The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1920-04-01
THE SCENIC HICHW AY
Situation Explained-Seventeen-Mile
Extension in Lake Country to
be Built This Year.
Why Not Finish Road. Construction
Program Before Tackling I'm
necessary Proposition?
Continued from last week.

Continued from last week.
November Z, 1915, after a hard
campaign, Mile Laos county voted to
issue bonds in the sum of $4,000 for
the purpose of carrying out an extern
sive road program that had been laid
out for the years 1917 and 1918.
Fifty thousand of this amount was
voted specifically to obtain an equal
amount from the federal government
and for the purpose of applying this
total of 100000 on the Scenic high
way from Princeton to Mile Laos lake.
By the time the plans and estimates of
this big undertaking were submitted
and approved, bonds sold, bids adver-
tised for, and contracts let, it was we'll
into the spring of 1918. These con-
tracts called for the construction and
crawling of forty miles Of road, in
Guiding bridges, built-in culverts, met
al and concrete culverts and covered
that part of the Scenic highway from
Onamia to the Sherburne county line
The funds voted were found INSULT
Gent to finance the original project,
but, sooner than abandon the scheme,
the county board deemed it advisable
miles, knowing full we'll that if our
part Of the Scenic highway was built
and graveled from the Sherburne coun-
ty line to Onaamia, it would only be a
short time before the connecting link
from Onan1ia to the Crow Wing coun-
ty line would be built. One hundred
thousand dollars seems to most of us
vast sum Of money, but you put this
into forty miles of road and attempt
to make your road come up, not only
to the strict requirements Of the Min
nesota highway department, but also
to meet the stricter standards Of the
federal road buildings, and you will be
surprised to see how small sum
100000 is after all.
Although little preliminary work
was done in the early months of 1918,
such as grubbing, clearing and getting
the outfits ready for the big drive as
soon as the weather permitted, the
dirt did not begin to move in good
shape until we'll into May or June
The construction and crawling was
let to the C. A. Pogue Co. Of Grand
Rapids, Mimi, and was a unit price
bid and contract throughout. This
means that the contractor does not
agree to build fixed, certain and def
mite amount of road for a lump sum
amount, but does agree to build so
much road and gravel the same, max
ing the whole job come up to the plan
of the engineers in charge and receives
pay for all his work on the unit price
system, that is, so much per acre for
clearing and grubbing, SO much per
yard for hauling dirt and gravel, and
so on throughout the whole contract.
This is the form approved by the state
and federal authorities, as their ex-
perience has taught them that it is a i
more practical and elastic form of con-
tract to work under than the old lump
sum agreement and gets better results
all around.
Naturally on job of this size all !
the difficulties and obstacles to be |
overcome could not be seen and met |
in the beginning, and as the job opened !
up these things began to crop out
After the contract was let the federal |
authorities insisted on widening out
the roadway an additional four feet
for the whole forty miles-a big item
in and of itself. Right diff /
culties arose which had to be settled |
and paid for. Some of the gravel pits
pinched out or proved to be inaccessi-
BILE. Weather conditions were not of
the best and, to cap the climax, the
country, on April 6, 1917, was drawn
into the great world war, and from
that on the material and labor market
began to get so uncertain that con-
tractor did not know where he was at
from one day to the next.
The upshot of the whole situation
was that the fulfllment of the con-
tract was impossible during 1918 and
1919 and, by consent of all concerned,
the time was extended into 1920 The
original estimate was greatly over
run and the job will now cost the
county far more than was first
planned. It is the present intention
of the contractor to finish his job this
spring, just as soon as weather condi-
tons will permit. Owing to the delay
in building and crawling the first
forty miles a report gradually began
to circulate around the county, es-I
pecially in the lake country, that the
board was going to build to Onamia
and stop there, abandoning the seven