White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1929-06-21
COMPLETE TASK BEGUN
OVER TWENTY YEARS AGO

While there is still mile or so or
which the surfacing is yet to be fin.
ished, the Yakima White Bluffs road
in Benton county, that has beer
brought up to state highway speci.
fications in sections, during the past
two years. has Leen completed and is
now in use. The total distance of the
improved highway is approximately
rs miles, extending from the town OF
White Bluffs to the Yakima Benton
county line west of Cold Creek. where
it connects with a road of similar
construction, completed about
year ago to Moxee, by Yakima
county. +,
All steep grades and sharp corners
have been eliminated and while the
nine miles that were rebuilt this
spring may be little soft for a time,
a years travel should put it in such
| shape that the so miles between va
ki1na and White Bluffs can be nego-
tiated easily in an hour ard half with
any of the new types of cars, and, if
you want to "step-on-er" it might BE-
done in much less time.
There is steady increase in travel
on this road by those seeking short
|fcut between Yakima and Spokane,
and when the Naches Pass road from
Yakima to the Coast is completed
next year the travel on h;o road will
get another boost. But the real bene-
fits, both now ard i'll the future, will
be enjoyed by local residents who
have, business of various kinds to
transact in Yakima.
The completion of the Yakima
White Bluffs road is the fu1fillment
OF plans initiated over twenty years
ago. At that time automobiles wore
not very plentiful and good roads
were rarer. The road between the two.
places then was not much more than
a trail, laid out by guess and by
gosh, that wound around the hills
and draws, seeking the line of least
resistance, and the automobile that
could cover the sixty odd miles in
four hours was some car.
In spite of all the talk, however,
not much in real improvement was
undertaken until about seven years
ago. The first stretch that received
attention was the one through the
Cold Creek country, always the night
mare on every trip to Yakima. While
the improvement of this piece of the
road eliminated the Nightmares, there
were still a few bad dreams such as
the Gable. Cold Greek and Barrel
Springs hills, the constant driving
nccess;tated by the winding road, |
and the last mile or two before reach
ing Mckee, that in the summer and
fail was, so rough that it left nothing
to be settled either in the car or the
passengers and in the spring was so
soft and muddy that cars often mired
down and the drivers had to wad ?
through the slush to a nearby farm 1
house TO get old Dobbin to give him
a lift.
The files of the Spokesman of 20
years ago contain some interesting
references to this road. For instance.
the issue Of December 4, 1908, said
that President w. E. Steinweg Of the
First National Bank of Yakima, up
on returning from trip of inspection
recommended to Yakima county
commissioners that Steps be taken
at once to improve the road in order
to prevent the trade from this terri
tory going to Walla Walla instead
of Yakima and estimated the cost Of
a proper roadway" to be $500 or
$500. The commissioners were so
with Mr.. Steinweg's talk
that they decided TO appropriate $500
For the purpose. When one considers
that the present road has cost the two
counties in the nsighborhood of $751;
BOO he isn't much IMPRESSED with the
vision of the commissioners OF
sWenty, wears ago.