The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1916-02-28
COMPLETION
OF RED BALL ROAD
Colonel Buffum Addresses Letter to
Route Boosters Asking That Work
Be Undertaken at
Once.
ROAD TO
This Is Included In Highway Which
Is Urged for Completion
Early This
Spring.

Completion of the Red Ball route
from Palmyra to Keokuk. which in
Cludes the stretch of roa between
the Des Moines river bridge and Alex
andria, is urged in a letter sent out
tJday by Frank W. Buffum, state
highway commissioner for Missouri
and booster for the Red Bail route.
Colonel Buffum's letter urges the
Alexandria road work, which is some
thing which has been contemplated
by The Keokuk merchants for some
time, and for which they nave al
ready taken some steps.
Here is the letter on tho compile
ton of the route:
One of the greatest delays In get.
ting roads built is the fact that par
ties do not start their organizations
soon enough in the spring, but wait
until the time really when work
should begin. before they commence
their planning. and by the time they
get ready to start on the work, then
the people who are expected, and
are willing to assist in doing work,
are busy in their fields, or have other
engagements, or 1t gets to a point
where they say. We wiz do it next
fall" and then in the fall they will
say, I'VE will do It next spring."
W1CQ ullS III VIEW We dIe CdkItIS
attention Of those on the Red Ball
route" who + Interested in road
work and building UP of their COM
munity, to the necessity Of commenc-
ing to hold meetings at once along
the entire length of the route, and
get ready to finish up this highway
this spring.
Now that does not mean to finish
up this load next fan, as you will
have occasion to us it then, or let 1t
go over another year.. put try to do
it as ono It will cost no more to
do this this spring, than to do it over
a period Of two or more years, and
you will get the benefit of the road
one year, or more, sooner
Few to Be Rebuilt.
The portions on the Red a
route that have yet to be built are
comparatively few in number and
short in distance. The counties
through which this route passes are
wealthy and the advantages to be OBJ
tanned by completion of this highway,
are great. We are now starting our
state bodybuilding campaign in this
department, after having given every
body a rest through the winter, and
are now planning to complete every
highway in the state that has been
started. and do it this spring and
summer.
For the benefit of all persons in
terested, we would say that on the
Red Ball route, which is getting to
be very popular, has been completed
in our state, with the exception of a
! few miles to be graEeied or rocked.
and two small %culverts, in st. charles
county; in Lincoln county a very
small amount of crawling yet to be
done south of Troy (but the roads
have all been graded and money
raised to complete he graveling OF
this sectfon); eight miles Of the cold
rock road" hat must be redressed
north of Troy, between Auburn and
Eclia (and whicu h Troy Gravel
Road company have promised to com
plete this spring.; in Pix county.
the re-surfacing the gravel roau
south of Frankford towards Louisiana
for about eight miles, and the put
ting in of two small bridges which
will cost less than 100000. and the
building the unfinished portions be-
tween Palmyra and Keokuk (of which
from PALMYRA to Taylor at the north
ern Marion county line has been ar
ranged to be built at once)-then the
road will all be completed in Missouri
north of st. Louis, to keokuk.
there is being built a levee on the
Missouri ride Of the river opposite
Quincy, and a spur dirt road now
goes from Taylor east into Quincy
from the Red Ball route, and will, as
soon as the levee is completed, sc
the road can be rocked and will no
overfow-that Quincy will probably
rock that tap line of a few miles over
RI TayloY.