Timber plank road through desert paved 1926
THROUGH THE HEART of the great American desert, the sand-dune country between Arizona and Southern California which forms a barrier on one of the chief transcontinental highway routes, a paved road has just been completed.
This is characterized by N. M. Harkins, of Los Angeles, writing in Good Roads (Chicago), as “one of the most unusual feats ever accomplished in highway construction work in the United States,” making easily accessible to the motor traveler a picturesque and curious section of the desert land. Mr. Harkins writes:
“Aside from representing a spectacular project in road-building, this link of paving closes the last gap in the surfaced road between Yuma, Arizona, and El Centro, California, where it connects with paved highways that lead through the Imperial Valley to other points throughout the State.
“The feat of bridging the sand-hills was attempted and brought to a successful close after months of study and investigation by engineers familiar with the ‘Sahara’ of America. Stretching over a territory sixty miles long and seven miles wide, the sand-dune country is one of the most treacherous spots in the great Colorado desert. Unlike the remainder of the desert country, which is largely composed of miles of arid land covered with sage-brush, greasewood and mesquite, the dunes are formed of shifting sand that moves about daily with the motion of the wind, and are entirely free from plant life.
See a photo of the old timber plank road here
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- Road Improvement in America 1916
- More Millions for Better Roads - 1927
- European Touring Roads 1927
- Learning to Drive in 1929
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