The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-07-08
TELLS
OF ROAD PLANS
Committees Call on Minnesota
Highway Commissioner to
Discuss Road Work.

Commissioner Joseph Veranth, Sec
rotary Ray Hoefler of the Ely Com
mercial Club, City Engineer Waino
Somero and Victor Veranth composed
committee from this city who were in
st. Paul, Thursday, and conferred with
N. w. ElSberg in regard to road work
in this vicinity
The committee to confer with Mr..
Elsberg was the outcome of the num-
erous complaints registered by resort
operators regarding the dilatory tactics
pursued in this part of the state on
construction projects.
BY reason of these dilatory tactics,
detours have been in order and with
the heavy travel the detours have be-
come a menace to the resort business
OF both the Vermilion and Ely areas.
No great amount of criticism was
leveled at the department for the work
being done. Criticism was directed
against the methods of tearing up the
roads every year during the summer
months and putting in a few miles Of
concrete necesSitating detourS, hard to
maintain.
This condition has prevailed ever
since the highway department began
concreteing the roads between here and
Virginia. The same condition will pre-
vail for years to come providing the
work is not pushed and jobs completed
The Ely delegation was not alone with
their protests. Others attending the
Thursday hearing were Thomas M.
Madden of Virginia; Valentine Saxby,
executive secretary of the Arrowhead
Association; Thomas Gill of Virginia;
Senator George H. Lommen of Eve
leth; Herman T. Olson and Claude
Winchell of Tower.
Commissioner Elsberg informed the
delegations that immediate prepara-
lions would be made to improve con-
ditions on the roads of the Mesaba
and Vermilion districts. He also as
Sured the visitors that a contract for
a four-lane stretch of pavement from
Duluth would be let in August and work
would start as soon as the tourist rush
was over.
Other projects scheduled to start in
the near future, Mr.. Elsberg said, in
clude surfacing of a 13-mile stretch
north of Orr and the shortening of the
42-mile detour between Virginia and
Tower. This detour has been raising
havoc with the tourist travel to Ely
and Tower. The proposition now is to
open up several miles on 169 and detour
on Highway No. 81 and 35 to Tower and
from there to this city on No. l..
The spreading of 1900 gallons of
oil on State Highway No. 1 from Ely
to Ilgen City is now in progress. The
Tower-Soudan street paving was also
promised some speed by Commissioner
Elsberg and oiling of stretches on state
roads was promised.
The people of this section are up in
arms over the abominable condition OF
some of our roads. The Tower News in
commenting on the matter on the re-
turn of its committeeman from the
hearing, said:
Cali one has to do is obtain a state
highway map and glance at it to see
what is being done in regard to road
improvements. The department seems
to forget there is a nothern part of the
state when it comes to calling for road
work and there appears to be an i'm
aginary line running across it from east
to west, with the southern half a net
work of highways and the northern
half vivid reproduction of "no-man's
land"
Occasionally when the department
is looking for statewide favors, or they
wish to salve us with milk and honey,
a mite is doled out and the work
dragged out for an entire season, tying
up what few roads We really have, as
is the case with the Virginia road A
mile or two this summer, ditto next
year, last year, etc., and our summer