The Cordova daily times., 1920-07-16
PLAN TO BUILD
 MANY TRAILS IN INTERIOR

to be developed into truck highways covering practically every district in interior Alaska is the end aimed at by the recommendations of the inter- departmental committee, made recent ly to Secretary John Barton Payne of the interior department according to a complete report which just been re- ceived at Juneau. The program re- comments the construction and main tenance of 16 main trunk lines by the federal authorities which shall con- stitute the main highway system of Alaska, feeders for which shall be To- cal projects and supported by the ter ritorial authorities.
 The completion of the program would give Alaska a total of approxi- mately 2,2OO miles of new roads and would connect Valdez with Kiwalik, on the Kotzebue Sound almost 200 miles north of Nome. It would also render easy of accomplishment the connection of Juneau, through Haines and Rainy Pass, contemplated Yukon territory roads, and thence over the routes already proposed by the com mittee to Fairbanks and on to Kiwal- ik. If the recommendations made by -. Dr Brooks and his associates are car ried cut the establishment of a Jun- eau-Nome highway is not only possi- ble but entirely feasible in the opin- ion cf road builders both Territorial anl Federal
 The system is to permit the de- velopment of the districts wherein promising discoveries of minerals have been made. In some of these districts production has already been started and is increasing despite poor transportation facilities. In others, where high costs of operation, are largely a matter of transportation rates, relief would be brought to dwindling industries and a population gradually lessening.
 "A wagon road from Alaska railroad to the Valdez Creek placer district, to be subsequently, connected with te Valdez Fairbanks trail.'' Such a highway woud have a length of 120 miles. This is another of the pro- jects which has already been given ! study by the Alaska Road Commis- sion and route will be cruised out by that organization during the pres ent season, according to Col Gotwals.
 The fifth road. "A wagon road from the Copper River. Railroad into the Nizina placer district, and it's eventual extension into the upper Chitina valley" is also a present Alas ka Road Commission project~in part The road from Mccarthy on the Cop per River railroad to the Niizini plac- CTS is now being constructed and will be completed this fall. It has a length of 12 miles. From there into the upper Chitina valley is approxi- mately 20 miles, making a total length for the project of 32 miles
 y< The sixth contemplated project is "A wagon road from the Valdez Fairbanks road to the ChistOchina (Slate Creek) district, to be later ex- tended to the Chisana district and eventually to White river and also a nef onnnno4iro o+ the Panama river" The location nf the first portion of such a route will be made this season and it is probable that construction will be started, &C., cording to Col. Gotwals This will cover from either Paxson or Meirs roadhous, on the Richardson high way, into the Slate Creek country, for the purpose of opening up for devel- opment placer ground of known value upon which considerable work has al- ready been carried out. This stretch of road will be about 30 miles long. From there, through the Chisana dis trict, going across the Forty -Mi1e-Tan- ana road, to the White river is ap- proximately 1S0 miles, making total length of trail approximately 1SO miles.
 Eventually forming a branch of this road is another project of the Com mittee, "The extension of the Eagle O'Brien creek road into the Forty-Mile district, later to be built through to the Tanana river" The route pro- posed would be about the same as the old Eagle Ketchumstock- Gulkana trail, but instead of continuing on to the Richardson highway at Gulkana, would tap the Slate creek project and Ahn NaIdoz