The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-09-04
Spokane Motorist Declares
Highway Conditions
Outrageous.
IN GOOD SHAPE HERE
Within Local Boundaries
Easy Riding Is Found
by Tourists.

uniformly good, the Garden city is be-
ing hurt by neglect on the part Of Its
neighbors, according to +. w. Gull
bert, secretary of the National Parks
highway association. In an article In
the Spokane Spokesman Review Mr..
Guilbert calls highway conditions be-
tween Spokane and Missoula Outrage
Gus. though his report shows all the
roads within Missoula county to be in
good shape. A part Of the article fol
lows:
1t Is n very difficult thing to bring
ones self to be fair to a stretch of
road over which one has been obllSed
to run for miles and miles in interme-
diate at the rate of not over five miles
on hour in order TO avoid harm to the
car or occupants.
Lawrence II. Brown and I Travelled
500 miles from Saturday noon, "A week
ago, 10 Thursday noon and we esti-
mate that 100 miles of the enire dis
ance was driven In intermediate.
Finds Bad Dust Holes.
We drove to Butte in the interests
of the National Parks highway and
TO assist In arousing more interest In
general road matters in Montana. our
outgoing trip was by the Occur
d'Alene- Wallace Missoula route-the
shortest of the three possible cross
ings of the Bitter Root range of noun
tains. The Fourth of July canyon be-
tween Occur dAlene and Wallace is In
exceedingly bad condition owing to
bad dust holes, poor cnlverts and the
we'll -known existing grades. These
last are not prohibitive. in the least,
although ones car must be In first
class condition In every detail.
Tip to Occur dAIene.
In Mineral county, Mont, we csti-
mated there were some 30 miles of de-
testable roads The Niger hills and
st. Regis pass are dangerous. because
of steepness and sharp curves, but the
footing Is good From Abortion to
Missoula the road Is fine, with almost
no exceptions. This is 35 miles.
1t Is too bad that Missoula and Wal
lace should suffer on account Of de-
ficiency work in adjacent counties.
assume there are good reasons offered
for the existing conditions. Surely
some method can be worked out to
overcome thtSE ObStTNCllbHS. 1peHf
dAlene holds a bond issue election
soon, believe. and every good citizen
should see the value TO them in get
ting behind a sensible plan of COM
plotting this important transcontinental
connection. The sample of about eight
miles already nearly done In the can
Son should develop the public desire
for completed road of this character.
Dangerous in Spots.
Now to the other two OF the three
main routes across the Bitter Root
mountains our reports show the
kalspell route to be almost impass-
able between Standpoint and Troy. be-
tween the east Lincoln county line
1east of Libby to kalspell and from
Poison to Roman. These reports come
from reputable citizens oil Libby and
Kalspell. | have not personally in
spected this last named route, but
know from reports of actual observers
the conditions are not exaggerated.
Now as to the Missoula RayaIli-
Thompson Falls Standpoint route Mis-
sonla to Ravali Is good except a neg
ligtble portion. Ravalli to Plains is
good and bad in spots: about 40 per
cont good. Plains To Thompson Falls
is average. Thompson Falls to Clarks
Fork is rs per cent bad. Carlxs Fork
10 Hope is fair. Hope to Standpoint is
mostly dangerous going and neglected
road. For Il miles toward Spokane
from Standpoint the going is bad
Now then. what about It?
Advises Using Short Route.
My advice to tourists Will be Ia 70
the shorter route under present con-
ditions. because the agony will be
sooner over.
Tn" poorer stretches on the shorter
route are worse than those on the
middle route, but the last named Is
about IS miles longer
The kalisnell or Glacier park route
has probably not rs much bad going
as the middle route, but is about 40
miles longer.
The facts are that some of the very
had roads are due to desire to have
betlcr roads, and because of lack of
me usual moisture the new grades
nave packed. After the moisture Of
TINS fall winter and next spring, many
miles OF the middle route, particularly.
viii be bettered
Touching Up Is Inefficient.
Ihefe is too much of a disposition
on the part of the authorities with
small road funds to move great 0uan-
titles of earth or rock. MANY times n
1ltle touching UP of the old road will
make an excellent bettermcnt. TIL,
hillside roads need widening out. most
OF them; and the ordinary grades
could be in many cases one-half the
width which would mean almost twice
the miles.
me biggest problem the National
Parks Highway association has TO
solve, Or help in solving, is the cross
ing OF the Bitter Root range. The
Rockies are taken care OF. as are the
cascades. One route should be i'm.
proved al once, If possible. The direct
route should be the one to be improved
flrst. II 1t can be worked out