Page:Wawona Road (HAER No. CA-148) written historical and descriptive data.pdf/14

 Creek, but would involve new construction for the remaining segments. A rolling grade was chosen.68

The first part of the clearing work was done by crews from Camp A. E. Wood, near Wawona. The 20-45 workers included axmen, fellers and buckers. Most of the work was done by hand, but a tractor was employed in difficult sections. The felled trees and brush were burned in the cleared right-of-way.69

In August, bids were opened for the first part of the road to be reconstructed, the section between Alder Creek and Camp Hoyle. T. E. Connelly of San Francisco was the low bidder, agreeing to do the work for $102,611.12, a figure 75 percent of the engineer's estimate. The bid was accepted on 20 September and clearing work for the right-of-way began four days later. Construction in this area was over 50 percent exposed rock, with additional exposed boulders along the right-of-way. Sugar pine was the predominant tree, and the most common understory growth was live oak and manzanita. The work was to include a reinforced concrete culvert, several corrugated pipe culverts, and two short sections of retaining wall.70

NPS Junior Landscape Engineer John B. Wosky, Yosemite National Park Resident Engineer O. G. Taylor, Acting Park Superintendent E. P. Leavitt and his assistant, E. C. Solinsky met with BPR Engineer Henry S. Tolen to inspect the proposed route from Alder Creek to Chinquapin. Approval was given for construction as far as Bishop Creek, but the remaining section was deferred for study. The BPR established a field office at Camp Hoyle that fall.71

The bids for the 4.98-mile section of road between Eleven Mile Station and Alder Creek were opened in November. The award was given to Le Tourneau & Lindberg of Stockton, which entered a bid of $104,580.50 for the project, only 61 percent of the engineer's estimate. The company soon admitted it had miscalculated its bid, and forfeited its $3,200 surety deposit. On 4 January 1929, the contract was awarded to the W. A. Bechtel Company, which had bid $107,094 for the work. Bechtel began its 200 days of allotted work days on 6 May. The contract called for grading of the road, installation of reinforced concrete culverts at Alder and Bishop Creeks and several corrugated pipe culverts.72

Construction resumed in March 1929. That month, the Connelly company was building a reinforced concrete box culvert on its section at the crossing of Grapevine Creek, and the Bechtel Company set up a construction camp at Eight Mile Station. In May, Connelly had completed the clearing of all but 900' of its section; equipment included one power shovel, one compressor, a 30-Best caterpillar and four trucks. Bechtel had completed half of its bucking and clearing, and 15 percent of its cleanup work, and placed all of its culverts. company equipment consisted in part of two compressors, two gas shovels, five trucks and a 60-Best caterpillar; another shovel was soon placed into service to help ensure the company met its deadline for project completion.73

In June, all bucking and felling work was done on the two sections. Connelly had finished grading one mile, had rough graded another half mile, and had constructed a 3/4-mile pilot road, as well as finishing another box culvert. The work utilized a 3/4 yard Erie steam shovel and a 1 l/4-yard Osgood steam shovel. During the same month, Bechtel rough graded a 3/4-mile section and partly graded another quarter mile. The company sublet a portion of its work to the J. F. Collins Company of Stockton. In July, Bechtel put its forces on triple shifts in order to make better time, and by the end of the month, had rough graded 2 1/2 miles, and finished a reinforced concrete culvert at Bishop Creek.74 The traffic work necessitated closing the road at night until about