Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-12-09
NEVADA'S NATURAL
ROAD BUILDING
Route Of 600 Miles Will Soon
Be Completed From
Ogden to Reno.

A natural highway across Nevada
is being developed after twelve years
hisuse and that state soon Will boast
pne OF the finest long distance routes
In the country thru utilizing an aban-
done1 railroad grade more than five
hundred miles long.
Nevada long has been a land
dreaded by the overland motorist and
tales of the bad lands" and OF the
rAllon Sink follow every transcon-
tinental tour. The new road avoids
these hardships by following the
route OF the old Emigrant trail
across the northern part of the state.
The old railroad fill has less than
A one per cent grade for n distance
OF several hundred miles across this
country.
Work Is progressing on the i'm
provement OF the long neglected op-
portunity and by the opening of the
touring season of 1918 the road
should be complete from Ogden, Utah.
, to Reno, more than six hundred miles.
The road, however. is passable mt
this time and is superior to the exist
ing roads across the state, not ex-
gliding the far-famed Lincoln high
way
In February, 1917, the Overland
Trails club was formed In Humboldt
county. Nevada. for the purpose OF
velopment OF the old railroad foup-
daticn. Under the guidance OF w.
II. Goodln of Lovelcck. volunteer
work was begun Immediately. II was
found necessary to scrape the entire
distance OF the grade with a tractor.
| 1t WAS also necessary to remove old
railroad ties and fill tie-holes and to
renew culverts and occasional small
bridges,
| But the new road is quito an int
provement over existing trails. often
nothing more than two winding
tracks across the sagebrush and
sometimes with most extraordinary
grades and turns In tho mountainous
sections
Sufficient temporary work has
been done to assure motoring right
thru in good time and when the work
ls finished by the state a perfect
trans-Nevada highway will be avail
able. II liz not unlikely that the new
road will be adopted for this section
OF the Lincoln highway.
The present Lincoln highway ex.
tends across an ara, unsettled part
Of the state In which the towns are
liar apart and where the tourist Is out
OF contact with railroad. telegraph
and telephone. supply stations are
SO irfrequent that motorists often are
Obliged to walk many miles to towns.
abandoning their cars when they have
breakdowns.
These towns usually are so mac
cessible that prices are higher than
anywhere else In the country. gas
olire being worth Its weight In gold.
The new road, using the old Gen.
tral Pacific roadbed, Is always In
contact with the present Southern
Pacific line and for several hundred
miles is close to the Western Pacific.
% t,t, al
Itances of ten miles or less for nearly
the entire crossing the highway runs
thru towns and statiops where water
and supplies are to be had. There
is no place outside Of the Forty Milo
desert where water Is not near and
where assistance Is not available. The
'ranscontinental Bell telephone and
tho telegraph are always near by.
In the days before the gold rush
few hardy adventures crossed un-
churted Nevada at q time when the
population OF the district between
Reno and Salt Lake City was said to
be lust one.
The gold rush in the late forties
brought numerous trains over the
Nevada plains and many oleacnen
bone lies BY the roadside In mute
testimony OF the hardships OF the
trip.
were always the emigrants' obJec-
tive. Many weeks often were spent
struggling across to the mines or Vir-
ginia and Carson Cities after the
great Comstock Lode was discovered
The more temperate route across thc
cooler country was the most travelled.
following down the Humboldt.
This land. once simply designated
"Great American Desert" on the maps
was being explored weekly by en-
Iterpr!slng pioneers. Many never fin-
ished the long toilsome journey but
settled at the small trading posts
.sta ablished along the line Oh inarch.
Many OF the present towns were thus
established and the land now blooms
,yhara -heso neople were forced TO