Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1939-10-05
High Highways
Now Preferred
Engineers Willfully Seek
Obstacles Stunned by
Pioneers.

WASHINGTON.- supremacy
of the highway to the top of Pixies
peak, 14,110 feet high, as the high
est automobile road in the world,
has been challenged by the newly
constructed highway which reaches
almost to the top Of Mount Evans
west of Denver. This challenge re-
calls the gradual evolution of high
way construction.
1.-THE rivers were the first Amer
lean highways, and their valleys at
forded the more level routes to
early roadbuilders, says the Ma
tional Geographic society.
To-day, roadbuilding has SEEM
ingly gone into reverse, with engi-
neers willfully seeking the very OBJ
stacles stunned by the pioneers, to
provide scenic thrills for motor
lied civilization. With seeming
aimlessness, great parkways now
are built, elongated parks contain
ing broad roads dedicated solely to
recreational and social use, through
rights of way 800 feet wide, designed
to give to the motorist the impress
sion Of great open spaces.
For Pleasure Motoring.
''In the q national parks alone
there are today 1886 miles of high
way, constructed primarily for the
pleasure Of motoring over scenic or
historic routes, highway system
greater than from New York city to
Denver, or, if Strengthened out, from
Chicago to San Francisco.
The Longest High Road.
''In the Rocky Mountain National
park, Colorado, the Trail Ridge road
has four-mile section over $4,000
feet in altitude which is probably
the longest stretch of road ever built
at such a height. In Yellowstone
park, the Red Lodge-Cooke road
rises to an altitude of 10,940 feet,
being part of the figure-eight Grand
Loop highway of approximately AS
miles.
"An altitude of 8,512 feet is
reached by the highway in Lassen
Volcanic National park, California,
while the western approach to Grand
Teton National park, Wyoming,
crosses the range at a height Of
8,431 feet. Driving up to Sentinel
dome in the Yosemite, the motor
ist attains an elevation of Silt feet.
The 20 miles of paved road, reach
ing many points in Bryce canyon,
Utah, has maximum of 5000 feet.
Developments in East.
1.-THE outstanding mountain-top
parkway development in the East is
the Blue Ridge parkway through
Virginia, North Carolina and Ten
nessee. This parkway includes the
Skyline drive of 81 mountainous
miles overlooking the Shenandoah
valley in Virginia and will extend
to North Carolina, eventually link
ing the Shenandoah National park
with the Great Smoky Mountains
National park in Tennessee with a
6OO-mile highway through the most
rugged of eastern scenery.
1.-The Great Smoky mountains,
with nearly a score of peaks more
than 5000 feet high, constitutes the
greatest mountain mass east of the
Black Hills of South Dakota. When
completed the park will have an
area of 687 square miles. Running
from Newfound gap to Clingmans
dome, second highest peak in east
ern America, the Skyway drive
reaches an altitude of 6,311 feet, the
highest highway in the East.
There are many other roads of
great altitude and alluring seen
cry. The Mt. Washington Summit
road, in the White mountains, New
Hampshire, rises almost to the high
est of all New England peaks, 6,293
feet. And through the 158 national
forests of 100000 acres the for
est service has constructed over
10000 miles of roads, located large
ly with view to their scenic at
fractions"