The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1916-02-03
|pecial Session Sug-
gested by Commission
Continued from page IL

Issue fContinued from page ID
# Sion.
bit |, me cost is necessarily contingent
epanD0h the grade it is desired to main
in New construction is always con-
an Honted by the alternative OF initial
10 a,st against cost Of operation. In the
for s1ilding Of a line such as this, an
has ltermediate or compromise policy us
ally proves the most desirable, as
tote 18th slight changes of grade advant-
the ge can be taken of the existence of
be he bars lying above the water grade
tinuoisls materially reducing the cost Of
the The entire route between New
al yIeadows and Whitebird is practically
d hn air line, being nowhere over six
the lilies from the north and south me
eaoo dian line. The route between New
lead0ws and higgins, and also that
etween Whitebird and Grangeville car
INF grades approximating all railroad
,nnections north and south Of the pro-
com. osed road. Along the lower attitudes
yif Salmon river the climatic condi-
' -. ons enable work to be continuous
o. trough the winter. In the summer
= eas0n the labor can be utilized to bet
u sr advantage on the table lands
=, round New Meadows on the south
y, unu eeping the laborers constantly en-
-. Logged throughout the year.
nas Whitebird to Camas Prairie.
'eI. A railroad survey was made in 1909
ny Engineer L. c. Roberts for the Gil
:, e."slore & Pittsburg r. r. Co., (Salmon
IT. lily to Lewiston,) together with a
uryey from Whitebird to Camas prai-
DAYie. Mr.. Roberts spent the winter in
disifangeville, making his maps, and as
10y uured many citizens of that city that
18th Fhitebird was the only practicable
ase utIet from the Salmon river canyon,
$ il md that he had established a good
ure abroad grade between Whitebird and
and that this stretch of
Che road could be built for less money
tied han the cost of construction down the
salmon river to Rocky canyon. II
niles below Whitebird. The first 8
RGEniles out of Grangeville is practically
Cd eye1 prairie.
~ average cost of rock work and grading
~ railroad bed between Grangeville
lp !. ind Higgins at $4,000 per mile. This
- "a ioes not include bridges, culverts, ties
"a. ,aiu n steel Engineer Van Arsdale, Of
'h lewiston, who has been over the route
between Grangeville and New Mead
rNI,ws, estimates the cost of construction
will including bridges, culverts, ties, rails,
Idstations and the line ready for the
Of rolling stock, at $4,000 per mile.
Sept Elevations.
From the best data obtainable, we
TERearn that the elevations at various
points on the route are as follows:
Mccall feet
New Meadows -----------3911 feet
~ hlggAns feet
rWmfeDird ----------------14S0 feet
90 JrauBeF1lle feet
w. Grangeyille (Summit) $3.50 feet
mes ssS
Ind
been agitated ever since the creation
Of Idaho territory. In 1872 and subse-
quent sessions of the national con-
ugress, the United States war depart
IT, ment recommended the appropriation
ice OF $4,000 for the construction of a
Nwag0n road as a military necessity.
Nothing was done, however, until its
construction was authorized by house
bill No. 50, approved Feb. 10, 1899,
which appropriated $4,000 for the
=, construction of a wagon road between
~ Little Salmon Falls and Doumecq Bar,
-, three miles above Whitebird, and con-
Meeting at both ends with existing
a, wagon roads to Salmon Meadows and
- Camas Prairie. This appropriation
" " was supplemented by a donation of
as So. 900 from the Oregon Short Line
" Railroad company, and by an equal
amount from the Pacific & Idaho
u Northern Railroad company. Owing
to the lack of efficient state supervi.
sion, the contractors largely ignored
, = the established survey and the speci.
" fications, and followed the line OF
WIZ cheapest construction, with the result
le that the road in places and for long
: distances is simply a narrow shell
IDI. high above the river, with few turn
per outs and very rocky. At several points
ISI the road is flooded and impossible al
lus high water stage. AS a conpectinf
LILLE link between the north and south, it Ii
positive disgrace to the state Of Ida
no. Travelling over it under the bes
lcu conditions Is a hardship. The Unitet
States mail route between New Mead
lsl ows and Grangeville, 9 times weel
Il both ways, occupies two days goin,
a@ and two days returning. the all-nigh
pen lay-oyer being at Lucille, where tn,
10 stages arrive late and depart early
arg As a natural consequence the road /
dan used almost exclusively as a loca
nan highway, whereas If made into a goo,
10 road Il would become the most exten
III sively used and interesting highwa,
ane I'm the entire state When converte,