Page:Motoring Magazine and Motor Life October 1913.djvu/16

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��MOTORING MAGAZINE

��October, 1913.

��were spent by automobile tourists in the New England States during the season of 1912. This great outpouring of wealth by the leisurely, pleasure-seeking class of our populace demonstrates conclu- sively what good roads will do for any particular section of the country. The directors of the association are firm in

��the belief that when the Lincoln High- way is completed and usable by the tour- ing public, the many millions of dollars annually expended by our citizens who tour the British Isles and Continental Eu- rope will be diverted and the tide of travel directed across these United States.

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��Sonoma County. — According to advice received by Motor Magazine from the State Highway Commission, along the main traveled route the road construction work is confined to a stretch of highway about thirteen miles long between Santa Rosa and Healdsburg, close to Windsor. Turnout signs have been provided here, and in the main are very passable. The motorist should experience no difficulty if he observes the signs closely, on which given directions appear. In the neigh- borhood of Corte Madera, for several miles the road is under construction. This stretch of highway will soon be open, however.

Marin County. — Roads in Marin County are at present undisturbed by State Highway construction work, and are in reasonably good condition.

On this side of the bay, down the pe- ninsula, the road is finished between Ba- den and Burlingame. At Burlingame it is advisable to turn to. the left and go through the town, and also through San Mateo, then to join the highway again just beyond. The turnouts here are plainly visible, and no difficulty should be experienced.

After Redwood City, turn to left to Middleford. Proceeding to Palo Alto, follow temporary dirt road south parallel- ing the railroad to a point below May- field. Here turn to right, and soon join old road. Follow "Road Closed" signs directing traffic to side roads as far as Mountain View. There one may take the finished State road to Milligan Corners, south of Sunnyvale. Turn to the right here, leaving the main road. Turn again to left, passing through Santa Clara and San Jose.

South of San Jose the road is under construction all the way to Gilroy. The turnouts are distinctly marked. The first occurs one mile south of San Jose, and continues for one mile in the vicinity of Coyote, then one mile immediately south of Morgan Hill.

From Stockton to Fresno the road is torn up in four places, but turnout signs here direct the traveler properly. From Fresno to Los Angeles the road is not torn up.

��Between Oakland and Stockton no State Highway construction work is un- derway at the present time.

Motorists are cautioned to follow the turnout signs carefully, for by so doing they may save themselves much time and trouble. It is frequently possible to pass the first barrier, but sooner or later the motorist will find himself blocked and be forced to turn. The contractors are required to provide lanterns at night to mark the turnouts properly.

Work on State Highways is going for- ward as rapidly as possible until more road bonds are sold. The bond market is expected to be considerably improved now with a greater showing by the com- missioners attending.

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��The most spirited competition ever en- countered by the American Automobile Association in laying out and develop- ing five different transcontinental routes has been in Texas, the entire length of which has just been traversed from west to east by W. O. Westgard, of the asso- ciation's field staff. Great importance is lent to this particular trip — the longest of all and the only one that can be traveled throughout the year — because the largest share of road improvement throughout that territory is likely to be along the line carefully selected by this routing and mapping expedition.

From El Paso on the Rio Grande, the route finally chosen passes through Ala- magordo, Roswell, Sweetwater, Abilene, Mineral Wells, Fort Worth, Dallas and Paris, to Texarkana on the Arkansas River, the Texas-Arkansas border. Sur- prisingly good natural roads were found for hundreds of miles, while other long stretches were seen to need considerable improvement to fit them for the large amount of travel certain to come by 1915. Along the entire line the people of the Lone Star State were enthusiastic over the new through route, and pledged their support toward its building and mainte- nance.

��Kiglliiway

That the Pacific Coast Highway, planned to extend from Vancouver, B. C, to Lower California in Mexico, is well under way, and will be practically fin- ished from British Columbia to San Fran- cisco by the first of 1915, is the announce- ment made by Samuel Hill of Maryhill, Wash., at the Hotel St. Francis recently. Hill has just returned from his thirty- eighth visit to England and Europe, and during this last trip spent several weeks inspecting the public roads of France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain. Besides being president of the Pacific Highway Association, he is honorary life president of the Washington Highway Association, and president of the Ameri- can Road Builders' Association. The lat- ter organization comprises nearly all the practical road builders of the United States and Canada.

"Washington and Oregon are showing an activity in road-building never before witnessed in any other State," said Hill. "Jackson County, Oregon, has voted $500,000 for road construction, and turned the building work over to the State. Multnomah County (Portland) has authorized the building of a road along the Columbia River forty-five miles long. Julius Meyer, president of the Co- lumbia Highway Association, has ar- ranged v/ith all the counties along the Columbia River to turn over to the State the work of building a highway from the south bank of the Columbia to the sea.

"I expect to see a highway hard sur- faced through British Columbia and Washington, and an improved earth road hard-surfaced in part, through Oregon, built to the California State line by the early part of 1915, in time for the Expo- sition.

"What we are trying to do is to bring the three Coast States and British Co- lumbia into closer contact, so they will work in harmony. Heretofore, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco have acted like children. Seattle tried to build over the Cascades east, and that road is only open sixty days a year. Portland insisted on building over the mountains, and I found snow on the ground on the second day of last May. San Francisco and California tried to ignore the forty-two miles of snowshed, and the experience of all the railroads, and has only recently realized that good roads can be built to the northeast and southeast, but great difficulties will be encountered in build- ing directly east

"California has the most beautiful winter climate in the world to sell; Na-

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