On August 7th, 1917, no satisfactory unit price bid having been
received, the State Highway Department entered into a "cost plus"
contract with the Warren Construction Company of Portland, Oregon, to
macadamize with broken stone the Cummins Hill Section between Fossil and
the Gilliam County line, on the John Day River Highway. The rock for
this work was crushed on the job, and the macadam surface was
constructed sixteen feet wide with a compacted thickness of six inches.
Payment to contractor was made on the basis of actual cost plus a
percentage of 10 per cent on labor and five per cent on materials.
To November 30th, 1918, the State had expended $32,465.44 on this work,
and it is estimated that there are bills outstanding against it to the
amount of $1,500.00.
In addition to the 3.4 miles of grading done by the State on Cummins
Hill the County continued the grading at the foot of the hill for a
distance of 0.7 miles, making a total of 4.2 miles. The full section has
been macadamized, giving Wheeler County 4.2 miles of standard macadam
road.