The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1915-09-10
100000 PAVING
JOB PROJECTED
AT OSCEOLA, ARK.
Herman Loeffel, After Inspec.
ton Trip, Sets Cap For
Big Contract.
TO CONCRETE THIRTY
MILES OF HIGHWAY
Improved Roads Will InterIace
Little River Drainage
Districts.

vi MS return from OSceOIa, Ark
after three day visit there, Herman
LOeffel, street paving and building
contractor, now is working on his bid
to secure a 100000 contract to be let
within the next month or SIX weeks
for the concrete pavement of thirty
miles of highway in the drainage dis
trict there.
The improvement work has been
completely financed in advance by the
land owners in the districts to be af-
fected, and the job will represent one
of the biggest pavement contracts let
in the Delta country in recent years.
LOeffel last night declared he in
tends to make the pavement contract
his Job" Paving men have looked
over the territory to be improved, who
have come from cities in all parts of
the Middle West. The competition in
the bids will be exceedingly keen, it is
anticipated.
The improvement will be done in
what are known as the Little River
Road Improvement District No. ?, in
which Luxora, Ark, is situated, and
the Osceola Little River Road In
provement District.
The territory has been drained with
canals and comprises one of the most
fertile and valuable sections Of the
drainage land IN Northern Arkansas.
The owners of the tract are all large
land holders, and in body they have
floated bonds valued at approximately
S1,000,000 for the installation of the
drainage canals.
The land follows the Mississippi
River for miles and is composed of
a belt of that width extending west
ward from the river for II miles.
The roadways have beca laid out in
this country by the engine IS and the
highways now are being graded in
preparation for the pavement. The
highways total 80 miles in this in
tenseIy improved district.
The contract provides only for the
construction of the concrete pavement
and the hauling of the materials. The
road district officials already have
made arrangements for the supply of
material.
The final result of the Improvement
plan in these two road districts will b.
fertile tract interlaced by concrete
highways the like of which probably
cannot be found anywhere else in this
part Of the country.
The LuxOra district is under the di-
rectiOn of S. F. SimOnsOn, chairman
of the district, and the OsceOla district
is under the direction of r. c. Rose,
chairman Of a board of commissioners.
The commissioners are A. S. Rodgers
and Harry Dunavant, all of OsceOla.
In Arkansas, for improvement of
this nature, the finances are arranged
in a manner vastly different than in
Missouri. Instead Of special tax bills
similar to those issued in Missouri for
such work, the districts are authorized
to issue bonds.
The bonds for this Improvement have
been issued and sold in Philadelphia,
Pa. Bankers there eagerly snapped
them up understanding the nature Of
the field in which they were issued.
The cash with which to go ahead
with the work is in the bank and ready
to be placed at the disposal Of the con-
tractor getting the Job.
Bids on the work will be advertised
in about the middle of September and
the district commissioners expect to
open the bids about the first of OctO
Der or possibly in the middle of the
month. With each bid the contractor
will be required to place a certified
check for $4,000 as an earnest of his
faith in making the bid.
1t is probable that for the contrac
tor who gets the Job, the bond will be
fixed at $150,OOO.
Loeffel, on his trip to Osceola to in
vestigate the nature of the work and
gather figures on which to base his
bid, met all the men connected with
the improvement work. LOeffel some
time ago constructed part of court
house in Osceola and his work on that /
Job met with entire Satisfaction. His
record with the men in that communi-
ty make him believe that he will have |
an excellent opportunity of landing the
contract.
The improvement district is served !.
by the Frisco railroad and large ma
jority of the traffic out of the country /.
there is done by boat. Memphis. Tenn,
stands as a ready market for the /
and's products The improved high +
ways will provide fast overland route /