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Title: Third Biennial Report of the Oregon State Highway Commission
       Covering the Period December 1st, 1916 to November 30th, 1918

Author: S. Benson, W. L. Thompson, R. A. Booth, Herbert Nunn

Release Date: February 21, 2011 [EBook #35344]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OREGON STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION ***




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[2]

ON THE PACIFIC HIGHWAY IN THE SISKIYOU MOUNTAINS, JACKSON COUNTY.
MACADAMIZED IN 1917

[3]

Third Biennial Report
of the
Oregon State Highway Commission
Covering the Period December 1st, 1916
to November 30th, 1918

OREGON STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION

S. Benson, Chairman
W. L. Thompson, Commissioner; R. A. Booth, Commissioner
Herbert Nunn, State Highway Engineer

Salem, Oregon:
State Printing Department
1919

[4]

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

Salem, Oregon, December 1, 1918.

HONORABLE JAMES WITHYCOMBE,

Governor of the State of Oregon,

Dear Sir: In compliance with Section 5, Article II, Chapter 237, Laws of 1917, we have the honor to submit herewith the report of the State Highway Commission for the period December 1, 1916 to November 30, 1918.

The Commission desires at this time to express its appreciation of the courtesies and assistance rendered to it by the various state officers and county officials in the work of the past two years.

Respectfully submitted,
OREGON STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION,

S. Benson, Chairman
W. L. Thompson, Commissioner
R. A. Booth, Commissioner

Attest:

Roy A. Klein, Secretary

[5]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1. On The Pacific Highway In The Siskiyou Mountains, Jackson County. Macadamized In 1917
2. Little Jack Falls On The Columbia River Highway Between Goble And Rainier In Columbia County
3. Reinforced Concrete Bridge Over Hood River, Nearing Completion, On The Columbia River Highway At Hood River City. Built In 1918
4. Mount Ashland From The Pacific Highway In Jackson County. Elevation Of Highway 4,480 Feet
5. Reinforced Concrete Half Viaduct On The Columbia River Highway Between Goble And Rainier In Columbia County, Constructed In 1918
6. Reinforced Concrete Cribbing Near Prescott On The Columbia River Highway In Columbia County. Built In 1918
7. Automobile Road Map, Showing The Main Traveled Roads Of Oregon With Mileages. Prepared by the Oregon State Highway Department
8. State Of Oregon. System Of State Highways. Proposed By State Highway Commission, 1918
9. The Pacific Highway In Pass Creek Canyon, Douglas County. Graded And Macadamized In 1917 And 1918
10. At The Top Of Canemah Hill On The Pacific Highway In Clackamas County. Graded And Paved In 1918
11. Bituminous Pavement On The Pacific Highway South Of Oregon City In Clackamas County. Graded And Paved In 1918
12. Bituminous Paving Near Svenson In Clatsop County On The Columbia River Highway. Paved In 1917
13. Covered Wood Drawbridge On The Columbia River Highway In Clatsop County, Over The John Day River East Of Astoria. Built In 1918. Lift Span—40 Feet
14. On The Columbia River Highway Near Goble In Columbia County. Graded And Macadamized In 1917 And 1918
15. One Of Nine Reinforced Concrete Bridges In The Beaver Creek Valley, Columbia County, On The Columbia River Highway Between Rainier And Clatskanie. All Built In 1917 And 1918
16. Bridge On Pass Creek—20 Ft. Span. On Pacific Highway Near Comstock In Douglas County
17. Along The Umpqua River North Of Myrtle Creek In Douglas County. Graded In 1917 And 1918
18. Van Tyne Creek Viaduct North Of Myrtle Creek In Douglas County. Built In 1918
19. The John Day River Highway South Of Condon In Gilliam County Macadamized In 1917
20. The Columbia River Highway West Of Lindsay In Hood River County
21. The Columbia River Highway Near Viento In Hood River County. Graded And Graveled In 1917 And 1918
22. On The Columbia River Highway In Hood River County Two Miles East Of Cascade Locks. Graded And Graveled In 1917 And 1918
23. Heavy Grading On Ruthton Hill In Hood River County. Constructed In 1917 And 1918
24. Concrete Pavement On Ashland Hill In Jackson County, On The Pacific Highway North Of Ashland. Graded And Paved In 1918
25. On The Pacific Highway South Of Wolf Creek In Josephine County. Constructed In 1917 And 1918
26. On The Wolf Creek-Grave Creek Section Of The Pacific Highway In Josephine County. Graded In 1918
27. On The Wolf Creek-Grave Creek Section Of The Pacific Highway In Josephine County. Graded In 1918
28. Intercounty Bridge Over The Willamette At Salem. Built By Marion And Polk Counties In 1917 And 1918. Cost $250,000.00. Total Length 2,220 Feet.
29. On The Paved Road Between Pendleton And Adams In Umatilla County. Paved In 1917
30. A Survey Camp In Eastern Oregon
31. Covered Wood Bridge Over The Tualatin River On The West Side Highway In Washington County. Built In 1918
32. State Owned Paving Plant In Operation Near Sheridan In Yamhill County. On The Yamhill Nestucca Highway

[7]

Third Biennial Report
of the
State Highway Commission
of the
State of Oregon
1917-1918

The law establishing this Commission was approved by Governor Withycombe on February 19, 1917 and on March 1 the following appointments were made: S. Benson, Portland, for the three-year period; W. L. Thompson, Pendleton, two-year period; E. J. Adams, Eugene, one-year period. The first meeting was held on March 6, 1917, when this Commission was organized and S. Benson elected Chairman and G. Ed Ross, Secretary.

The former Commission, consisting of James Withycombe, Governor, Ben W. Olcott, Secretary of State, and Thos. B. Kay, State Treasurer, held meetings on December 15, 1916 and January 15, 1917 and on the qualification of the members of the new commission, as provided in Section 14, Article II, Chapter 237, Laws of 1917, transferred all records, maps, equipment and property in its possession. The former Commission, in view of proposed legislation providing for a new highway code, made no appropriations nor were policies outlined, so that when the new Commission entered upon its duties, it was not embarrassed by policies made by its predecessors.

