Hungry Horse news. [volume] (Columbia Falls, Mont.) 1948-current, 1955-09-16
US. No.2 Construction Beats Schedule

WEST GLACIER-M ontana's lar
gest single current highway con-
struction project building u. S. No.
2 for SIS miles east of Nyack is 80
per cent completed in 81 per cent
of the allotted 500 days, according
to Boyd B. Gordon, Bureau of Public
Roads resident engineer.
The Marrazzo Construction Co.,
Boise, has 70 men on the 81, 188, 284
contract, while Hanson-Parr Co.,
Spokane, subcontractor for the two
overpasses, has rs men working.
The Bureau of Public Roads force
numbers IL. Many of the men are
Flathead residents.
All but $500 feet of construction
is over a new route as this stretch
of U. S. highway No. 2 will run
along the Flathead's Middle Fork
instead of climbing and twisting
along the mountain side.
3 CHANNEL CHANGES
There are three major river chan
mel changes to make room for the
highway. The river is Glacier Nat
ional Parks boundary.
Two overpasseS, one 1863 feet long
and the other 2O9 feet, carry the
new highway over the Great North
ern mainline to the river route.
Agreement with the Great Northern
in the matter of highway location had
delayed this particular contract sew
eral years.
Further construction on another
contract includes relocation of 5000
feet of the Great Northern road bed.
The long-awaited construction elm
mates the most dangerous section of
the trans-continental highway. The
Sub-standard section known as the
Devils Elbow that twists and climbs
was constructed in 1886.
| Quantities involved in the present
contract include 1000, 900 cubic yards
of eXcavation-the same amount as
for Hungry Horse Dam construction
IS, 750, 900 yards of overhaul, 1,495
yards of concrete and $500 pounds
structural steel.
Presently being replaced is the bad
turn at Crystal creek. The new high
way will cross the creek over 125
foot high rock fill. Carrying the
creek through the bottom of the fill
will be a Alb foot long, 81z foot
diameter culvert, which was COM
pleted this week.
A total of $4,000 cubic yards of
! rock was excavated from the point
], where u. S. highway No. 2 leaves
! the Nyack flat and will cross the
+ Great Northern mainline to the Flat
! heads Middle Fork shore.
: Crews are working nine hour day
: shifts and 10 hour night shifts on five
and six day week schedules. Fav-
!. cradle summer. weather encouraged
i construction following a late, delay
! ing spring.
: ]. L. Johnston is the Marrazze
8 superintendent with Art EIefsen
N grade and clearing foreman; E. A
~ Taylor, day shift excavating fore
!. man; Joe Scott and Harry Lee, nigh
). shift foremen. James Hatfield is of
- flee manager.
FUTURE CONSTRUCTION
lie Even as this critical section o
a U. S. highway No. 2 was under con
TX struction, a state and federal grou
e. this summer inspected the cOntir
er entail divide to Bear creek and Jaw
underpass section as the next stretc
of to be rebuilt. Construction is som
of years off, but planning has started
We Being observed we're snoWSlid
e. dangers, channel changes that woul
er effect fish habitat and constructio
Dr. problems.
It'll Among those in the group wer
err Lee Dodson, Missoula, and Boy
lily Gordon, of the Bureau of Publ
Roads; Ray Spurzem, Kalispel
ct. Montana district highway engineer
lie Walter Allen, Helena, superinten
gh ent of fisheries and Frank Stefanic
re Kalispell, fish biologist, for the sta
10 fish and game department, and fro
the forest service: w. w. Dresske
gu assistant chief ranger and wildli
the management; Vic Linthicum, recre
tional planning office, and Les Nc
ris, engineer, all of Missoula.
The effort to bring the continent
divide section of u. S. No. 2 to mo
ern highway standards includes t
following completed contracts:
1947 and 1913, Union Construct
.ar, Co. had $739, 94177 contract to !
aid build six miles from West Glaci
in toward Nyack. S. Birch and Sol
Great Falls, had a $128, 57O.72 CT
lar tract in 1949 to place plant mix
ner the six miles built by Union.
In 1850, Painter and Douglas, Mi
lost oula, had a $166,356 40 contract
ted to rebuild four miles across Nya
sbb, flats, and there was contract
ton building the highway from just e.
of Summit across the divide.
Since the federal highway is me
low, ly through national forest lands,
hite tire construction costs are from
eral sources, as a forest highway.