The people's voice., 1959-02-13
Continued From Page One)


farmers located in the Yellowstone
valley from Livingston to Terry have
been protesting to no avail the High.
way Departments location of Inter
state No. 10 in the bottom of that
fine agricultural valley.
They have contended that because
of right-of-w and other costs, the
lower location would be much more
expensive than the higher route along
the breaks of the Yellowstone. They
have also insisted that not only would
much valuable farm land be lost for
productive purposes upwards of 40
acres per running mile), but that
lack of immediate access to their
tracts lying on the "other side'' of
the highway would work considerable
hardship on them in conducting their
business of cultivating the soil. Pur-
chase of land cut off from the ''home
ranch'' by the department is not con-
sidered satisfactory alternative by
the farmers concerned since in many
instances their remaining acreages
would not constitute economic units
of sufficient size for profitable oper-
alton.
But the farmers" protests were
brushed aside, with all kinds and
varieties of excuses published to
justify the greater public good''
CD which would be served by plac-
ing of the super-highway in the
valley bottom rather than on the
higher, less valuable land lying to
the north of the valley.
Tuesdays Interrogation of Engi-
neer Quinnell by Committee Chairman
Truman Bradford (D-Cascade), COM
mittee members Magnus Aasheim Cd
Sheridan), H. R. Nees (D-Rosebud),
Joe Void (D-Yellowstone) and COM
mittee counsel Lee Overfelt, brought
from Quinnell:
1. That his department doesn't
er;
2. That the department hadn't made
exhaustive studies of the overall
socio-economic impact of one route
or the other on the state;
3. That, for all intents and pur-
poses, his department reached out
into thin air in concluding the north
ern (upper) route would be more
expensive than the lower route.
dept. "guesstimate" upper route,
between Billings and Livingston, $685.
$4,000; lower route, $21,450,OOO.)
4. That, "cost-wise', grazing land
along the upper route, assessed at
So to So an acre would have saved
considerable right-of-way cost when
compared with bottom land assessed
at $40 an acre.
Quinnell, defending his depart
ment's failure to run an on-the-
ground preliminary cost estimate
of the upper route, said they based
their figures on best" national
practices and procedures in arriv-
ing at the $25, ,350,OOO figure for
that route.
Further questioning of Quinnell re-
vealed that the million dollar over
pass in Billings was not considered |
a part of the cost estimate of the |
lower route because, and in spite of
his departments efforts, the Bureau
of Public Roads has yet to see fit to |
designate that overpass as part of |
Interstate system. The Laurel over
pass and the two bridges across the
Yellowstone needed to complete the
lower route, he said, were part of
the $21,450,O00 figure for that route.
(The $40 million charge order
granted on Livingston-Springdale Sec
ton, obviously, was not part of the
tion, obviously, were not part of the
estimated cost of lower route.)
Pointing out that had the depart
ment (and Highway Commission) To-
Gated the road along the upper route
there wouldn't have been the expen-
sive outlay for relocation of utility
lines, telephone lines, pipe lines, etc.,
Chairman Bradford elected from
Quinnell that he didn't know how
much relocation would cost the state.
This brought from Bradford an
other question: ''How can you tell
the southern Qower) route will
cost less than the northern route if
you don't know how much removal