At a meeting on April 10, 1917, Herbert Nunn was appointed State Highway Engineer. On April 1, 1918, Robert A. Booth, of Eugene, was appointed by Governor Withycombe to succeed E. J. Adams. On August 6, 1918, Roy A. Klein was appointed Secretary to succeed G. Ed Ross, resigned.

The Commission has held fifty-one meetings for the transaction of its business. The State highway system as outlined in the law has been adopted and the work of the biennium confined to the various units of this system. Specifications covering hard surface pavement have been prepared by the State Highway Engineer and adopted by the Commission, as well as specifications for grading and bridge construction which have been acceptable to the United States Office of Public Roads and are used on all Federal Aid Projects in the State.

Surveys have been made on State highway routes to determine the best and most economical location, at the request of the counties, and also several important bridges have been designed and constructed under the supervision of the Department. Engineers have been furnished at State expense to supervise construction work being done by the counties on State highways in several instances.

[8]The program for 1917 depending upon the passage of the $6,000,000.00 Bonding Act, the working season remaining after ratification by the voters was short, but engineering parties were sent out and the first contract under this act was let on June 30, 1917. All except the smaller contracts entered into were carried over into the 1918 working season. No new paving or grading contracts of any magnitude have been awarded this year due to the rising costs of material and scarcity of labor.

There was early seen the necessity of conserving labor and capital in the national emergency and for that reason the Commission has been unable to give aid to many meritorious projects submitted by various sections of the State. At a meeting held on June 25, the Commission went on record, as a war measure, to devote its resources to the completion of the two trunk line highways, the Columbia River Highway and the Pacific Highway, completing projects under construction, temporary surfacing to keep trunk highways open or roads to develop resources which are an aid in the prosecution of the war. Notwithstanding the mandatory nature of the State law which created the Commission and provides funds for work under it, the Commission believes this course was warranted and that its action will be supported.

Due to the uncertainty of materials, supplies, labor conditions, etc., contractors have been unable to make satisfactory bids and on several occasions no satisfactory bids being received, the Commission undertook to do the work by day labor, in each case effecting a saving under the low bid.

In a few cases, either no bids being received or the ones received being considered excessive, work has been let on the cost plus basis with definite cost limit set, beyond which no percentage would be paid. Three of these force account jobs have later been taken over by the Commission, as it was felt that the work could be handled more economically with its own forces.

To determine the legality of the State and Federal co-operative bonds for co-operation on post and forest roads, a friendly suit was brought in the Supreme Court which was decided favorable to the issue.

The interpretation placed on the Federal Aid Road Law by the Secretary of Agriculture requiring actual carriage of the mails or a reasonable prospect before approving as eligible for Federal co-operation eliminated from the classification practically all of the Columbia River Highway and especially links in the Pacific Highway in Douglas county on which it was desired to receive Federal aid.

Under the post road law seventeen projects have been agreed upon, and to date ten have been approved, three disapproved, two pending and two in preparation. Construction work has been started on two of these projects. Under the forest road law fourteen projects have been approved. Construction has been started on four of these projects. Several will carry over into the 1920 program.

A railroad asphalt paving plant was purchased but not used during the 1918 season, since no bituminous pavements were constructed, under new contracts, in that period. Three concrete pavers are owned by the Commission, as well as three road rollers, four rock crushers, and six auto trucks, besides considerable grading construction equipment. A large part of this equipment has been in use this season and not only has saved the cost of rented equipment but has been available at times when it was impossible to get the same elsewhere.

[9]A total of seventy-one projects have been advertised as follows. It will be noted that the number of proposals exceeds the number of bidders which may be explained by the fact that on paving work bidders have made proposals on more than one type of pavement.

Under the provisions of the Six Million Dollar Bonding Act, bonds to the amount of $2,190,000.00 par value have been sold. These bonds bear four per cent interest and mature in from five to twenty-five years from date of issue. An average of six proposals were made for each issue.

Under the provisions of Chapter 175 of the Laws of 1917, (Bean-Barrett) bonds to meet Federal co-operation are authorized. Four hundred thousand dollars par value of these bonds were sold August 18, 1918 by the Board of Control to the highest bidder, Clark-Kendall & Co., whose proposal was $381,160.00. These bonds are four per cent and mature in from four to eight years.

The work accomplished during the biennium may be summed up as follows:

50 miles of hard surface.
111.8 miles of broken stone or gravel surface.
134.5 miles of graded roadbed.
40 bridges.

With the close of the war and the prospect of declining prices of material and a more plentiful supply of labor, the Commission looks forward to 1919 as a year in which a great deal can be accomplished and at this date a tentative program has been prepared providing for improvement of the State Highways in every county of the State.

The report of the State Highway Engineer to the Commission is hereto appended, showing in detail the work accomplished and the expenditures during the biennium.

[11]

FINANCIAL STATEMENT OREGON STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION

STATEMENT FOR THE BIENNIUM ENDING NOVEMBER 30, 1918

SUMMARY

[12]

LITTLE JACK FALLS ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER HIGHWAY BETWEEN GOBLE AND
RAINIER IN COLUMBIA COUNTY

[13]

Report of the
State Highway Engineer
to the
State Highway Commission
of the
State of Oregon
1917-1918

Herbert Nunn, State Highway Engineer

[14]

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

Salem, Oregon, December 18, 1918.

TO THE HONORABLE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION,

S. BENSON, Chairman,
W. L. THOMPSON, Commissioner,
R. A. BOOTH, Commissioner.

Gentlemen:

I have the honor to submit report covering the operations of the Highway Department for the fiscal years ending November 30, 1917, and November 30, 1918.

In view of the fact that the State Highway Department did not complete its organization until late in the season of 1917 and due to the further fact that practically all contracts were awarded after the first day of July, 1917, it was impossible to place before the State Highway Commission a report which would be of any particular value to the general public at the end of the last fiscal year. Therefore, it has been decided to submit the two fiscal years under one cover in order that the public may have at its command a statement of public highway expenditures and the accomplishments of the State Highway Department under the supervision of the State Highway Commission.

