 Feet
- Reinforced Concrete Half Viaduct On The Columbia River Highway Between Goble And Rainier In Columbia County, Constructed In 1918
- Reinforced Concrete Cribbing Near Prescott On The Columbia River Highway In Columbia County. Built In 1918
- Automobile Road Map, Showing The Main Traveled Roads Of Oregon With Mileages. Prepared by the Oregon State Highway Department
- State Of Oregon. System Of State Highways. Proposed By State Highway Commission, 1918
- The Pacific Highway In Pass Creek Canyon, Douglas County. Graded And Macadamized In 1917 And 1918
- At The Top Of Canemah Hill On The Pacific Highway In Clackamas County. Graded And Paved In 1918
- Bituminous Pavement On The Pacific Highway South Of Oregon City In Clackamas County. Graded And Paved In 1918
- Bituminous Paving Near Svenson In Clatsop County On The Columbia River Highway. Paved In 1917
- Covered Wood Drawbridge On The Columbia River Highway In Clatsop County, Over The John Day River East Of Astoria. Built In 1918. Lift Span—40 Feet
- On The Columbia River Highway Near Goble In Columbia County. Graded And Macadamized In 1917 And 1918
- One Of Nine Reinforced Concrete Bridges In The Beaver Creek Valley, Columbia County, On The Columbia River Highway Between Rainier And Clatskanie. All Built In 1917 And 1918
- Bridge On Pass Creek—20 Ft. Span. On Pacific Highway Near Comstock In Douglas County
- Along The Umpqua River North Of Myrtle Creek In Douglas County. Graded In 1917 And 1918
- Van Tyne Creek Viaduct North Of Myrtle Creek In Douglas County. Built In 1918
- The John Day River Highway South Of Condon In Gilliam County Macadamized In 1917
- The Columbia River Highway West Of Lindsay In Hood River County
- The Columbia River Highway Near Viento In Hood River County. Graded And Graveled In 1917 And 1918
- On The Columbia River Highway In Hood River County Two Miles East Of Cascade Locks. Graded And Graveled In 1917 And 1918
- Heavy Grading On Ruthton Hill In Hood River County. Constructed In 1917 And 1918
- Concrete Pavement On Ashland Hill In Jackson County, On The Pacific Highway North Of Ashland. Graded And Paved In 1918
- On The Pacific Highway South Of Wolf Creek In Josephine County.
Third Biennial Report
of the
State Highway Commission
of the
State of Oregon
1917-1918
The law establishing this Commission was approved by Governor Withycombe on February 19, 1917 and on March 1 the following appointments were made: S. Benson, Portland, for the three-year period; W. L. Thompson, Pendleton, two-year period; E. J. Adams, Eugene, one-year period. The first meeting was held on March 6, 1917, when this Commission was organized and S. Benson elected Chairman and G. Ed Ross, Secretary.
The former Commission, consisting of James Withycombe, Governor, Ben W. Olcott, Secretary of State, and Thos. B. Kay, State Treasurer, held meetings on December 15, 1916 and January 15, 1917 and on the qualification of the members of the new commission, as provided in Section 14, Article II, Chapter 237, Laws of 1917, transferred all records, maps, equipment and property in its possession. The former Commission, in view of proposed legislation providing for a new highway code, made no appropriations nor were policies outlined, so that when the new Commission entered upon its duties, it was not embarrassed by policies made by its predecessors.
At a meeting on April 10, 1917, Herbert Nunn was appointed State Highway Engineer. On April 1, 1918, Robert A. Booth, of Eugene, was appointed by Governor Withycombe to succeed E. J. Adams. On August 6, 1918, Roy A. Klein was appointed Secretary to succeed G. Ed Ross, resigned.
The Commission has held fifty-one meetings for the transaction of its business. The State highway system as outlined in the law has been adopted and the work of the biennium confined to the various units of this system. Specifications covering hard surface pavement have been prepared by the State Highway Engineer and adopted by the Commission, as well as specifications for grading and bridge construction which have been acceptable to the United States Office of Public Roads and are used on all Federal Aid Projects in the State.
Surveys have been made on State highway routes to determine the best and most economical location, at the request of the counties, and also several important bridges have been designed and constructed under the supervision of the Department. Engineers have been furnished at State expense to supervise construction work being done by the counties on State highways in several instances.
The program for 1917 depending upon the passage of the $6,000,000.00 Bonding Act, the working season remaining after ratification by the voters was short, but engineering parties were sent out and the first contract under this act was let on June 30, 1917. All except the smaller contracts entered into were carried over into the 1918 working season. No new paving or grading contracts of any magnitude have been awarded this year due to the rising costs of material and scarcity of labor.
