Page:Wawona Road (HAER No. CA-148) written historical and descriptive data.pdf/18

 Merced. The asphalt coating was placed by the American Bitumuls Company. The project also included landscaping work, including the planting of some young sequoias, and the filling of the borrow pit. Work was completed in the fall of 1934 at a cost of $15,275.96

In 1934, roads around the South Entrance station were realigned and a parking area for thirty cars was constructed just inside the entrance. The parking spaces were originally set off by a redwood rail, since removed. The old checking station was removed at the same time. Public Works Administration funds were used for the project. At the Valley end of the road, a new parking area at the base of Bridalveil Fall was constructed and paved in late spring and summer of 1935.97 The south entrance layout was revised again in 1939 or 1940 and a new checking kiosk was added. This was replaced in 1958 by a Mission 66 era structure which still stands.98

On 16 October 1940, the Wawona and Glacier Point roads were formally relinquished to the National Park Service. They had been under construction or post-construction administration by the Bureau of Public Roads or its successor, the Public Roads Administration, since 1928.99

The Wawona Road has been subject to periodic repairs and maintenance work. During the late fall floods of 1950, a 200-ton rock washed down onto the road blocking both lanes. One lane was reopened within a few hours, and the rest of the block was removed soon afterwards.100 Washouts, rockslides, and forest fires have also closed the road over the years.

In 1960, the BPR San Francisco office authorized bids for the resurfacing of 3.5 miles of the Wawona Road between the Wawona Tunnel and the Valley floor, together with a 5-mile section of the Glacier Point Road. Harm Brothers of San Francisco submitted the low bid and received the contract. The work was completed by November at a cost of $180,004.57.101

The Wawona Road enters the 6.32 miles southeast of Wawona, where it crosses the South Fork of the Merced River. From Wawona, it continues generally northward for 11.34 miles before reaching Chinquapin Flat at an elevation of 6,250'. A recent road study advises a 6' widening, the construction of additional turnouts, and some grade improvements. At a junction at Chinquapin, the Glacier Point Road departs to the east side of the road. From Chinquapin, the road descends steeply to Turtleback Dome over much exposed rock, then heads east northeast through the Wawona Tunnel, joining the South Road in the Valley below Bridalveil Fall. On this section, the Tunnel View parking area is known as a high-accident area, and several fatalities have occurred here. The tunnel itself is rated as being of substandard width, and scrapes and metal debris are evident where larger vehicles have grazed the tunnel walls. 102