It was considered advisable by the Highway Commission to award contracts and get work under way as early in 1917 as the necessarily late organization of the Department would permit. The matter of preparing estimates and calling for bids was therefore carried out as rapidly as possible, using the data and surveys of the previous administration as a basis for estimates.

It is believed that by awarding the contracts during the year 1917, approximately twenty per cent was saved on all construction for the reason that the shortage in labor and material did not become serious in the State of Oregon until late in that season.

I wish to call the attention of the Commission to the law which requires the State Highway Commission to make county surveys upon the State highway system within the boundaries of any county making application. I believe the law to be a good one, inasmuch as it furnishes free to counties engineering skill which they cannot afford and places at their command an organization which is in a position to carry out preliminary location and estimates. The law states that this work shall be charged to the counties under any future appropriation which may be made to them.

The law limiting the expenditures of the State Highway Department for engineering and administrative purposes to ten per cent of the total moneys appropriated for construction, is sufficient for all purposes of the State Highway Department, as an examination of the tabulated report will show. However, as there are no separate funds set aside for the county work as above noted, it has been necessary for this Department to charge in all such work against our own engineering forces, and when I state to you that the total sum for strictly county work, as requested by the county courts, amounts to $137,954.74 in two years, you will see that the Department is carrying a rather heavy burden which in reality does not belong to it. So far the Department has been able to carry the burden and still live within the ten per cent, but at any time the counties increase their construction and engineering work and request our supervision, this might exceed the[15] lawful limit which we are allowed. I recommend that this law be made clearer and that certain funds be set aside for engineering work handled by the State Highway Department for counties.

In order to anticipate the large amount of construction for 1919, the State Highway Department has worked a rather large engineering force throughout the summer of 1918 and will continue it through the winter of 1918 and 1919. This preliminary work is absolutely necessary in order to award contracts early in the spring of 1919. The Federal Government requires very carefully prepared plans and estimates for all future Government work and this has been anticipated also, and practically every project has been completed as to engineering features and submitted to the Federal Government for approval.

Respectfully submitted,

HERBERT NUNN,
State Highway Engineer.

[17]

Report of the
State Highway Engineer
To the
Oregon State Highway Commission
December 1, 1916, to November 30, 1918

WORK ACCOMPLISHED

During the two-year period covered by this report, conditions have been unusually unfavorable for highway construction work. Labor and materials of all kinds have been difficult to secure, wages and prices have been very high, transportation facilities have been inadequate and many other conditions have operated to interfere with highway construction. During the last year public sentiment has been opposed to the prosecution of construction work and the restrictions imposed by the Federal Government have prevented the undertaking of any extensive program of road improvement. For these reasons the Highway Department has not handled nearly the amount of work that it would have handled under normal conditions, but nevertheless a great stride has been made in the development of Oregon’s good roads system, and the Department feels that a fairly good showing has been made. The actual construction work undertaken and completed during the two years consists of fifty miles of paving, one hundred and eleven and eight-tenths miles of macadamizing, one hundred and thirty-four and five-tenths miles of grading and forty bridges and large culverts.

In addition to this actual construction work the Department has made surveys of nine hundred and two miles of State roads and has prepared designs for forty-two bridges for county authorities.

MONEYS AVAILABLE AND EXPENDED

From December 1, 1916, to November 30, 1918, the State Highway Department has had available for expenditure a total of $4,271,515.16 of State and County funds. Of this amount $3,597,982.47 has been expended. These amounts distributed over funds are as follows:

[18]

PAVING

A total of fifty miles of pavement was completed by the Department during the 1917 and 1918 seasons. Had it not been for the entrance of the United States into the war, this mileage would have been more than doubled, but with need of paving materials, labor and capital for war uses, the Commission felt that it must curtail its paving program to the greatest possible extent. To this end, only three miles of pavement was started during the 1918 season, whereas under normal conditions the mileage of new work would have been greatly in excess of the forty-seven miles undertaken in 1917.

The sections of pavement completed are as follows:

All of the above pavements are sixteen feet in width, and despite the fact that the prices of material and labor increased greatly during the period between the inauguration of the six million dollar paving program and the actual commencement of work, the cost of these paved roads has been only slightly in excess of $1,000.00 per mile per foot width contemplated at the time the six million dollar bond issue was voted. The actual cost of the fifty miles of completed pavement was approximately $872,500.00 which gives a unit cost of $1,090.00 per mile per foot width.

Each of the sections paved is described in full in an article under the heading of the particular county in which it is located.

MACADAMIZING

One hundred and twelve miles of State roads have been surfaced with broken stone and gravel macadam. Practically all of this surfacing is sixteen feet wide; there are, however, a few short stretches of nine-foot width necessitated by the coming on of wet weather before the full sixteen-foot width could be completed. The total quantity of broken stone and gravel placed in these 112 miles of surface was 247,925 cubic yards, an average of 2,210 cubic yards per mile, which quantity of material per mile gives an average loose thickness of eight and one-half inches for macadam sixteen feet wide. The Department’s specifications call for a minimum thickness of six inches. In many places, however, particularly on the lower Columbia River work it was found necessary to place as much as eighteen and twenty-four inches of rock before a satisfactory foundation could be secured.

[19]The sections upon which broken stone or gravel surfacing was placed are as follows:

A complete description of each of the above sections will be found in the chapter devoted to the county in which the work was performed.

GRADING

The grading work of the Highway Department is confined to the building of those sections of State roads which are so located that the counties in which they occur are not directly interested in their construction or which are so expensive that county funds are inadequate for their construction. The total number of miles graded during the last two-year period was 134.5 miles, most of which was on the Pacific and Columbia River highways.

While the grading work was greatly curtailed during 1918 on account of war conditions, work was continued in those localities where resident labor was available and where the work interfered in no way with more essential war industries.

A complete tabulation of the grading jobs is given elsewhere in this report, and a detailed outline of each is given under the respective county headings. A few of the more important grading jobs are as follows:

BRIDGES

The State Highway Department has, during the period covered by this report, prepared designs for ninety-six bridges and fourteen special culverts. Of these structures sixty bridges and ten culverts have been constructed at a total cost to State and Counties of $617,388.09.

