| Show SOLVING TRANSPORTATION DIFFICULTIES struction for many years But once it could be determined which routes were attracting the heaviest amounts of traffic pressure generated to see those busier roads upgraded Asresult in 1921 and 1922 some 50 miles of pavement was completed providing virtually continuous hard-surfaced road from the Idaho line to Nephi In 1924 rebuilding of the pioneer road traversing Black Ridge in Washington County provided an all-weather highway enabling the Union Pacific Railroad to bring tourists to UtahNational Parks In 1925 finishing41-mile section across the salt flats between Wendover and Knolls completedvital portion of the Lincoln Highway In 1926 at Duchesne Strawberry communities designation of the route linking the Uinta Basin with Salt Lake City through Heber and the Valley providedneeded tie between Basin and the state capital In 1927 first experiments took place with oil roads between Brigham City and Logan and in Provo Canyon Highway officials had first examined such highways in Oregon and California and after the latter statespecifications were found more suitable 28 miles were completed that year In 1930 finishing the Zion s-Mt Carmel Highway was labelled an engineering achievement It included two tunnels with arched openings totalling 25 miles in length Eight-plus miles are within Zion National Park Though the depression which began to gain momentum after the stock market crash of 1929 stifled investment in privately-held organizations it actually hadpositive effect on road building by providing work for thousands of unem ployed Utahns Researcher Knowlton described it in these words While the state road program was an important element in this battle during the entire period of the depression it was during the 1931-32 biennium time when there was no other organized work-relief available that the pressure on the State Road Commission reached its maximum and without doubt caused the two years to be one of the most eventful periods in the commissionentire history 285 Digital image 2005 Marriott Library University of Utah Al rights reserved |
