The Mena weekly star., 1921-08-04
fVES APPROVAL
 ID OUR BIC ROAD
q Hunter Sykes, Representing U. S 8ureau of Roads, Pays High Com psizent to Jefferson Highway and
 the Way It Is Being Built.

G. Hunter Sykes, highway engineer f<r the U. s. Bureau of Roads. left Friday for headquarters at Little E8ek, Following three days given to eheeking over the work completed, un- def eonstruction and contemplated on fhe Jefferson Highway in Polk county The result of this detailed investi- eatio11, as given a representative of Ihe Star by MT. Sykes, is exceedingly rr4tifying to all interested in the pro IE the first place MT. Sykes stated th8f neither he, nor the authorities at Wa1hington, had an adequate idea as f4 fhe magnitude of the undertaking, nor of its importance as a national ur001Sition as link in the north and E60EH highway. He also designated 0ur read as one of the biggest enter ptiSe2 of it's kind in Arkansas.
 Compliments Engineer.
 Going more into detail, Mir. Sykes XETN fhat one would need to do as he h12 done, go all over the state, to un- d11X<4nd the difference in the engi- n6cfinE work. He says our project sh0XI6 skill and ability, naming as a StkiksnR example the water drainage. He aeys he finds the culverts are 6i1ced where needed, and in such man nef ts to get full efficiency; concrete xf8xk IS substantial, showing. good workmanship and high type of me chanIcs in charge of the form work. HE found no "honey-eomb" in the con- fxete. even as big as his hand, rare thiuH. he stated
 EX4&Ea# ~ 6f m the bridges and good flooring material being used. The stone bases, he sad, were put down in good shape.
 Exceptionally Good Gravel.
 A61ked definitely about the gravel beip& used for the hard surface, Mr, HTIzS1 said:
 Ihe road gravel is exceptionally Koo< t has plenty of hard material U He then added that "it takes tl1ae for this to get set" He also eoixNlimented the use of native &fuzAed stone for the base course on |zss F Sykes said the earth work (the 60fl0Eng of the dump) was done in a N1T Inanlike manner, and noted that t6e 4I5e drains were kept open.
 Contract Prices Fair.
 It'd about what he thought of the pf1e1 at which the work of earth and x6tk relnoval were made, he referred n 6i< figures and said "they are not GIx based on the time the contract W14 Et. These prices are Gle yard l6f 5arth, SIPS for loose rock and xz69 For solid rock.
 H<xe MT. Sykes took further occa- 6lon ko compliment the engineering Woxk He said that in many instances tho 1Hstom had been to merely run a BufVeT and get the levels, but that in this case he found the engineering eofnpeny had, at heavy expense, made Gx1H1 8ections of all the road. thus 1el0 able to give accurate figures or Mx01Ee of materials to be moved, this t4I09 of great value in getting true N1<lUI1tes of cost. He also stated that <4o 6EKineer had, at all times, beer f in making tests of materials N81 feature that often was trouble. 1el0eto the Washington officials.
 The Amount Completed.
 Ak4in referring to his records, MT 8xkes stated that of the 3S miles oi 1o&d South of Mena, 21 miles of the eartt work had been completed anC % nsiIes had been cleared. Culverts axe Nxactically all completed and the hxidEes except placing the steel He stated that thus far $71 ,536 fedora tz1aN& lad been set aside for this pro. JFet, and that except for the fact thai We had been misled by the former 6s7ze Highway officials, we should H4X2 hnd much more. This mistake M4s ii the idea that we could only Af6W Federal aid on the surfacing Nhe1z as matter of fact, 1t cculC haxe been had on clearing, grubbing e7ffhW0rk, bridges and surfacing." Ht { & Judge H. w. Finger:
 heep on applying for additiona fedcra1 aid"
 He Added: We have nothing to dt with making the apportionment, bu W4 d0 have with the approval or non Hx4<al of the projects"
 r r 2 = HI **>ere is good place to say tha
 Finger already has put in ar
 kion for $150,000 more fedora
 4d has good reason to expect {
 ubstantial sum-
 Sykes made it entirely cleal 4 report on the Jefferson High
 Polk county, as filed with thu TT of Roads, would be very com I<ary to the project and the way
 Being handled.
 [ Wing this federal inspection uill he that of State Highwa,
 1sioner Wilson and State High
 4eineer Limerick, who will ar
 LIE sometime next Tuesday, fol
 conference with Nationa 1I<@f officials Monday night at Ho
 [l16 A request has been mad sngineer Sykes accompany th' ElIicials on this tour.