COL. RICHARDSON ISSUES ANNUAL REPORT
OF WORK DY ALASKA ROAD COMMISSION ON
HIGHWAYS AND TRAILS IN THE TERRITORY
The annual report ot the Board oi
Uoad Commissioners for Alaska tor
1916 is an exhaustive one covering in
detail all of the work in the north.
The introductory statement says that
the Board of Road Commissioners for
Alaska is engaged in the construction
of wagon roads, bridges, and trails,
ami of “military and post” roads,
bridges, trails, and trails in the Ter
ritory, under the direction of the Sec
retary of War, and in conformity
with an act of Congress approved,
. January 27, 1905, and subsequent acts
amendatory thereto. T.he board was
formally organized in May 15, 1905,
and has been in continuous existence
since that date.
The road and trail mileage con
st ructed and mantained to date is in
round numbers as follows: Wagon
roads, 920 miles; winter sled road,
* 629 miles; trail. 2,210 miles. As stat
ed in a former report, the wagon
• roads may be classified as good coun
try highways, intended to meet an all
year-round traffic of considerable ton
nage. The winter sled road is an in
* • •
expensive form of construction, in
tended to meet the requirements of
V t
winter travel only in certain portions
of the winter. The trail differs from
the winter sled road only in being
narrower and with less attention
. given to grade and surface inequali
;' ties.
There has been expended upon the
work up to the close ot the fiscal yeat
1916, a total of $3,390,122.72, of
which $1,750,000 has been appropriat
ed by Congress in varying amounts,
beginning with the fiscal year ot 1907,
• and $1,625,122.72 derived from the Al
aska fund. The average total cost of
the wagon road has been $3,144 per
mile; of winter sled road. $34;> per
mile; of trail. $106 per mile. The,
above figures embrace location, con
\ struction, and maintenance and all ex
penditures by the board.
The task of building roads through
out this vast wilderness ot Alaska to
meet the rapidly growing demands
and aid in a systematic development
• of its resources can not be adequately
described by any less comprehensive
term than colossal, and our board can
not hope to make more than a begin-'
ning during the official lifetime of its
present members.
As far back as lDOS, in the annual
report of the board for that year, the
suggestion was made that the time
was approaching, it was thought,
when some local or territorial ma
chinery should be organized to take
charge of the local roads, such as. for
instance, an elective board or three
supervisors for each district or com
missioner’s precinct; and although in
the annual report of the following
vear it was stated that the develop
9
ments of the year had not given fur
ther encouragement to the adoption
of that idea, it is believed that the
subject might now be taken up with
advantage by the legislature.
There exists already an elective
commissioner provided for by the leg
islature for each judicial division*,
empowered to expend certain money
derived from sales of timber in the
forest reserves, but it would be ex
pecting far too much of those com
missioners to properly supervise local
road work throughout their divisions.
Such an organization as first men
tioned, of supervisors, elective, for
each percinct, who would receive and
account for the moneys alloted to
their precincts and supervise the ex
pendtiures therein would aid very
greatly in working out the problem as
it now exists.
In last year’s report it was stated
that while the board did not,class any
of the roads constructed as “automo
bile roads,” nor did the board feel
justified in encouraging the us? of
automobiles on them, there were,
however, over 100 motor trucks and
passenger cars so used. I’here are
now more than 250 motor trn'ks and
passenger cars useu on roaos con
structed, and a regular automobile
mail and passenger service was main
tained between Valdez and Fairbanks
during the present summer. As the
roads improve, the traffic increases
and it is expected that there will be
a large increase in automobile traffic
in the coming year.
Much damage has been done to
the roads by the use of heavy, nar
row-tired trucks, the operation of
w hich, due to the absence of appropri
ate laws, the board is powerless to
regulate. Roads recently graded,
which would prove satisfactory for
light traffic, are plowed up by heavy
trucks before surfacing is completed,
and expensive repairs became neces
sary.
The legislature was appealed to
through the governor for some suit
able law to protect the roads of the
territory, but so far no action has j
been taken. Roads constructed and
maintained by the board should be>
protected by a law similar to that
passed by Congress for the protection
of telegraph lines. (Sec. 60, approv- ■ 1
ed Mar. 4, 1909, and published in G. ;
O. 22, War Department, 1910.) i
A single instance will show the
necessity for some protective meas- '
ure. On September 14, 1916, the
superintendent at Nome reported, in
regard to a completed road that:
“This road for 500 feet was
destroyed by being worked out by
-Mining & Dredge Co. The dis
trict attorney would not give us pro
tection and l had the piece of road re
built. Inside of two weeks after it
was constructed it was destroyed
again.”
