The weekly Alaska citizen., 1919-04-21

| later Tn the summer, ana then only
 in case 1t should be . rather dry season. The cost of grading is much cheaper than of corduroying. The heavy item of cost is in removing the overburden of moss. The first moss that was removed was done by hand with mattocks at a cost of nearly 5000 per mile. Considerable experimenting was done. until the cost was reduced to about $1,250 per mile. A moss cutter was built to be used by horses and 1t was possible to use the grader over a part of the road in blaming the moss off, horses being able to walk on the ground before the moss was removed. The moss was thus graded to the sides of the road and then removed by men with forks. Stripping of the moss on this road should be finished next season and all of the road that has been stripped should be graded It may be possible to grade the ground that has not yet been strip ped of moss If the moss is removed early in the season.
 l It will require between ten and twelve thousand dollars to complete this road. The road. when com. pleted. will be part of the road from Ruby to Poorman. and the next link of this work should be building the road from Long to connect with Tamarack landing. Probably this road should be built over the hills as 1t can be constructed so much cheaper than by building down the valley of Long creek. It will be few miles longer, but the difference in the cost of construction will war. rant the using of the ridge road This entire road should then be part of the road from Ruby to the kuskokwim river. distance of about two hundred miles. The road should lead from Ruby thru Long. Poorruan. Ophir. Takotna and proba- bly thru to McGrath. This road is a large undertaking for the territory and should receive federal aid as 1t will make continuing link between the two great waterways of the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers and ( Shnn1d hn Cor as at present the only means of travel between the Yukon and the Kuskokwim Is by way of the mouth of the Yukon and around and up the kuskokwim river It is nearly i'm. possible for one to travel from the interior or Yukon basin to the Kus. kokwim district and return in one season.
 iDiTARoO DISTRICT.
 Route 17.--Iditarod to Summit Flat creek, Is miles.
 The most of the work and money expended on this road was from the head of Cottonwood creek to the town of Flat. distance of three and half miles. about two and half miles Of this road having been par tially built by the miners and citi. zens in 1917. This was done by blowing. grading and placing a few culverts. The last l.500 feet con. meeting with the Summit or Boulder creek road was covered by heavy overburden of moss and was rather wet or swampy ground. This was built by putting in a brush cordu- roy. made about eight feet wide. The idea of putting it in at the time was that 1t might be possible to re. move the moss and use the grader to widen and grade this before the frost was out of the ground too deep. but owing to delay in receiving the grader it was not possible to do this and 1t was built by fand labor in covering this corduroy. It was rath- CT narrow road for this year, but by doing additional grading next spring this will be put into good shape. Considerable repair work was done on the road leading from Idita. rod town across the flats. MT. Riley. now deceased, as a member of the commission, in the spring of 1918 had wired the chairman for permis- sion to haul brush upon this road and had engaged MT. Laplant to do the work. After MT. Riley was killed MT. Laplant wired this office for permission to go ahead with the work, which was granted, but evi. dently there was some misunder- standing as to where the total of $1, 1000 which was granted should be | spent and much more brush was hauled for this road than could be used, as it was not possible for the commission to grant the amount of money necessary in hauling gravel to cover 1t. Fifteen hundred dollars was expended in hauling gravel on this road in addition to $900 ex- pended in hauling brush. A con- siderable amount will have to be ex. pended in hauling gravel to com