The structures paid for out of State funds consist of twenty-two reinforced concrete bridges, ten wood bridges, and seven culverts. The total expenditure of State funds for these bridges and culverts was $239,044.85.

[20]

REINFORCED CONCRETE BRIDGE OVER HOOD RIVER, NEARING COMPLETION, ON THE
COLUMBIA RIVER HIGHWAY AT HOOD RIVER CITY. BUILT IN 1918.

[21]The structures paid for out of county funds consist of thirteen reinforced concrete bridges, fourteen wood and steel bridges, and four culverts; the total cost of these structures being $378,343.24.

Of the structures paid for by the counties, the State Highway Department supervised the construction for three reinforced concrete bridges, four steel and wood bridges, and one culvert; the cost of which totaled $288,743.24.

A complete tabulation of the bridges designed and constructed is given in another part of this report, and complete descriptions of the more important structures will be found in the articles devoted to the particular counties in which the structures are located.

The $250,000.00 intercounty bridge across the Willamette River at Salem was completed, and has attracted more than local attention. While the cost of this structure was borne by Marion and Polk Counties the design and construction engineering were handled by this Department.

The reinforced concrete arch bridge at Hood River, the largest concrete bridge yet constructed in this State was designed and built under State supervision, although the County also contributed toward its cost.

Among the proposed bridges of considerable magnitude for which county officials have requested designs from this Department may be mentioned the Deschutes and Oregon City. The former will be located between the present toll bridge and the railroad bridge across the Deschutes River and will thus obviate the necessity of toll payments. It will consist of a series of reinforced concrete arches. The Oregon City bridge will replace the old suspension bridge across the Willamette. Studies are being made and comparisons of various types of bridges and locations of site are being made.

During the war period, both for patriotic and economic reasons the employment of steel bridges was discontinued and wooden truss bridges used instead. Now that the demand for steel for war purposes has subsided, and there are indications of a decline in the price of structural steel in the near future, the resumption of use of that material in the construction of bridges will probably be more general.

ELIMINATION OF GRADE CROSSINGS

The Department is working consistently for the elimination of dangerous grade crossings. No less than ten grade crossings have been done away with as far as through traffic on State Roads is concerned, during the past two years. Most of these eliminations have been brought about by holding roads on the same side of railway tracks instead of crossing over and back. Two of the eliminations, however, were brought about by grade separations; one near Rex in Washington County and another near Ashland in Jackson County, both of these grade separations being undercrossings.

An agreement was also reached whereby a reinforced concrete overhead crossing will be constructed to eliminate a very dangerous grade crossing on the Pacific Highway near Divide, in Lane County. This structure would have been built in 1918, but on account of the requirements of material for war purposes, the United States Highway Council ordered the construction delayed. It will undoubtedly be constructed during the 1919 season.

FEDERAL CO-OPERATION

[22]In 1916, the United States Congress enacted a law making available $85,000,000.00 of Federal Government moneys for co-operation with the several States in the construction and improvement of roads. Of this amount, $75,000,000.00 is appropriated for co-operation on “Post Roads,” roads over which either rural or star post routes are operated, and $10,000,000.00 is appropriated for co-operation on “Forest Roads,” roads within or partly within National Forests.

During the five year period prior to July 1, 1921, there will become available to the State of Oregon from the Government Funds set aside by this Act the following amounts:

Total amount of government funds apportioned to the State of Oregon for co-operative work. $1,819,280.00.

With the funds thus apportioned to the State, the Government will co-operate on approved road projects to not to exceed fifty per cent of their cost. Therefore, the State, or the State co-operating with the Counties, must provide amounts at least equal to the amounts set aside by the Federal Government in order to avail itself of the funds apportioned to it.

In 1917, the State Legislature passed a bill accepting the terms of the Federal Government’s co-operative offer and authorizing the issue of bonds to the amount of $1,819,280.00 to provide the funds necessary to match the Government funds. There is thus available for expenditure on post and forest roads in the State during the five years prior to July 1, 1921, the following amounts:

For Post Road Projects the plans are prepared, contracts let and work supervised by the State Highway Department, subject, of course, to approval and acceptance by the Secretary of Agriculture through the Federal Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering. For Forest Road Projects, the plans are prepared, contracts let and work supervised by the Federal Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering acting for the Secretary of Agriculture. The State Highway Department is, therefore, directly responsible for the work done on Post Road Projects, whereas on Forest Road Projects the responsibility rests with the Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering,[23] the State Highway Department simply approving the projects and auditing the claims presented by the Federal Government against the State’s share of the funds.

It is the policy of the Highway Department to match the Government Funds with equal amounts from State Funds only, any County Funds which may be available being used to increase the total amounts available rather than to reduce the amount of State co-operation. On projects approved to November 30, 1918, the amount of these additional funds provided by counties is approximately $325,000.00.

POST ROAD PROJECTS

Up to November 30, 1918, fifteen Post Road Projects had been submitted to the Office of Public Roads for approval. Of these fifteen projects nine have received approval, three have been rejected as not complying with the government requirements as regards rural and star route mail service over them, and three are pending action by the Secretary of Agriculture. The rejected projects were the Wolf Creek-Grave Creek project in Josephine county, the Canyonville-Galesville project in Douglas County, and the Myrtle Creek-Dillard project also in Douglas County. The first and third of these projects have since been constructed without government co-operation, and the second is under construction as a “Forest Road.”

Construction is now under way on two Post Road Projects both of which are in Union County. These are the Elgin-Minam project, estimated to cost $41,151.00, and the Union-Telocaset project, estimated to cost $30,000.00. The contracts for the construction of both jobs were let on July 9, 1918, to Union County, represented by the County Court, the lowest bidder. Subsequent to the letting, however, the Attorney General gave the opinion that the County Court had no legal authority to enter into a contract of this nature, and in order to facilitate matters and prevent delay in construction the State Highway Commission on September 10, 1918, agreed to take the work over at the prices bid by the County, the County agreeing to reimburse the State in case the cost of the work exceeded the bid prices.