It is hoped some action may be
taken to protect roads and bridges,
etc., built by federal appropriations.
A good deal of undeserved criticism
and even abuse has been heaped up
on the board in the past and especial
ly upon its presiding officer, some of
which, at least, was due to this con
dition. One source of this criticism
is well known to the War Depart-1
ment.
in the several districts follow.
Work accomplished in this district
is included in these paragraphs:
Southwestern District
(Mr. Anton Kide, Superintendent)
Koute ID—Seward-Kenai Lake road
(14 miles).—Maintenance work by
the board on this route was confined
to the early part of the year, and in
cluded minor Yepairs to bridges, re
moving driftwood from bridges, and
repairing corduroy.
During October and November,
1<)15, $3,400 was expended on this
route by the Territorial road commis
sioner for the third judicial division,
under the iniediate supervision of Mr.
Kide. The work was done by con
%
tract, and embraced relocating on the
right of way of the government rail
road, approximately 1.8 miles of the
road between mileposts 1 and 3, and
straightening, widening, and repair
ing the old road between mileposts 3
! and 5.
In May of this year the work or
reconstructing the pile bridge over
Resurrection river was commenced.
Three 75-foot truss spans were erect
ed over the main stream, and the
, south pile trestle approach was ex
tended 200 feet. The cost of this
i work to June 30 was $2,616.10. The
bridge was completed in August at a
! total cost of approximately $4,700.
Route 12—Mile 34 A. N. R. R.-Hope
Road (31 miles road, 9 miles sled
road—The years* work on this route
was entirely maintenance, and com
prised the removal of fallen trees, re- j
pairing culverts and corduroy, and
cleaning out cuts.
Route 19.—Kern Creek-Knik Trail
(86 miles).—About 13 miles of this
trail, following the steep slopes of
the mountains along Turnagain arm,
through heavy vegetation, was seri
ously damaged during the summer of
1915 by forest fires, which destroyed
the greater part of the retaining
walls and bridges. The work of re
pair was carried on during September
ami October, 1915, at an average cost
of $178.2(> per mile for the 13 miles
covered.
Travel over this route during the
past winter was unusually heavy, ow
ing to increases in the mail service
and in the activities of the Alaskan
Engineering Commission, making
some additional work necessary to im
prove the trail and keep it free from
snowslides and dangerous ice forma
tions. This work covered 34 miles
and cost $30.41 per mile.
Koute 20A.—Knik-Susitna Trail
(30 miles).—The work done on this
route covered 15 miles and comprised
the removal of windfalls and a small
amount of grading. The total expense
for the section worked over averaged
$13.35 per mile.
Route 20B—Susitna-Rainy Pass
Trail (127 miles). — The only work
done on this route during the year
was the relocation of about 1 mile of
trail between Happy River and Rainy
Pass to eliminate several severe
grades.
Route 20C—Rainy Pass-Tacotna
Trail (130 miles).
Route - 20D—Tacotna-Kaltag T rail
(145 miles).
No work was undertaken on these
routes during the year.
Route 24 — Mile 29 A. N. R. R.
Moose Pass Road (15 miles road, 1.45
miles sled road).—The work of the
year was devoted to the improvement
of the first 15 miles of this route to
wagon road standards at a cost of
$520.76 per mile. The average unit
costs were:
Clearing and grubbing, per acre,
$150, excavation, rock per cubic yard
$1.50, corduroy, per linear foot 42
cents, culverts, each $0.
Route 32 A—Tacotna-Flat t^eek
Trail (87 miles).—No worn was done
on this route during the year.
Route 35—Knik-Willow Creek
Road (34 miles road, 1 Vs miles sled
road).—The work on this mote dur
—« ——•
WRECK WILL BE
TERMINAL OF R. R.
TO HAUL SALVAGE
EUREKA, Cal.—(Special). — The
wrecked cmiser Milwaukee, before
the sand swallows it up, will serve a
brief stretch as the terminal of a
temporary elevated railroad built out
through the surf, according to plans
made public here today when the
navy department invited contractor*
to bid on the construction of trestle
and track. Bids for the removal of
the salvage, via this surf railroad,
svill be opened in February.
Lieut H. K. Rogusch and the crew
of the wrecked submarine H-3 were
transferred recently to the cruisei*
Pueblo, on which they sailed for Mare
island, where a board of inquiry will
investigate the stranding of the sub
marine. Fifty of the Milwaukee’s
crew will also go south as witnesses
#
in the Milwaukee investigation.
