The Alaska daily empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1912-1926, 1920-06-26
new ROUTE FOR
HIGHWAY MOVES
OUT OF CANYON
Abercrombie Trail Followed
Man Shortage Is Only
Ilindrance to Project

Work looking toward the opening
of the Valdez end of the RICHARDSON
Highway as soon as possible has
a statement today bv Col. J. C. Got
walls, President of the Alaska Road
Commission who returned to his
headquarters here yesterday on the
steamer Watson. Col. Gotwals has
been on trip to Valdez selecting the
route to be followed by the road
and inaugurating the work for the
season.
"The Road Commission has de.
cidcd to abandon the road which
was washed out through the ley
stone Canyon" said Col Gotwals.
THE old route out from Valdez as
far as Mile IA, just south of the
canyon. will be repaired and main
tanned. From Mile ii to Mile IS an
entirely different route will be tray
crsed. This goes up the high line
at Milo II and roughly follows the
Old Abercrombie trail past Keystone
Canyon, Snowslide Creek, Bear
Creek and the gravel slide at Mile
II, putting the road ont of danger
of interruption from these sources. "
Natural Roadbed
This route was selected after a
thorough investigation of all avail
able choices and is the most feas-
ible one and the one that can be
most easily maintained said Col.
Gotwals. There will be very little
solid rock work, it being loose rock
natural roadbed. Construction Is
fairly easy and makes possible fair
progress"
Three crews are being organized
and thrown into the work between
Valdez and Mile IS. The first Of
of Valdez and Mile IA. In addition
to keeping up the grades, it will have
piledriver for maintaining the
bridges over glacier streams during
the summer floods Another crew Of
IS men is now working along the
high line route Another crew is
wanted in that section as it is
planned to employ 60 men in thi5
work all through the summer. A
fourth crew is already at work on the
section of the road between Will0V
Creek and Valdez, where many re-
int mr..
work having been done there during
the past two years. This crew will
nut in side line along the Tonsina
River between Tonsina and Beaver
Dam in order to get away from the
mud slides that have played havoc
with the trail traffic on former oc-
casions. Seven other crews are
working north from Willow 'reek
to Fairbanks under the direction of
District Engineer Dan Jones. Mr..
Jones has also been authorized to
organize crew Of mea and start
work on the CcCar'hy -Nizl1a road,
which it is hoped to complete during
the present season.
Labor Scarce
Inability to get Sufficient work
men is the only thin5 that can pre-
vent the opening of the Valdez route
to the Interior this season, and
also the completion of the Mccarthy.
Nizina road" declared Col Gotwals.
Already we are experiencing n
labor shortage and we could uso 100
men today more than are available
for work between Vaidaz and Fair
hanks on the Richardson Highway
We have raised our scale to $500
ner day for common labor and out
of this deduct $100 nor day for
board which is on a par with wages
paid by other employers in that
district
1.-THE fact that we have done little
work in the past two years on ac-
count of small appropriations, has re-
suited in the disruption II our work
ing force. Men who previously had
worked for the Commission drifted
to other places and 1t is now neces-
build up an efficient working organi-
cation and are Offering good wages
and as much work IA tho season
will permit We hays the funds to
do so and will push construction
until forced to close down by real
winter weather.
Ten additional motor trucks have
been allotted to the Alaska Road
Commission by the War Department,
according to information received bv.
Col Gotwals on his arrival here.
These with the other two recently
allotted by the Department gives the
Commission total Of % trucks for
use in connection with. it's mainte-