There was early seen the necessity of conserving labor and capital in the national emergency and for that reason the Commission has been unable to give aid to many meritorious projects submitted by various sections of the State. At a meeting held on June 25, the Commission went on record, as a war measure, to devote its resources to the completion of the two trunk line highways, the Columbia River Highway and the Pacific Highway, completing projects under construction, temporary surfacing to keep trunk highways open or roads to develop resources which are an aid in the prosecution of the war. Notwithstanding the mandatory nature of the State law which created the Commission and provides funds for work under it, the Commission believes this course was warranted and that its action will be supported.
Due to the uncertainty of materials, supplies, labor conditions, etc., contractors have been unable to make satisfactory bids and on several occasions no satisfactory bids being received, the Commission undertook to do the work by day labor, in each case effecting a saving under the low bid.
In a few cases, either no bids being received or the ones received being considered excessive, work has been let on the cost plus basis with definite cost limit set, beyond which no percentage would be paid. Three of these force account jobs have later been taken over by the Commission, as it was felt that the work could be handled more economically with its own forces.
To determine the legality of the State and Federal co-operative bonds for co-operation on post and forest roads, a friendly suit was brought in the Supreme Court which was decided favorable to the issue.
The interpretation placed on the Federal Aid Road Law by the Secretary of Agriculture requiring actual carriage of the mails or a reasonable prospect before approving as eligible for Federal co-operation eliminated from the classification practically all of the Columbia River Highway and especially links in the Pacific Highway in Douglas county on which it was desired to receive Federal aid.
Under the post road law seventeen projects have been agreed upon, and to date ten have been approved, three disapproved, two pending and two in preparation. Construction work has been started on two of these projects. Under the forest road law fourteen projects have been approved. Construction has been started on four of these projects. Several will carry over into the 1920 program.
A railroad asphalt paving plant was purchased but not used during the 1918 season, since no bituminous pavements were constructed, under new contracts, in that period. Three concrete pavers are owned by the Commission, as well as three road rollers, four rock crushers, and six auto trucks, besides considerable grading construction equipment. A large part of this equipment has been in use this season and not only has saved the cost of rented equipment but has been available at times when it was impossible to get the same elsewhere.
A total of seventy-one projects have been advertised as follows. It will be noted that the number of proposals exceeds the number of
Proposals Number of
Bidders Sheridan Paving May 29, 1917 2 2 Sheridan Grading May 29, 1917 8 2 Cummings Hill Grading June 19, 1917 1 1 Pendleton Paving June 29, 1917 8 4 Rex-Tigard Grading July 20, 1917 5 4 Rex-Tigard Paving July 20, 1917 9 4 Clackamas-Marion Paving July 20, 1917 9 5 Siskiyou Grading July 20, 1917 1 1 Siskiyou Paving July 20, 1917 1 1 Astoria-Svenson Grading July 20, 1917 4 4 Astoria-Svenson Paving July 20, 1917 7 4 Goble Section Grading July 30, 1917 2 2 Rainier Hill Section Grading July 30, 1917 4 4 Cascade Locks Section Grading July 30, 1917 3 3 Viento Section Grading July 30, 1917 4 4 Ruthton Hill Section Grading July 30, 1917 7 7 Columbia County Bridges, Wood Aug. 7, 1917 5 5 Columbia County Bridges, Concrete Aug. 7, 1917 5 5 Wasco County, Macadam Aug. 7, 1917 1 1 Cummings Hill, Macadam Aug. 7, 1917 1 1 Condon-Thirty Mile Creek, Macadam Aug. 7, 1917 1 1 Mult. County Line-Scappoose, Paving Aug. 7, 1917 3 2 Bend-Lapine, Cindering Aug. 7, 1917 2 2 Clatsop County Line-Goble, Macadam Aug. 7, 1917 2 2 New Era Grading Aug. 7, 1917 1 1 Divide-Latham Macadam Aug. 7, 1917 ... ... Pioneer Mountain Section, Grading Aug. 7, 1917 ... ... Lakeview-Paisley Macadam Aug. 7, 1917 ... ... Svenson-Westport Macadam Aug. 7, 1917 1 1 Tillamook-Cloverdale Paving Aug. 7, 1917 9 3 Oregon City-Canby Paving Sept. 4, 1917 1 1 Lane County Line-Comstock Grading Sept. 5, 1917 2 2 Comstock-Leona Grading Sept. 5, 1917 2 2 Yoncalla-Oakland Grading Sept. 5, 1917 3 3 Locust Hill Section Grading Sept. 25, 1917 4 4 Wolf Creek-Grave Creek Grading Nov. 6, 1917 9 9 Myrtle Creek-Dillard Grading Nov. 27, 1917 7 7 Bridge Creek Section Grading Nov. 27, 1917 2 2 John Day Bridge Nov. 27, 1917
Under the provisions of the Six Million Dollar Bonding Act, bonds to the amount of $2,190,000.00 par value have been sold. These bonds bear four per cent interest and mature in from five to twenty-five years from date of issue. An average of six proposals were made for each issue.
