The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1921-10-27
COMPARISON OF
HIGHWAY COSTS
EARLY HIGHWAY COST NOMINAL
Only $4,000 Spent on Old State Road
Mosier Stretch Of New Road
Costs 100000

With completion of paving of the
Columbia River Highway between
Mosier and Hood River Wednesday of
last week it is interesting to compare
the old hill road of dangerous and tor
tuous grades with the new boulevard,
graceful in curvature and of easy grad
lent. The old road was constructed all
! the way from The Dalles to Mitchells
Point, a distance of nearly 80 miles,
for SIS, 600. The cost of cutting the
6.5 miles of new grade, between here
and Mosier and the paving of the
stretch in round figures reached $500,
600. Over $4,000 was required in
building less than a quarter-mile of
new grade at Mitchells Point, where
the open-window tunnel was bored.
Since the old mountain road between
here and Mosier wasscompleted in 1874,
but little improvement was made in it..
| The grade was never changed. and the
curves renamed hazardous for drivers
of large cars. At points the sharp
curves occurred on heavy grades. and
the elimination of the old road has
brought sighs of relief from every
motorist who has ever negotiated it.
| The only material improvement that
was ever made in the nine miles of
highway was the betterment of short
distance just west of Mosier.
The late John Marden, of The Dalles,
was in charge of construction of the
original road, known as The Dalles-
Sandy road. The late K. l.. Smith was
engineer in locating a part of it.
James Wallace, Civil war veteran and
local pioneer, whose son, Charles Wal
lace, now resides on an Oak Grove
orchard place, was associated with Mr..
Marden in the construction work. The
Oak Grove orchardist worked on the
route with his father. The most eX
pensive part of the old road was that
portion built around Shell Rock noun
tain near Wyeth. Here the pioneer
road builders constructed, about 100
feet above the grade of the new High
way, a dry-masonry wall. The west
end of the thoroughfare was swept
away by slides of the mountain made
up of a mass of loose stones. The east
end, however, remains a relic of pio-
neer days and a monument Ito the en-
terprise of men of those earlystimes.
The old roadbed is overgrown with
hazelnut bushes and dogwOOds, with
their leaves in autumn vivid purple,
now pay natures tribute to the mem
ory of progressive pioneers. Porcu-
pines and digger squirrels have bur
rows under the old walls and chip
munks chatter there from safe recesses
as a stream of motor cars speeds each
way over the famed boulevard below.
But the old grade, where slides have
left it intact, has stood the test of dec
ades, and could the brush be cleared
away and an automobile be raised to
the height of the old road, a driver
would have no difficulty in negotiating
the remaining smooth surface.
The old state highway was aban-
doned on completion of the o. r. & N.
line, the railway tracks having used
portions of the original wagon roads
right of way.
The newly paved 6. 5 miles of the CO.
lumbia River Highway between here
and Mosier make available new seem
cry for the motorist out for a spin over
the scenic route. With the surfacing
placed on through to the Wasco county
fruit section, Mosier, instead of Hood
River, as has been the case the past
year, will be the goal of many parties
out for the day from Portland. The
new stretch leaves Hood River and
climbs to an approximate halfway
point of the Columbia gorge east of
the city by series of graceful loops. |
At present these loops, where gravel
pits are being worked on the interven- |
ing property and other portions being |
farmed, are somewhat an eyesOre. 1t |
is proposed that eventually the state |
take them over and landscape them.
The Highway breaks out on the Co
umbia about a mile east of Hood |
River at an elevation that provides |
many charming views of the river and |
the lowland farms of the Bingen sec
lion in Klickitat county, Washington.
A maximum elevation of more than |
500 feet is reached at the summit Just |
east of the Hood River-Wasco county
ine. A turnout has been provided at
he summit, and here the motorist
nay drive to the side of the protecting
Darapet walls and look for many miles,
10Th east and west. Twin tunnels
lave been bored through promontory
utting out into the gorge about a mile
,ast of the county lines. 1t has been
suggested that these tunnels should be
lamed Gateway tunnels, for they real
Y mark the dividing line between
eastern and western Oregon. Travel
ng to the east the motorist, when he
caves the bore and reaches an eleva-
ion that gives view up the river is
lt once struck with the brown hill
ides, the barren eXpanses Of the north
,ank Of the Columbia. He has left
he fir-clad hills Of the Columbia,
md instead of green shrubbery hug
ling every fold Of the gorge, brown or
ray areas greet bis eye. A new phase
4 0regon's scenic attractions is
pened up.