Imperial Valley press., 1926-08-09
STATE COMPLETES
HIGHWAY THROUGH
SANDHILL ROUTE
New Road to Be Opened
Tomorrow Provides a
Gateway to State.

Travel on the plank road through
the sand hills will be discontinued
after tonight. according to infOrma-
tion received here from Yuma. and
the new paved highway will be OPP
ened to traffic beginning tomorrow.
No formal ceremonies will be con
nectcd with the opening at this
time. Later in the Year the Yuma
and FL Centre chambers of com
mcrce hope to get together to cclo-
bratc the opening of the new road.
Men in the employ of contractors
for the California highway commits,
sion in difiance of the heat Of the
desert. have been toiling all sum
mer long to -comnlete the new pave
mcnt which will replace the old
plank road rs n crossing of the
sands on this important interstate
connection.
The old eight fool road with its
narrow turnouts, built in 1916 by
popular subscription. has been re
placed by an asphalt concrete pave
mcnt. 20 feet in width, placed at an
elevation equal to the height of the
surrounding dunes. Thus elevated.
with the shoulders and slopes Of fills
oiled to prevent erosion bv wind ac-
tion, the new highway is believed
safe from inurdation by the con
stantly shifting sands. which have
Frequently closed to traffic the cx-
sting plank crossing.
Months of Study
The sand hills project is the re-
suit of many months of painStaking
investigation. observation and study
by engineers of the state highway
commission. When State Highway
Engineer Il. NJ. Morton reached Il
decision in favor of a permanent
pavement. he had compiled Il great
mass of information covering wind
action in the sand hill section,
movement Of the sands. and other
facts about this interesting but
little known section
Not the least Of the worries Of the
engineers was the complete absence
of water. Regardless of the type of
pavement adopted water was a me-
ceSsity. Before final pans were
made. il was decided to attcelpt u
find water and drilling was started
in Open Valley. n small open space
in the center Of the dunes. To the
surprise of those who had scoffcd. a
flow of 800 gallons a minute was
struck at lj3 feet The well drilled
at a cost of $3.50. has saved the
state thousands of dollars rs il re
moved the water hazard and cor
tractors considered this fact in
bidding.
Befort the asphalt pavement is
placcd, the sand subgradc is thor
oughly drcnchcd with water to a
depth of three feet. Upon the com.
pacted grade the pavement is bcin"
placed in two courses with total
thickness Of six inches. The edges
have a thickness of nine inches.
State Attraction
The crossing of the sand hills.
which lie across the route of the
state highwav which extends east
ward from FL Centre to Yuma is
nearly seven mites Ill ItHgtH. pIdu-
ing and surfacing also has been
COMPLETED between FL Centre and
Holtvillc. All danger to those using
this route to enter or leave Califor
nia will be removed and motorists
will be enabled to visit this section
in safety and in comfort. The area
is destined to become one of the
sights of California, state of many
wonders. Here is section of de
sert. seven miles wide and so miles
long. composed of great dunes of
drifting sand as much like Sahara
as the Sahara, itself
1t was the determination Of the
present highway commission to
make California accessible by com
pleting improved highways to the
states borders that led TO the I'M
dcrtakings of the building of n
permanent pavement across the sand
hills. This feat is destined to take
it's place among the most spectacu.
lar and daring highway projects in
America.