The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1917-03-01
Much Improvement Is Expected
On Benton County's High
ways i'm Few Years A.
TRUNK LINES ALMOST DONE
Yrenbath is Working to Have Attrac.
tive Drive Made Along the
.a River to Richland


there been uch marked interest In
good roads and without doubt the
next two or three years will show re-
markable progress in this direction.
The new board Of county commits
sioners with the cooperation Of the
county engineers Office have outlined
plans for mapping every road in the
county so that future improvements
may be carried on according to q de-
finite system.
With the completion Of the present
contract on the permanent highway
out Of Hanford toward Richland and
the completion Of the state road be-
tween Richland and Benton City and
the entension Of the Kennewick-Fin
ley road to Hover the main trunk
highways across the county from east
to west and from north to south will
be practically completed.
Contractor o. Brown will finish his
contract on the Hanford- -Richland road
within the next 60 days, Representa-
tive Gordon Moores writes that $685.
600 will be available from the state
public highway fund for expenditure
on the Richland-Benton City road and
Commissioner Pratt expects to use his
share of the permanent highway fund
to build good road between Finley
and Hover this fall. He plans to build
a better type of road than that be-
tween Kennewick and Finley.
Commissioner Pratt has already
started work on several Of the more
important lateral roads in his dis
trict. Work is now in progress on
the Highland-Cemetery road and con-
siderable repair work has been done
on the Kennewick-Richland road. In
the road plans the Horse Heaveners
are not to be forgotten. Commission
er Pratt in company with President
c. c. Williams, of the Benton County
Good Roads association, Chairman z.
w. Trcnbath, Of the good roads COM
mittee of the Commercial club, and
Road Foreman Victor Heberlein spent
one day last week inspecting hill roads
with view of definitely locating a
route for main trunk highway lead
ing into the Horse Heaven district.
While the central idea in the road
building plan will be to provide good
roads for the accommodation of local
traffic, the tourist travel is not to be
lost sight of. Not only is the main
highway across the county to be kept
in good condition but il is to be made
as attractive as possible.
As step in this direction Mr..
Trenbath is striving to enlist the CO.
operation of the farmers in cleaning
up the roadway between here and
Richland. Mr.. Trenbath points out
that here is the only place that the
main highway across the state fol-
lows the Columbia for distance and
believes that an effort should be made
to convert this stretch into an attrac-
tive drive. To accomplish this IL will
be necessary to clear the fence rows
of all weeds and to cut the UNDER
brush from the river bank. While it
is not advisable to cut out the willows
that grow along the waters edge and
leave the bank to wash, Mr.. Trenbath
stays that the general appearance of
the drive can be much improved by
cutting away the brush that grows
back on the top of the banks.
Last year the city council released
the mo camping" restrictions on the
little park at the river front near the
r. L. Banta home to allow automobile
tourists to camp there. Mr.. Trenbath
and his committee expect soon to in
stall some needed conveniences and to
put up an attractive sign calling mot
orists' attention to the fact that Ken
newick has, donated the little park for
their use. No horses are to be al
lowed in the park and it is to be sept
clean and free from rubbish.