The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1908-12-11
PRACTICAL WORKING
OF new ROAD LAW
Careful Address of Highway Commits
sioner Snow Delivered at the
Good Roads Meeting

Before entering upon q discussion of
the practical workings of the State
Road laws, / wish to call your at
tention to the roads located upon
the map which you see hanging here,
the location being designated by
broken Or solid brown and red lir.es,
and what will appear to you to be
green dots. The solid brown lines
and the solid red lines represent the
State Roads which have actually
been estab ished by the legislature
and have been surveyed. There is
a total length of surveyed State Road
of 1,0S1.6 miles; unsurveyed As
IN les approximately, making a total
length of established State Roads OF
1.129 miles. The estimated cost of
building the entire mileage of State
Road already designated by leg;sla-
tive act will be approximately $4,-
100000. Since the organization Of
the Highway Department, 1851
miles of surveys have been made,
and 1862 miles of first-class road
has been completed In addition to
this completed work, there has been
35.7 miles of clearing and grubbins
completed through the heavy timber
in Chehalis, Clallam, King and Che
Ian couEsies, this being now ready
for grading. The total cost of the
location, surveys, construction work
and superintendent is $334,00O to
date. This expenditure covers per.
iod beginning April 1. 1905, and end
ing at the present time In addi-
tion to the State Roads mentioned
there has been actually constructed
during the past fourteen months 40.c
miles Of improved highway under the
State Aid Road law. These roads
have been laid out to the number Of
thirty-six, and are located in thirty
counties Of the state The cost of
the State Aid roads completed and
those roads under contract nearing
completion is approximately $780,
zoe, making a grand total spent on
engineering and construction on
State roads and State Aid Roads
since April 1, 1905, of $566,700.
The counties interested have paid on
State Roads, in addition to a large
amount of extra work which they
have done, the sum of $51.079 and
have paid or will pay on the. State
Aid Roads mentioned one-half of the
cost of the same. or approximately
S116, $50. The city of Aberdeen has
paid as it's share of the construc-
ton Of highway leading into their
town from the east, the sum of $19,-
LA. 1t will, therefore, be seen that
the state has contributed in building
and Improvement of roads in the
past four years the sum of $780,
LET, while the counties and the city
of Aberdeen have contributed 1885,
573, and further, that an expend;-
ture by the state of $4,500.000 on
State Roads is contemplated under
the existing laws. l have quoted
this data IN order that you may re-
alize the extent of the work actually
projected, and that having realiz-
ed the exact condition of affairs
you may be guided in planning fu-
ture road improvements, and per
haps asking for the dscontinuance
or temporary abandonment of some
Of the projects now in hand. Before
leaving this map, I will call your at
tentiOn to the dotted brown lines
thereon, which represent several hun
Gred miles of proposed State Road,
much of which involves very expen-
sive construction.
Consider well, gentlemen, what
YOU are going to ask in the way OF
new road construct. on, and further
consider where the funds are to come
FROM You ,nust abandon some o.
the proposed projects or raise the
highway levy. Which will you do
Personally, I am in favor of rails
ing the levy and building the mos
important roads as rapidly as phys
cal conditions will permit, There
are three trans-mountain roads pro
iectcd which are of vital importance
to theoNIfte of Washington, all of
whicReSV ouli he extended beyond
their present limits. Notably: State
Road No I. known as the Snoqualmi
Pass road. which begins at the North
Bend in King county and ends at
Easton in Kittitas county. This road
should be extended westerly to Seat
tie, and easterly through the cities
of Wrnatchee.- Waterville, Coulee
City. Davenport and Spokane to the
Idaho line. The counties along the
line or this road are paying more
than fifty per cent Of all the taxes
In the state, and this thoroughfare
when completed would be one of the
most useful of all the state roads.
the next IS State Road No. 5, known
as the Cowlitz Pass wagon road,
which begins about twenty miles cas-
of the city of Chehalis and extends
easterly across the Cascades by the
way of the Cowlitz and Matches val
leys to point about thirty miles
from the city of North Yakima. This
should be extended westerly to the