The total estimated cost of all projects agreed upon to date is $1,409,993.24 of which $627,496.62 is to be paid by the Federal Government, $627,496.62 by the State, and $155,000.00 by the Counties interested. On page 24 is given a tabulation of the Post Road Projects approved, giving the estimated cost of each project with the respective amounts to be paid by the State, the Federal Government and the Counties.

FOREST ROAD PROJECTS

The Federal authorities and the State Highway Commission have to date agreed upon co-operation on fourteen Forest Road Projects. The total estimated cost of these fourteen projects is $1,246,204.65; $538,231.78 to be provided by the Government, $538,231.78 by the State, and $169,741.09 by the Counties.

Construction is already under way on three of the Forest Projects, namely: the Canyonville-Galesville section of the Pacific Highway in Douglas County, the Three Rivers Project in Tillamook County, and the Ochoco Canyon Project in Crook County.

[24]

POST ROAD PROJECTS
PROJECTS AGREED UPON TO NOVEMBER 30, 1918

[25]The Canyonville-Galesville section is what is generally known as Cow Creek Canyon, one of the worst stretches on the Pacific Highway. This section is 9.7 miles in length, and is to be graded sixteen feet wide; the estimated total cost being $211,000.00. The work is under contract to John Hampshire & Co., of Grants Pass.

The Three Rivers Project is 10.35 miles in length and lies between Hebo and Dolph on the Portland-Tillamook Highway in Tillamook County. The County of Tillamook, represented by its County Court was the low bidder on this work, but before the contract was entered into, the Attorney General ruled that the County Court had no authority to contract work of this kind. The State Highway Department having available the necessary equipment and desiring to get this important piece of road work under way, agreed with the Federal Government to take the work over at the prices bid by Tillamook County.

A tabulation of Forest Road Projects approved to date and giving the estimated cost and amounts of County, State and Government Funds is given below.

FOREST ROAD PROJECTS
PROJECTS APPROVED TO NOVEMBER 30, 1918

[26]

MOUNT ASHLAND FROM THE PACIFIC HIGHWAY IN JACKSON COUNTY.
ELEVATION OF HIGHWAY 4,480 FEET

[27]

THE PACIFIC HIGHWAY

The Pacific Highway running from Portland, through Oregon City, Salem, Albany, Eugene, Roseburg, Grants Pass, Medford and Ashland to the California line, is probably the most important through highway in the State. Along it are situated nine of the most important cities of the State. It traverses the immensely productive valleys of the Willamette, the Umpqua and the Rogue Rivers. It is the intercommunicating road for nine of the thirty-five counties of the State, and passes through the county seats of all but one of the nine. It is the only continuous and direct road along the Pacific Coast west of the Cascade Mountains, and connecting as it does the metropoli of the three Pacific Coast States it is the most important interstate highway in the West. From the standpoint of the tourist, Oregon would not be on the map if it had no Pacific Highway. It is the road that makes Oregon accessible to tourists from other states.

Being the most important highway in the State, the Pacific Highway should be the best highway in the State. To make it the best and at the same time to bring it up to the standard of the same highway in the adjacent states of Washington and California is one of the ends toward which the Highway Commission has been working during the past two years. During that time 53.3 miles of the very worst stretches of this highway have been newly graded to trunk highway standards. This grading has eliminated practically all of those heavy and dangerous grades which have made Oregon notorious for bad roads and which have kept thousands of auto tourists from visiting the State. In addition to grading 53.3 miles on the Pacific Highway, the Highway Commission has put down 8.3 miles of pavement and 14.5 miles of macadam, the total cost of all of these improvements being $971,000.00. As a part of the 1919 program, the Highway Commission has already appropriated for the improvement of the Pacific Highway the sum of $1,147,000.00, with which it is planned to build 46 miles of pavement and 38 miles of macadam surface.

The particular sections of the Pacific Highway constructed during 1917 and 1918, together with their mileages and total costs are given below. All of these sections are completed with the exception of the Canyonville-Galesville Forest Road Project which is well under way.

[28]

THE COLUMBIA RIVER HIGHWAY

The Columbia River Highway is second only to the Pacific Highway as a commercial necessity in the state of Oregon; furthermore, the Columbia River Highway is the only connecting link between Eastern and Western Oregon that can be kept open for vehicular traffic throughout the entire year.

From a scenic standpoint, the Columbia River Highway has now become world famous, not only because of its wonderful natural advantages of location, but because of the high standard of construction. A large part of this combined commercial and scenic road is now open to traffic and the coming year will see the elimination of the last almost impassable barrier—the summit between Hood River and Mosier, a piece of construction 5.8 miles in length which will cost approximately $350,000 for the grading alone.

The Columbia River Highway parallels the Columbia River from the Pacific Ocean to Umatilla, a distance of 320 miles, thence southeast an additional 40 miles to Pendleton, where it connects with the Old Oregon Trail. The Old Oregon Trail continues southeast for a distance of 190 miles, crossing the Idaho-Oregon line at Huntington; making a continuous highway 550 miles in length.

At this date, the grading of the Columbia River Highway is practically complete from Astoria to Hood River, a total distance of 174 miles, and the greater part of it is now either paved or macadamized.

The cost of work completed on the Columbia River Highway between Astoria and Portland during the period covered by this report, after all payments are made will be approximately $866,000.00, of which amount $832,078.35 has been expended to date. The work accomplished consists of 9.4 miles of grading, 51.6 miles of macadamizing, 6 miles of paving, 15 reinforced concrete bridges and one covered wood draw bridge.

On the upper Columbia River Highway between Hood River and Cascade Locks, 14.2 miles have been graded, 18 miles gravelled, and a number of reinforced concrete bridges built, among which is the Hood River bridge at Hood River, costing $48,000.00. The total cost of the work completed between Hood River and Cascade Locks will amount to $466,000.00.

