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 $1,147,000.00, with which it is planned to
build 46 miles of pavement and 38 miles of macadam surface.
The particular sections of the Pacific Highway constructed during 1917
and 1918, together with their mileages and total costs are given below.
All of these sections are completed with the exception of the
Canyonville-Galesville Forest Road Project which is well under way.
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Sections |Miles| Total Cost
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Grading (including bridges)-- | |
Oregon City to New Era | 4.0|$ 75,000.00
Divide to Leona | 7.0| 50,000.00
Yoncalla to Oakland | 10.8| 101,100.00
Myrtle Creek to Dillard | 12.8| 165,500.00
Canyonville to Galesville | 9.7| 211,000.00
Wolf Creek to Grave Creek | 4.9| 68,300.00
Grants Pass to Jackson County Line | 3.3| 13,000.00
Ashland Undercrossing | .8| 9,800.00
| |
Macadam-- | |
Cottage Grove to Divide | 1.0| 6,100.00
Divide to Leona | 7.0| 64,000.00
Siskiyou to California Line | 6.5| 56,300.00
| |
Paving-- | |
Oregon City to Canby | 7.5| 135,000.00
Ashland Hill Section | .8| 15,900.00
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Total cost of improvements completed and under| |
way on Pacific Highway, 1917-1918 | |$971,000.00
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