Ashland weekly tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1919-1924, 1919-11-05

/
by L. D. Mowat, secretary of the
Ashland Commercial club, and is il
lustrated splendidly by pictures TAX
en- at the works by c. c, Darling of
/ the Darling Studio, Ashland.
Six years ago the Siskiyou grade,
at that time rocky mountain road
of unbelievable steepness, was a
barrier between Oregon and Califor-
mia, which only the most intrepid OF
motorists would attempt.
By July l, 1920, a ribbon of pave
ment, winding its graceful way in
sweeping curves up the mountain
range to the summit which towers
/ 5000 feet above the valleys on
either side, will be completed. No
more will autoists tell of burnt out
brakes and defeated attempts at
bucking axle deep mud. No more
will travel between Oregon and Cal
ifornia by automobile cease with the
first storm of winter.
The tourist, whether ne crosses
the line in August or in January,
will remember the Siskiyou grade
only as the most magnificent piece
of mountain highway in America.
A maximum grade of six per cent,
16 foot pavement widened to 20 feet
at the turns; the Siskiyou grade is
a bugaboo no more.
Jackson county got off to run
ming start when the value of good
roads began to be realized through
out the state. Sixteen miles of
pavement connecting the towns OF
Ashland and Central Point were
completed several years ago and the
present grade over the Siskiyou
highway was established.
BY the time the tourists begin to
come in numbers next summer. the
Pacific highway in Jackson county
will be paved in its entirety.
Contracts are now under way
which assure completion by early
summer of 65 miles of pavement eX-
| tending from the California line to
Grants Pass.
The Oskar Huber Contracting
company of Portland has here the
largest single pavement contract in
the state, comprising 21 miles Of
hard-surfacing to extend from Ash
land to the California line. About
four miles of pavement have been
hid, extending from Stcinmcn tc
/ Siskiyou station. About two miles
more is to be laid from Siskiyou to
the summit. A two mile unit has
been laid extending from the Cali
fornia line, two miles into Oregon.
| A second two-mile unit is now beine
laid at the rate of 600 feet per day.
This, and possibly third unit of the
same length will be completed on
the southern side of the mountain
this fall if the weather god contn-
ues to smile upon the PAYERS. This
will leave about four miles to be
paved next spring when the weather
paved with an immense plant lOcat-
ed near the mountain summit as a
base. When storms make work at
the high altitude impractical, op-
erations will be transferred to the
valley floor, where it is expected it
will be possible to rcontinue paw
ing throughout the winter. A sec
ond rock crusher, located on Emf
grant creek, four miles south of
Ashland is already in operation and
a second "hot-stuff' plant is being
erected three miles south of the city.
Quite a ceremony marked the
dumping and spreading of the last
load of "hOt-stuff" at the California
line. Former State Engineer C. A.
Dunn, who is chief engineer for the
Huber people. superintended the
epochal operation, and when it was
discovered that several cubic yards
had been laid in California, remark
ed well, that will give them
nest egg to start with"
Crushed rock has been piled along
the highway the entire distance over
the mountain and the valley crusher
is now busy supplying rock for the
seven miles between Ashland and the
foot of the mountain. A big grad
ing crew, operating caterpillar
drawn piece of machinery which re-
sembles a huge harrow, and numer-
Gus scrapers, plows and harrows, is
getting the road in the valley floor !
into shape for laying the rock. A
second crew of about thirty men is
working ahead of the paving gang,
putting the final leveling touches on
the highway and spreading the rock.
The paving crew proper has two steam
rollers and about twenty men. A
number of heavy trucks are used in
the hot stuff from the
plant to the scene of operations. Four