The sections improved during this period, with their mileages and costs are as follows:

[29]During 1919, work will be undertaken on the Columbia River Highway to the amount of $1,400,000.00, comprising 10 miles of pavement, 85 miles of gravel macadam and 80 miles of grading. This work when completed will provide a surfaced highway between Astoria and Pendleton.

COUNTY WORK SUPERVISED BY THE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT

That the Counties of the State have confidence in the Highway Department and recognize the ability of the Department to get results is evidenced by the fact that $709,724.79 of county funds have been voluntarily turned over to the Department during 1917 and 1918 to be expended under its supervision.

This, $709,724.79, is the actual amount of money paid out by Counties on vouchers audited and approved by the Department. In addition to this a large amount of work has been done by Counties under the supervision of the Department, for which payment was made direct by the Counties without being audited by the Highway Department. No record of the total amount thus expended is available, but it is estimated to be about $200,000.00. No part of this amount is included in any of the tabulations of expenditures given in this report. The cost of engineering and supervision of work handled in this manner, has been paid by the Highway Department and is included in Table VI of the Financial Report as “Engineering County Construction.”

For co-operation on Post and Forest Road Projects, a total of $325,000.00 of County Funds have already been pledged. Of this amount $155,000.00 will be expended under State supervision, and $170,000.00 under Federal Government supervision.

CONSTRUCTION WORK BY STATE FORCES

While the major part of the work supervised by the State Highway Department is handled under the contract system, it has been found to be good business for the Department to go into competition with contractors and where satisfactory bids are not received to proceed to handle the work with State forces.

During 1917 and 1918, the Department handled in this manner the construction of 45.5 miles of macadam surfacing, 3.0 miles of concrete paving, and 27.3 miles of grading.

Although war conditions prevailed during the past year and every possible obstacle had to be surmounted, the work done with State forces made a creditable showing when compared with cost plus and contract jobs. Especially is this true of paving work where a comparison of costs with bid prices show a very substantial saving to the State, as illustrated by the following table:

[30]Highway construction by the State Highway Department with its own forces has its limitation, however, in spite of the fact that it is often possible to do work at less cost than by contract. The Oregon State Highway Department is by law and of necessity an engineering organization and, in order to have the best success in handling construction work, it is necessary to have a distinct organization.

In the hiring of men for handling such construction, it is necessary for the State to compete with contractors for the higher priced and more experienced men, and the contractor is often in a position to offer more salary than the State. Furthermore, it is necessary for the State to carry large quantities of expensive equipment which is idle at least a part of the year, and, in fact, the amount of equipment necessary to handle all of the State work by force account would represent too large a portion of the year’s available money for road work.

In handling its construction work direct, however, the Department has the advantage of not being required to make a profit on the work, neither has it to pay interest on the necessary moneys to carry payrolls and other incidentals, neither is there any loss in retained percentage. The State does not have to carry a construction bond and, in fact, there are many reasons why a state should handle its construction direct, cheaper than by contract.

There is much to be said on both sides of the question, but the Department at this time does not believe that it is justified in attempting to handle all of the State work, believing that only under certain conditions where the State does not receive reasonable bids the work should be handled direct.

The State Highway Department has many large construction jobs under contract at one time, and it is obvious, even to the layman, that an organization to handle all of this work with State forces is impossible under the present laws of the State of Oregon, and the Department recommends that force account be limited to such cases as are mentioned above and work for which the quantities and cost can not be closely estimated in advance of construction, such as maintenance work and light grading.

STATE HIGHWAY FUNDS

The funds at the disposal of the Highway Department are divided as follows:

The State Highway Fund provides for one-quarter mill tax on the assessed valuation of the State. This fund amounted to $219,690.98 in 1917; $232,151.39 in 1918 and in 1919 will equal $246,883.47. The money available in this fund provides a sufficient sum for the salaries and expenses of the State Highway Department, and the cost of maintaining State highways which have been constructed or improved. It is provided also, that with the proceeds of this fund, the Commission may enter into co-operative agreements with any County for the survey, construction, improvement or maintenance of any State highway upon such basis or contribution as may be agreed upon. The Bridge Department is maintained out of this fund and furnishes designs for structures desired by the counties.

The Automobile License Fund. Under the provision of Section 12, Chapter 423, Laws of 1917, the Secretary of State is directed to transfer to an account under the jurisdiction of the State Highway Commission, the receipts from the automobile license fees, less the cost of administration.[31] The law provides that these funds be transferred on April 1 and October 1 of each year. The 1918 receipts from this fund were $425,000.00 and with the rapid increase of the number of automobiles, it is expected that this amount will be increased from year to year. The fund provides for the payment of principal and interest, as the same shall become due, on the bonded indebtedness of the State of Oregon, contracted for road purposes under the provisions of the Six Million Dollar Bonding Act and the State and Federal Road Bonding Act. The unexpended balance may be expended on such State highway projects as the Commission approves.

This fund is also used for co-operative work in counties where the Six Million Dollar Fund may not be used and on State Highways not eligible for improvement under the Post and Forest Road Acts.

The Six Million Dollar Road Bond Fund provides for the issuance of six million dollars in bonds during the next five years. It provides for the sale of one million dollars in bonds in 1917; two million dollars in 1918, and the balance as the Commission may think advisable. The primary purpose of this act was to provide paving on the main highways of the State, contingent upon the counties preparing the road bed according to the plans of the State Highway Engineer.

It also provides funds for the grading of the road bed on the Columbia River Highway in Clatsop, Columbia and Hood River Counties and on the Pacific Highway in Jackson County.

At this date a total of $2,190,000 par value of bonds have been sold.

State and Federal Co-operative Road Bonds. Under the Federal Aid Road Act there is provided for expenditure by the Federal Government during the next five years, $1,180,310.85 for the construction of Post Roads in the State of Oregon and there is also available during the same period the sum of $638,970.00 for the construction of highways within or partly within the National Forests of the State. The purpose of this Act is to meet Federal Aid in an equal amount and under this provision a total of $1,819,280.85 in bonds is authorized to be issued by the Board of Control and placed in a special fund to be used in carrying out the provisions of this Act. A total of $400,000.00 par value of these bonds have been sold.

