The Springfield herald., 1905-08-11
NEW COLORADO ROADS
WAGON ROADS BUILT BY STATE
Fund Available From Sale Of Public
Lands-Important Roads Build
ing In Different Parts Of
the State.

TOduS u6ltdtlOH Is 81 sopIououhSSu"h anu WV
public has been shown what good work
Denver is doing along these lines. and
has seen what an enormous quantity
of apparatus and an army OF men 1t
has to do the work with, many are
wondering just what is being done
throughout the state. This question Is
answered by the Denver Republican as
follows:
The enabling act. passed by Congress
In the winter of 1856, provided that
five per cent. of the moneys received
from the sale Of all public lands, e1
cept lands sold under the homestead
act, be set apart as the property OF the
state In en- internal improvement fund.
for use in the making and repairing
OF new roads and similar work. So,
year after year Colorado receives for
its improvement fund five per cent.
not only from all state lands sold, but
the same amount from the federal gov
eminent for the lands sold by its own
land department.
The state is now building a road
which will make conditions of life
easier for them. This work is being
done In Eagle county, from Ruedi to
Basalt, distance of twenty miles. The
survey for a road was made two years
ago, but the appropriation was not
then large enough to finish the I'M
provement and the last Legislature set
apart s.. 500, which makes 5000 avail
able. The lowest bid for the work is
$12. 500, so that over twenty families
will still continue to ride horseback
along the railroad track until the
county commissioners set aside enough
money to meet the difference, which
1t Is understood will be soon. Some
work, however. has already been done.
The highest regularly laid out road
in the state is just reaching completion
and will soon be open to travel. High
above timber line, considerably more
than two miles above the level of the
sea and cut through a solid rock form
alton, this is the first step to connect
Telluride and Silverton. From appro-
priations of the last two Legislatures
practically $4,000 has been used for
this San Miguel county road. which
was originally run from the vicinity
of the Smuggler-Union mine to Bridal
Veil falls. Now through the rocks a
road has been run from Bridal Veil
falls to the very top of the range
where, at its present end, Just being
finished off nicely, 1t secures the rec
ord OF being the highest road ever
built in the state of Colorado. The
new part of the road at the top, built
this summer, is four and one-half
miles long on account of the necessity
of maintaining as low grade as pos
sible.
A twenty-mile road in La Plata
county is nearing completion and runs
from Durango to Junction creek. open.
ing up big mining country. Another
road almost finished is the Dolores
county road from Rico. the county
seat, to Dunton. where it accommo
dates the celebrated hot springs.
There already was road there. but 1t
was on a grade of twenty eight feet to
the hundred feet and was of little
use. The present road has been con-
structed on grade OF only eight feet
to the hundred feet, SO that team can
haul over ton.
The Alice-Dumont road in Clear
Creek county has brought forth p pery
commendable exhibition of ps bile
spirit. The appropriation was so small
that it looked as if the work could not
be done. but George Il. Steuart of that
county stepped forward and made the
entire survey for nothing, and he and
other citizens, Jointly with the Colo
RADIO & Southern railroad, donated the
money difference between the appro-
priation and the lowest bid for the
road. This Is ten-mile improvement
and will be finished before winter.
Sand conditions are what 1t is neces.
sary to overcome in the road building
from Las Animas northward in Bent
county. There, also, there has been
some local help. The county commits
sioners have borne the expense Of the
grading. and the state is now surfacing
the road one foot deep with stone. On
branch No. 3 of the Denver and Grand
Junction road, OF which mention has
been made, the survey has been fin.
ished and work commenced. This runs
from Rife to Craig by way of Meeker.
Starting at the top of the divide be.
tween Grand county and North Park,
in Larimer county, thirty-mile road
is now being run. The purpose is to
give North Park people a shipping
point on the Moffat road. A new Rocky
Ford road is being constructed here
again the county commissioners doing
the grading, and the state doing the
surfacing. as in Bent county, and for
the same reasons. A road with a lower
grade, bringing the grade down to nine
per cent. is just being finished in
MESA COUNTY llohl bSDtlue W
creek. Preliminary work has been un-
dertaken on the Yuma county road
from Vernon to Adalia. and construc.
tion will be commenced this fall on 4
Pitkin county road as soon as the
proper bids are secured.
On the present road from Teller
county into Fremont county, there is
a section oE ned by private parties and
operated as toll road where the very
considerable charge of seventy-five
cents is made for a team and convey.
ance passing by. The Legislature
made substantial appropriation for
public highway here, to put an end to
this practice. and the survey for
road, free to all, is now being made ex-
actly parallel to the present toll road
Roads for which appropriations
were made, but on which work has not
yet been commenced. include those in
Boulder, Douglas. Hinsdale, Montrose
and Summit counties and the ones
from Colorado Springs to Cameron
and from Tennessee Pass to Debeque.
The Montrose county commissioners
are themselves already making the
survey for their county. but the state
work may not start until spring.