The daily journal. (Salem, Or.) 1899-1903, 1900-07-31
SCIENTIFIC R0ADBUILDING
PIECE OF MODEL HIGHWAY LEADS OUT
OF THE CITY.
The Old Turner Road Is Converted into q
Superior Driveway BY Prison Labor
land State Funds

The Old Turner Road Is Converted into a
Superior Driveway BY Prison Labor
land State Funds.
A Journal reporter had the pleasure
on Sunday last of riding over piece Of
model highway, probably the best
specimen Of scientific road building in
Oregon outside Of city limits.
1t lies southeast of this city and is a
section of the old Turner road, which
has been used since the country was
first settled.
This road never was excessively bad
in the matter Of depth Of mud in winter
and dust in summer as the land is
gravelly. But the road has always been
more or less filed with boulders, and
| in winter it has often been flooded by
the overflow from the upper country,
which has flooded the level lands and
found a convenient outlet down the road 4,
washing it badly in many places.
Much time and money has been spent
in the endeavor to make IL a permanent
ly good road. Westcott & Erwin, who
owned the dairy farm couple Of miles
out, and +. G.. Cross, whose slaughter.
house is in that vicinity have been
especially liberal and energetic and have
kept the road in fair order.
The appropriation made by the last
legislature for the construction Of good
roads connecting the state institutions
with convict labor made il possible to 70
into the matter OF road improvement on
large scale and 10 accomplish some
thing more radical and effective than
has been heretofore possible.
The piece Of road under discussion has
been constructed by a force from the
penitentiary consisting Of about dozen
TRUSTEES and four teams OF horses, work.
ing under direction of Farmer John Por.
ter, and they have been at work about a
month.
The road scrapers and wheel scraperi
belonging to the county were used, and
a roadway was thrown up in the middle
the dirt being scraped from the bitches
on either side. As completed, the road
way is twenty feet wide on top, crowned
but slightly and coming to a sharp edge
at the sides from which IL falls off sharp
ly into the ditch on each side. The road
is raised considerably above the surface
Of the surrounding land and with the
drainage OF the deep bitches it is moi
likely that the road will ever be flooded
The surface is covered with fine gray
el and this was rolled down smooth
and hard with the fve.ton iron roller
belonging to the city, giving a smooth
level driveway the full width Of the
road.
This piece Of road extends from where
25th street joins the Turner road out
as far as the Westacott & Irwin place,
and is piece Of work Of which its au.
thors may well be proud.
Supt. J. d. Lee and Warden j. T,
James, Of the penitentiary have taken
great interest in the work Of road con.
struction provided for by the Legislature,
and have made an energetic, economic.
al and intelligent expenditure of the
funds provided
Mr.. Westacott and Mr.. Cross are
highly pleased with the accomplishment
Of result for which they have worked
30 long, and every one who has occasion
to pass over this road will appreciate
the improvement besides imbibinl
practical ideas OF scientific road building