Page:Tioga Road (HAER No. CA-149) written historical and descriptive data.pdf/8


 * I consider this Tioga road the most important highway in the park. With it all the points of the interest in the eastern end of the park are accessible to campers and tourists. Without the road these wonders of nature will remain shut out from the world, and a vast tract in the most attractive section of the park will be left an easy prey for the sheep men and hunters who come in from the East. The road is an absolute necessity for the patrolling of the park. Were it passable for wagons, a permanent outpost could be established and maintained at Soda Springs, and all of that important section could be patrolled from that point.33

In February 1899, the California state legislature appropriated $25,000 for a "free wagon road" up the east flank of the Sierra range to meet the Tioga Road at Tioga Pass. The new state route would follow the Lee Vining Creek Canyon. Surveys for the road were conducted in 1901, and in 1903 the state voted a second $25,000 for the project. Construction of the road began in 1904. By the end of the year, the lower four miles were built, but the contractor failed to meet its obligations, and in 1905 the state had to complete the work on this section. A contract was let for the upper part of the road, but the new contractor again failed to meet the project specifications, and the bonding company took over the work. The new state link was completed in 1910 at a cost of $75,000, three times the original estimate.34 The Tioga Road with which their new route connected remained a private track in poor condition.

A special commission to investigate the Yosemite National Park roads was appointed in 1899 by Secretary of War Russell A. Alger. In addition to reviewing the toll roads, the commission was to make recommendations for the extension of the Tioga Road down the eastern slope of the Sierra. When the commissioners made their inspection tour of the Tioga Road, they found the road blocked by fallen trees and army troops had to clear the route to travel over it. They found most of the culverts and all of the bridges intact, except for the bridge over Yosemite Creek, which had washed away earlier in the year.35

The commissioners hoped to find an easier connection with the Tioga Pass area from the Yosemite Valley. Hoping to avoid the area of heavy snowfall around Snow Flat, the commissioners looked into a route from the Valley up Tenaya Canyon to Tenaya Lake. However, this extremely steep canyon was quickly dismissed even as the route for a foot trail.36 [The current Yosemite Official Map and Guide advises against hiking in the canyon due to the dangers involved.]

The Commission on Roads invited the owner of the Tioga Road to submit a deposition. Wilson and Wilson, attorneys for the owner, Rudolphus Swift of Acushnet, Massachusetts, replied. They noted that 51 miles of the road lay within Yosemite National Park. The road had been built with a maximum grade of 10 percent, was 10'-20' wide, and "skillfully laid out." The lawyers stated that the road had originally had an excellent surface, but admitted that it had not been maintained. The bridges had "fine" stone abutments, but most of the timbers were now rotten. Little traffic had used the road since the mines closed. They reported that the road had cost $62,000 to build, and hinted that a sale to the government would be considered. The commission, however, estimated that a similar road could be built for $58,000.37 The commission recommended the purchase of all the toll roads within the park, and a bill was introduced into Congress. However, the sinking of the battleship Maine soon afterwards diverted congressional attention, and no funds were allocated for road acquisition.38 In the meantime, the Tioga Road continued to deteriorate.