EQUIPMENT

The State Highway Department owns construction and hauling equipment to the approximate value of $100,000.00. This equipment is too varied and extensive to be shown in detail in this report. However, it includes six heavy auto trucks, two light auto trucks, twenty-two touring cars, three concrete mixers, two gasoline locomotives, three road rollers, one Brown hoist, one asphalt paving plant, three rock crushers and an extensive supply of camp equipment, small tools, drills, steel, pipe, etc.

Most of this equipment is in fine working condition and adaptable to general highway work and has been used during the past year. However, we have on hand a certain amount of machinery which was bought for special purposes in former years, and while it has no doubt made a saving sufficient to justify its original cost, the Department has no more use for it and it would be advantageous to the Department if this equipment could be disposed of and the money invested in more necessary machinery. Under present conditions, the State law makes it necessary to return any money from the sale of materials, supplies or equipment into the General Fund of[32] the State, and it is impossible to get this money back into highway funds without a special act of the Legislature. Despite this fact, however, some equipment was disposed of during the past year and the money turned into the General Fund.

If the State Highway Department is to proceed with any considerable amount of work with State forces, it will be necessary to purchase some additional equipment so that the work may be prosecuted more economically, especially is this true of concrete bridge work and general maintenance work. These are special types of work and special types of equipment are necessary to handle them properly.

During the past year a great amount of equipment has been rented from private contractors and in case of short jobs and on special types of work, this is economical, but on long jobs, it is much more economical to purchase the necessary machinery as the amount paid out in rentals for a period of six or eight months is a considerable portion of the purchase price.

During the past season a warehouse was built by the Department for the purpose of housing construction equipment. This warehouse is located on State property near the Penitentiary. It is 40 by 80 feet in size and has railroad facilities.

All idle equipment and left over material is shipped to Salem, for storage, at the close of the season. There the equipment is overhauled, repaired, repainted, and placed in readiness for the next season’s work. The warehouse was built by the Department with day labor.

It will probably be advisable during the coming year to erect two more units to the warehouse to take care of a larger amount of equipment and provide for repair shop and garage.

A garage was rented at 660 North Capitol Street, Salem, and an efficient automobile mechanic was placed in charge. By this means the automobiles of the Department are kept in good repair, oiled and tires vulcanized. Facilities are provided also for overhauling and repainting, which effects a considerable saving.

OFFICE ORGANIZATION

The work handled in the offices of the State Highway Department is of four classes, each requiring specialized training, and, in a way, of little or no relation to each other. For this reason, the office organization consists of four different offices or departments: the General Office, the Auditing Department, the Office Engineering Department and the Bridge Department. The work of these departments is outlined in the following paragraphs.

General Office.—All business of the Highway Commission and all business of the Department with the public is transacted through the General Office. Under the direction of the Secretary of the Commission and the First Assistant Engineer, this office handles all correspondence, the issuance of bonds, the execution of contracts, the purchase of supplies and equipment, and all general office detail.

The seal of the State Highway Commission and the minutes of the Commission meetings are in the custody of the Secretary. All mail is received and distributed through the Secretary’s office, and in it filed all correspondence, legal documents, etc. This office also keeps a record of all State equipment and takes care of the charging out of rental and depreciation on same.

[33]The purchase of office, engineering and construction supplies and equipment is handled by this department and a considerable saving is realized by buying in quantities. On all stock supplies, each job is charged with the amount furnished and similarly rental on our own engineering instruments and automobiles is charged, so that the cost of each job may be determined. On construction projects which are furnished with our own trucks, road rollers, etc., each piece of equipment is rented out to the job in the same manner. A record is kept of the rental charged on each piece of equipment so that its value can be determined at any time.

Auditing Department.—This department, working under the supervision of the Auditor, handles all claims against the Commission, verifies each one, prepares the vouchers to cover, sends them out to claimants to be certified, and mails out the warrants when received from the Secretary of State. All vouchers drawn from the counties for co-operative work or projects over which the Commission has supervision, are also audited in this department. In 1917 there were 1,782 State vouchers passed, aggregating a total of $682,321.98; in 1918, 3,371 were passed, aggregating $2,205,935.70. In 1917 there were 544 County vouchers totaling $270,162.37, and in 1918, 410 vouchers totaling $439,562.79. A total of all such vouchers for the biennium aggregating $3,597,982.84.

Employes of the Commission are paid by payroll warrants drawn in favor of the State Highway Engineer and bank checks issued against the same. The total number of paychecks issued in 1917 was 2,771, and in 1918 there was a total of 7,350.

It will be noted that in the past two years the Commission has done considerable work by day labor and the above statement includes all direct employes. It is desirable to expedite payment of labor claims, especially to men who quit on short notice. The present law requires that claims be prepared in voucher form, approved by the Commission for payment and then sent to the Secretary of State for audit. The warrant when received is deposited in a bank and a paycheck issued. It is recommended that a revolving payroll fund be created on which pay checks could be drawn and sent out immediately as requested. These could later be listed and the payroll voucher prepared in the usual manner in favor of the State Highway Engineer. The warrant when received, to be refunded to the payroll fund which would be kept intact. The State Highway Engineer should furnish a payroll bond to cover. This fund could also be used for emergency claims to take advantage of trade discounts and permit the payment of small claims which it is desired to pay promptly.

In the numerous cases in which the Commission has taken over the work to do with its own forces, the necessary bookkeeping and detail records for handling material, supplies and labor payrolls have been carried by this office. On several force account jobs each invoice and payroll of the contractor has been carefully checked and verified before being paid.

The record of both State and County funds have been audited by reputable certified public accountants and found correct.

Mr. G. Ed Ross served in the capacity of Auditor until his resignation in July, 1918, when his duties were taken over by Roy A. Klein, Assistant Engineer.

Office Engineering Department.—In the Office Engineering Department are handled the numerous office details in connection with the engineering work of the Department. The more important of these duties are the[34] working up of maps, profiles, specifications and estimates for new projects; the checking of monthly and final estimates for payments on contract work; the filing of engineering records of all kinds; the keeping of cost distribution and the compilation of reports, statistics and other data.