Date of Sales Date of Bonds Numbers Highest Bidder Par Value Price Paid Aug. 7, 1917 Aug. 1,Trust Company $ 500,000 $ 471,300 Sept. 12, 1917 Sept. 1, 1917 521 - 1040 E. H. Rollins & Sons 500,000 472,130 Mar. 15, 1918 April 1, 1918 1041 - 1560 Henry Teal 500,000 455,850 July 9, 1918 July 1, 1918 1561 - 2280 E. H. Rollins & Sons
and A. B. Leach 690,000 643,770 Totals $ 2,190,000 $ 2,043,050
Under the provisions of Chapter 175 of the Laws of 1917, (Bean-Barrett) bonds to meet Federal co-operation are authorized. Four hundred thousand dollars par value of these bonds were sold August 18, 1918 by the Board of Control to the highest bidder, Clark-Kendall & Co., whose proposal was $381,160.00. These bonds are four per cent and mature in from four to eight years.
The work accomplished during the biennium may be summed up as follows:
50 miles of hard surface.
111.8 miles of broken stone or gravel surface.
134.5 miles of graded roadbed.
40 bridges.
With the close of the war and the prospect of declining prices of material and a more plentiful supply of labor, the Commission looks forward to 1919 as a year in which a great deal can be accomplished and at this date a tentative program has been prepared providing for improvement of the State Highways in every county of the State.
The report of the State Highway Engineer to the Commission is hereto appended, showing in detail the work accomplished and the expenditures during the biennium.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT OREGON STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION
STATEMENT FOR THE BIENNIUM ENDING NOVEMBER 30, 1918
ONE-QUARTER MILL TAX FUND— Balance on hand December 1, 1916 $ 94,418.14 Turnover January 1, 1917 219,690.98 Turnover January 1, 1918 232,151.39 Total receipts $ 546,260.51 Expenditures from 1⁄4 mill tax fund toNov. 30, 1918 528,789.99 Balance on hand December 1, 1918 $ 17,470.52 AUTOMOBILE LICENSE FUND— Turnover October 1, 1917 $ 150,000.00 Turnover April 1, 1918 300,000.00 Turnover October 1, 1918 125,000.00 Total receipts $ 575,000.00 Total expenditures to Nov. 30, 1918 281,902.67 Balance, December 1, 1918 $ 293,097.33 SIX MILLION DOLLAR BOND FUND— August 7, 1917, $500,000.00 bonds $ 471,300.08 Accrued interest 2,333.33 Sept. 12, 1917, $500,000.00 bonds 472,130.00 Accrued interest 1,833.33 March 15, 1918, $500,000.00 bonds 455,850.00 Accrued interest 222.22 July 9, 1918, $690,000.00 bonds 643,770.00 Accrued interest 2,606.54 Total receipts from bond sales $ 2,050,045.42 Expenditures to November 30, 1918 2,049,025.47 Balance on hand December 1, 1918 $ 1,019.95 STATE AND FEDERAL CO-OPERATIVE BONDS— August 18, 1917, sold $400,000.00 $388,040.00 Accrued interest 2,844.44 $ 390,884.44 Expenditure of Board of Control
this issue 400.00 Turnover by Board of Control to
State Highway Commission $ 390,484.44 Expenditures to Nov. 30, 1918 28,539.55 Balance on hand December 1, 1918 $361,944.89
SUMMARY
1⁄4-Mill AutoMillion Federal
Co-
operative
Bonds
State and Bean-Barrett Total Funds $ 546,260.51 $ 575,000.00 $ 2,050,045.42 $ 390,484.44 $ 3,561,790.37 Expenditures 528,789.99 281,902.67 2,049,025.47 28,539.55 2,888,257.68 Balance $ 17,470.52 $ 293,097.33 $ 1,019.95 $ 361,944.89 $ 673,532.69