Hungry Horse news and Columbian. [volume] (Columbia Falls, Mont.) 1946-1948, 1946-09-05
Improved No. 2
Necessary For
More Tourists

sus~a WI wv
Rebuilding the 58 mile stretch
of highway No. from Bolton east
will start next week.
Bids on the project were opened
July %, and the contract for $739,
941.77 awarded to the Union Con-
struction company of Great Falls,
by the Montana Highway commits
sion. Final Federal Bureau of Pub
lie Roads approval has just been re-
ceived The new road, difficult to
build through mountain area, will
be 32-foot wide, modern highway,
and when completed will leave only
IL miles of ''old type" road marring
No. 2 as streamlined highway into
western Montana from the east. Con-
struction crews will headquarter in
Bolton.
Glacier Needs Better No. 2
Increased vacation patronage of
Glacier National park and the upper
Flathead valley depends on improve
ment of No. 2.
When President Truman proclaim
ed the federal moratorium on pub
lie works August 5, as means to
curb initiation, he added that where
highway construction is especially
required for the safety of highway
travel than that be considered an ex-
ception. With this in mind the Mont
ana Highway commission, reports
Chairman A. F. Winkler, are attemp-
ting to influence federal agencies to-
road between Bolton and Essex in
addition to the So which will be
started next week.
When rebuilding of the Bolton
section of No. 2 gets underway,
travellers will be re.routed dur
ing the summer and early fall
menths over what will be Amer
ica's most scenic detour, Glac-
Ter Parks GOing-tO-the-Sun hi
way.
Plans for Highway No. 2 are to
route it through to Seattle by way of
Spokane. The road connects Belton,
Libby and Troy with Bonner's Ferry,
Idaho. Near there it merges with
No. 95, and then with alternate No.
10 into Spokane Glacier National
park and this area would benefit
were the states of Idaho
and Washington to label No. 95 with
additional markers indicating that
this was also No. Us route. At pre-
sent vacationers have no clear way of
knowing that alternate No. 10 and
No. 95 serve as No. 2 through Idaho
into Washington It is so considered
by the federal government, but high
way marking is up to the states.
Troy Section Scheduled
Rebuilding of No. 2 between Troy
and the state line is now under con-
tract Idaho's section of the road
they won't call No. is being sur
yeyed, and if a contract is approved
will result in distance saving Of
i've more miles.
Actually when properly marked
and completed, No. 2 will be at
east so miles shorter between Spo-
Kane and Bolton than any other
quite.
No. 2 is Americas farthest north
through highway. It was to have con-
ected Portland, Maine with Port
and, Ore, but it doesn't touch either
ity. It starts on the Maine-New Br-
nswick border crosses New Harnp-
hire and Vermont, and then dis
1t starts up again at the end
If Michigan's peninsula, crosses.
Wisconsin,, enters Duluth, then sire
ehes out across Minnesota, North
'akota and Montana.
No. 2 taps no large eastern popu-
ltion centers. It's future service to
lis area is in the West where when
atter marked and further improved
will boone great advantage, es-
ecially when it becomes a through
ute to Seattle. MR.