During the past year this department, in addition to its other work, prepared and had published a road map of the State of Oregon. This map shows all of the main traveled roads of the State and is believed to be the most authentic as well as the most complete road map of Oregon yet published. A small reproduction of the map is contained in this report. Single copies of a larger size, 13 by 22 inches will be supplied upon application.

Bridge Department.—The Bridge Department prepares designs, plans, specifications and estimates for all bridges and similar structures. The inspection and the supervision of construction of bridges is also in charge of this department.

The laws of the State require that bridge designs be prepared for counties by the Highway Department, upon the request of County Courts. Twelve counties have taken advantage of this law during the past two years and have called upon the Department for designs for a total of thirty-four bridges and six culverts, and of these structures twenty-seven bridges and four culverts have been built.

A total of ninety-five bridges and fifteen culverts were designed by the Bridge Department, of which fifty-nine bridges and eleven culverts have been constructed.

COST KEEPING

The keeping of an accurate segregation of expenditures and a detailed distribution of costs for an organization handling the amount of work and the character of work handled by the Highway Department is a matter of the greatest importance. The Highway Department seldom has under way less than eighty or ninety separate and distinct jobs. These jobs are scattered all over the State, and few of them are of sufficient size to warrant the employment of timekeepers on the jobs to keep exact records of expenditures and costs. The records for all of these jobs must be kept in the main office where it is impossible for those keeping the records to be personally familiar with the details of the numerous expenditures made on each of the many jobs.

To secure proper records of expenditures, therefore, a system of cost keeping must be used which requires little attention from the engineers and superintendents in charge of the various jobs, and at the same time gives sufficient information to those keeping the records in the main office to enable them to segregate all expenditures so that detailed information as regards total expenditures, monthly expenditures, expenditures from different funds, expenditures for different purposes, unit costs, etc., are readily available at any time, and in such form that all jobs may be combined to give total expenditures of various kinds, so that the Department is always Informed as to the financial status of each job and of all jobs.

The system of cost keeping now in use by the Department has been evolved from a number of other systems in use on work of a similar nature, and is a system specially devised to meet the requirements of the Department. For every cent expended by the Highway Department or under its supervision, there appears in the cost records, entries which give at a glance[35] the name of the County in which the expenditure is incurred, the name of the particular job, whether it is an engineering cost or a construction cost, the particular part of the work involved, the fund from which it is paid, and a reference to the original invoice or statement upon which the payment is made. These records are so arranged and so summarized each month that almost any desired combination of costs is available, such as the totals for each county, for each job, for each fund, for engineering, for construction, for surveys, for administration, for construction engineering, etc.

The expenditure tabulations given in various parts of this report, and especially those in the part devoted to the Financial Report, give a good idea of the results being obtained with the system in use although they do not give the detail which is readily available in the records themselves.

EMPLOYES IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY SERVICE

The State Highway Department is very proud of its representation in the Army Service and in recognition of the patriotism of those employes who have gone to the Front, the Department has maintained a Service Flag upon which there are now sixty stars. The men represented by these stars are listed on the following Roll of Honor:

HONOR ROLL

SUMMARY

The classification of employes lost to the Department through enlistment in the Army is as follows:

[38]

REINFORCED CONCRETE HALF VIADUCT ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER
HIGHWAY BETWEEN GOBLE AND RAINIER IN COLUMBIA COUNTY,
CONSTRUCTED IN 1918

[39]

Financial Report
Fund Allotments and Expenditures
During the Fiscal Period
December 1, 1916, to November 30, 1918

The details of fund allotments and expenditures are set forth in tables as follows:

[40]

TABLE I
FUND ALLOTMENTS FROM ALL SOURCES—DECEMBER 1ST, 1916, TO
NOVEMBER 30TH, 1918

(For description of the several funds provided for the work of the Highway Department see pages 30 and 31.)

TABLE II
SUMMARY OF FUND ALLOTMENTS AND FUND EXPENDITURES—
DECEMBER 1ST, 1916, TO NOVEMBER 30TH, 1918

[41]

TABLE III
EXPENDITURES SEGREGATED BY COUNTIES (INCLUDING COUNTY FUNDS EXPENDED UNDER
STATE SUPERVISION)—DECEMBER 1ST, 1916, TO NOVEMBER 30TH, 1918

TABLE IV
EXPENDITURES SEGREGATED UNDER THE HEADINGS OF GENERAL
ADMINISTRATION, SURVEYS, CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING,
CONSTRUCTION, EQUIPMENT AND UNCLASSIFIED.

[42]

TABLE V
EXPENDITURES FOR CONSTRUCTION WORK DETAILED BY JOBS—DECEMBER 1ST, 1916, TO NOVEMBER 30TH, 1918

SUMMARY

[45]

TABLE VI
EXPENDITURES FOR SURVEYS AND ENGINEERING COUNTY CONSTRUCTION
DETAILED BY JOBS—DECEMBER 1, 1916, TO NOVEMBER 30, 1918

TABLE VII
GENERAL EXPENDITURES—DECEMBER 1, 1916, TO NOVEMBER 30, 1918

[48]

TABLE VIII
COUNTY FUNDS EXPENDED BY STATE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT—
DECEMBER 1, 1916 TO NOVEMBER 30, 1918.

The above tabulated amounts cover only those expenditures made on vouchers drawn by the Highway Department. The Department has supervised a very large amount of County construction upon which payment has been made direct by the County, which payments are not included above.

[50]

REINFORCED CONCRETE CRIBBING NEAR PRESCOTT ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER
HIGHWAY IN COLUMBIA COUNTY. BUILT IN 1918

[51]

General Tabulated Information
and
Highway Maps

TABLES

MAPS

[52]

TABLE A
MILES OF HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTED BY HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT 1917-1918

[54]

TABLE B
BRIDGE AND CULVERT DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION DECEMBER 1ST, 1916, TO NOVEMBER 30TH, 1918

SUMMARY OF BRIDGE AND CULVERT DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

[58]

TABLE C
MILES OF LOCATION SURVEYS
MADE BY HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT 1917-1918