FILED FOR RECORD
Deeds
L. V. Ray to Bank of Seward, lot
30 in block 8.
Butterkist popcorn for sale at the
KEY. tf
Removal sale now on at the Bazaar.
Subscribe for The Gateway.
See the Nifty
New llats
ELLSWORTH’S
i
ing the year was limited to neces
sary maintenance, includin'* cleaning
Pass to elimate several severe grades,
out ditches, constructing new culve*.~
and laying 1,167 linear feet of cordu
roy.
An expenditure of $.‘300 was made
in constructing a branch sled road,
1.5 miles long, from mile .‘12 up the
Little Susitna valley, to serve a num
ber of mines, and prospects in process
of development in the Archangel
creek valley.
BRITISH INCREASE
FLEET AT BERMUDA
TO WATCH RAIDERS
1
NEW YORK, — (Special). — Six
large submarines, four British and
two Italian, together with the 14,100
ton British armored cruiser Levi
athan, recently have been added to j
the British naval base at Bermuda, j
according to American passengers
arriving here recently on the steam- \
ship Bermudian from Bermuda. The
craft are to be used in guarding the'
western trans-Atlantic sea lanes.
—
Fresh Butterkist popcorn at the
KKY. tf
EQUITABLE
LIFE ASSURANCE SOC’TY
of the United States
B, A. GKIKR. Rki'Wkskntativk
St*ward. Alaska
FIVE PACIFIC i
LINE SCATS CN
EXCURSIONS
_
Three on Southwestern Run
Will Make Twelve
[
; Summer Trips
Five vessels will be operated in the
Alaska excursion service next sum
mer by the Pacific Steamship com
pany, according to the schedule of
sailings completed and received in
Juneau recently.
The Spokane and City of Seattle
will ply between Seattle and ports in
Southeastern Alaska, making a total
of twelve tourist voyages.
The Admiral Farragut, Admiral
Fvans and Admiral Watson will ply
between Seattle and ports in South
eastern and Southwestern Alaska,
making a total of twelve voyages and
sailing from Seattle June 4, 12, 20
and 28, July 0, 14, 22 and .",0 and
August 7, 15, 2M and Ml. The vessels
will call at Ketchikan, Wrangell,
Petersburg, Juneau and Douglas in
Southeastern Alaska, and at Yukutat,
Katalla, Cordova, Valdez, Columbia
Glacier Latouche, Seward, Seldovia
and Anchorage, Cook Inlet, in South
western Alaska.
PACIFIC STEAMSHIPCOMPANY
ADMIRAL LINE !|
SAILINGS FROM SEATTLE:
Admiral Farragut February 15th, Admiral Watson, February
25th, Admiral Evans March 2.
Sailings from Seattle to California, Mondays, Fridays and Sat
urdays—Steamers President, Governor, Queen, Admiral Schley, Ad
miral Dewey.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ROUTE—San Francisco to Lob Angeles daily «*x« l
cent Sunday. San Francisco to San Diego, Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays
Steamers Harvard, Yale, President, Governor, Admiral Schley, Admiral Dewey.
For t'uM particulars address,
_ WAYNE BLUE, Agent, Seward, Alaska.
——M——■ i — hi ■iwiim —
\ For Fur Shippers
* \ Nothing la more important to the Fur Shipper $
\ tiian doing business with an Honest—Reliable— ■
1 Responsible—Safe Fur House.
I Safety First—“Ship ToShubert”
tho largest House in the World dealing exclusively in
/ American Raw Furs, where you a tys receive an
gp/ Accurate and Liberal Aeaortment, the Highest Market ■
iJ Prices and the usual '‘Shubert” KlBcient, Speedy, Cour*
f teous aervlco.
Write for the latest edition of “Che fcfcubfft fc’bipptr" f
containing valuable Murket information you must have.
A P WIIRFRT U%r 25-27 WEST AUSTIN AVE. |
A.D.onUDLKi,Inc.Dfpt 73 chicago.us.a. 1
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Ask your grocer—1 Ih. -’>c
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»
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i:x< LI'SIVK
Paint and Wall Paper Store
Piet ire Fran : ’ t tfi
anil !»aiK*rl>an^H :
Hotel Seward
ZhindtMi Bros, Prop.
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j 1x7’. B R Y A N T
Taxidermist - Tanner - Kugmaker
25 years practical experience
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vaiurajjy and artistically
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