The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1914-11-17
HUNDRED MILES
OF FOREST ROADS

constructed by the government in Dis
trict during the fiscal year 1914, un-
der the fund obtained from 10 per
cent of the national forest receipts,
and 140 miles of roads under the gen.
eral improvement fund, bringing the
total amount OF roads constructed in
the last SIX or eight years to 900
miles, or a good highway, if put to-
gether, longer than from the inter-
mountain cities to anv of the Pacific
ports. In some of the frests early
snowfall has interrupted this work
at high elevations, although in some
cases the building of bridges will
continue after the snow has reached
its usual depth of from three to five
feet
Urgent Need of Good Mountain Roads
The urgent need of roads and other
improvements prompted congress to
commence, in 1907,to appropriate mon
ey for the building of roads, telephone
lines and other improvements on the
National forests. Under this fund a
total Of 6sS miles of roads have been
constructed in this district at total
cost of $14S,000 Prominent among
these is the Georgetown canyon road,
in eastern idaho, by which travel
northward into the Caribou forest was
mado possible, and the portion of the
Boise-Atlanta road within the Boise
| forest.
! These roads, however, did not near
| ly meet the needs of settlers and 9TH
ers who have occasion to cross for
est lands, and two years ago congress
provided an additional fund amount
ing to 10 per cent of the receipts in
each county containing National for
ests. This fund is used exclusively
for roads which will primarily bene-
fit settlers and other citizens, whereas
the other fund has been used also in
constructing roads into the interior of
forests for FIRE protection and to make
resources available, even though they
will not Immediately be used by the
public generally. The roads construct
ed under the 10 per cent fund are as
rule of more expensive character,
| costing an average of over $400 per
mile, as compared with $215 per mile
for the general Improvement roads.
Links Of Main Highways
In some cases it is possible to pro-
vide the roads needed at once by local
residents, whose interests are consid-
cred paramount to all others, and at i
the same time construct or improve
section Of road used largely by
through travel. This was the case in
lowering the grade and winding the
roadway of the Lincoln highway over
the famous "Austin summit on the
Toiyabe forest, where a climb of
thousand feet is made in a mile with
maximum grade of IL per cent and
and average of z; in that of the
Kamas-Stockmore road, a link in the
Salt Lake valley and Unita basin
short line; the Grande Canyon high
way of the Kaibab, section of the
road to the Yellowstone park across
the Targhee, and the Hoback canyon
and Teton pass roads of the Teton,
which will be used largely by tourists;
and the south fork of the Payette
river road, forming perhaps the most
difficult part of the projected
"Across Idaho" highway.
Other and more numerous roads are
used almost exclusively by local COM
munities, in travelling to their post
Office and market town, and to the
sawmill for lumber or the woods for
other building material or fuel. I'm
passable canyons and SUBMITS have
been made travelable, thus reducing
distances between isolated neighbors
or communities by a few miles, or, as
with the wagon road established. from
Paradise Valley over the Indian
creek summit to National, bringing
the two towns nearer by many miles.
| Work is being pushed late into the
fall on the Teton pass road, connect
ing Jackson's Hole with its railroad
point at Victor, and the Grand Can
yon highway in northern Arizona.
Construction of the south fork Pay
cite river road will continue right
through the winter, rangers being de-
tailed from other forests as during
the two previous years. A power
gasoline drill is used on this pro-
ject, as well as a road grader, and
graders used on the Teton, Wyoming,
Kaibab, Dixie, Powell and Toiyabe
forests have proved excellent invest
ments in better and more rapid road