The Daily Alaska empire., 1950-04-05

VI ciiSii WAi bC puSiiVu HUI tAiWatu into Eagle, to be finished next year, and which will open extcn- sive mining areas to further de- velopment.
 Survey Annette Island
 New surveys to be completed this year include a route from Fair- banks to Nenana. and for ex- tending the airport road from Met lakatla to the head of Annette Island, opposite Ketchikan.
 A new survey will be made of a road from Livengood. north to Fairbanks, westward to Manley Hot Springs and Eureka, looking forward to ultimate linking of this important mining, agricultural and recreational district with the main highway system.
 Additional surveys will be made in the Copper River region to en- deavor to find practical and not unduly expensive route for con- meeting Cordova with the main highway system, the Colonel said. An abandoned railroad right-of- way now crosses the area.
 Maintenance of roads will be in- creased about 36 percent this year over last. With more mileage and better standards seen each year in the system, more money is required for maintenance, the Colonel point ed out.
 With most roads now required to be kept open all year because of increased traffic, maintenance is planned for the Alaska Highway, the Glenn Highway, part of the Richardson Highway and many To- cal roads.
 More Lotnl Funds
 These local roads can not be kept open with federal funds, and more territorial or local funds must be forthcoming, he said, to keep them in good shape as the population grows.
 Largest single Improvement is the paving system now under way. Last year l45 miles of the main roads were paved with "blacktop" and this year more than 200 miles more will be surfaced.
 The 90-odd miles from Haines to the Canadian border is among those roads which are ,cped to be paved by end of the season, the report said.
 Reconstruction of the Tok Cut off-one of the systems worst through roads--will begin and by the end of 1850 it is hoped to im- prove this road considerably. Paw ing will be done following recon struction.
 The important Turnagain Arm road, to connect the Renal Pen- through Anchorage, will be com pleted by. the end of 1850, it is hoped, for limited traffic. The project is a cooperative undertaking by the commission, the Bureau of Public Roads and the Alaska Rail- road, which it parallels. Final op- ening is planned for 1851.
 Dangerous Spots
 A definite program for elimina- tion of the most hazardous and dangerous points, including replace ment of weak and narrow bridges, elimination of blind turns and im- proved highway marking.
 Guard rails will be placed in some dangerous spots, with more planned for the future.
 Increased maintenance will be done on isolated roads connecting Ruby and Poorman, and those roads around McGrath, Flat, Id itarod and Wiseman. An objective of the commission is to connect this area with the main system over a period of years, as population and economics warrant.
 But this" the report says, "is obviously very long range ob- iective in most cases, as extreme distances and lack of population may make it impracticable to do so."
 The Skagway-Dyea road will con- tinue to be widened and other im- provements of roads around the area will be made.
 Chr-Ferry Idea
 The commissions car-ferry pro- pcsal to link southeast Alaska with Canada is still in the study stage, the report says, for two reasons first, for success of the operation. roads in Canada must be improved, and second, the Haines cutoff must be kept open all year.
 The Skeena Highway from Prince Rupert to Prince George will not now handle trucks of any size, and has not been kept open in winter.
 Tt is hoped" the report says, that the Canadians will soon agree to improve these roads and to keep them open the year round so bene- fits of the ferry system may be attained.
 Other problems of design and operation remain to be studied be-