The most important highway in this County is, of course, the Coast
Highway, which affords an outlet to California on the south and Coos Bay
on the north. Between the Coos County Line and Port Orford the route of
the Coast Highway lies along the foot of the mountains and on a
comparatively level plain and, except in a few cases at river crossings,
the grades of the present road are not excessive. The alignment could be
improved but is satisfactory for the present. A gravel surfacing on this
section makes it passable the whole year round.
South of Port Orford the topography of the County changes. The slopes
are steep; in many cases reaching forty degrees, and are badly broken
up. This section is also subject to slides of which there is abundant
evidence of recent activity. The drainage being at right angles to the
coast must be crossed by the highway requiring considerable rise and
fall in the grade line.
A survey from Port Orford south was commenced in December of 1917. A
line was located and staked ready for construction between Port Orford
and Hubbard Creek, eliminating steep grades and sharp curves on the
present road. A close preliminary line was run between Hubbard Creek and
Mussel Creek (Arizona Inn), a thorough study made of the conditions and
the following route recommended, which eliminates the excessive grades
and high summit of 1,100 feet of the present road. The location lies
between elevation 100 and 400, dropping into and crossing drainage as it
is met, following close to the beach until Brush Creek is reached, then
following up Brush Creek on the east side of Humbug Mountain until an
intersection with the present road is reached, straightening out present
road for about one mile, then following the coast between elevation 200
and 400, dropping into Mussel Creek.
The controlling points on this route are the slides which must be headed
to secure a stable roadbed. A twelve-foot roadbed has been proposed for
this project, with maximum six per cent grades and the construction even
for this narrow width is heavy as it will be necessary to bench out the
entire width of the roadbed on solid ground, the slopes being too steep
for fill to catch. Considerable bridging is required and a gravel
surface provided throughout the entire length to insure an all year
road, so the cost of even this narrow roadbed will be high.
A beach route located about ten feet above high tide has been proposed,
and, while this has the advantage of shorter distance and no rise and
fall, this route is not believed to be feasible because the underlying
rock is soft and disintegrates readily and is eroded by tidal action to
a considerable extent. The numerous slides at this elevation would also
make construction on this location inadvisable for a permanent road.
A reconnaissance was made between Mussel Creek and Gold Beach. After
leaving Mussel Creek, considerable development work is required to
attain standard grade, and but a small portion of the present road could
be used. Passing Euchre Creek, there will be utilized along Cedar Creek
a new section of road about eight miles in length which has been
recently graded by the County. If widened and the alignment corrected in
a few locations, this would afford a direct route to the Rogue River
where a ferry runs regularly. Between the river crossing and Gold Beach
there is a fair road requiring only straightening out and widening.
A large portion of the total area of Curry County is in the forest
reserve making the taxable area relatively small. For this reason and in
view of the heavy cost of construction, aid is asked by the County from
State and Federal sources. The most needed improvement is the section
between Port Orford and Brush Creek. In view of the increasing
probability of the Coast Military Highway by the Federal Government,
which would be a great benefit to this County as well as to the State in
general, it is desired to construct such sections as are undertaken on
the correct location and standard grades, so that future widening and
surfacing only will be necessary to bring it to the high standards which
will undoubtedly be maintained on this military highway.
It has been proposed by the Commission to co-operate with the Forest
Service in a joint Forest Aid Project in Coos and Curry Counties, each
contributing $50,000.00, the Forest money to be spent in northern Coos
County and the State money, between Port Orford and Brush Creek. Curry
County has offered to co-operate with County tax funds. It is hoped that
this project can be carried out during the 1919 season.