Wednesday, May 23, 1973, The Everett Herald 5A
Loop road fixing
©
mad©
Z*
i
>y-
'/►A-
during a i
agreement
pz •A
>*
. »
'•
.JiM
agreement
to the highest, two-lane stan
dards. They said they had
been told the project was
planned and would begin as
soon as the North Cascade
Highway was completed.
Yesterday, representa
tives of the two agencies
toured the 50-miIe road be
tween Granite Falls and
Darrington and agreed that
it should be more than one
lane, but less than speedway
standards.
Forest Service representa
tives said the high standards
would be prohibitively ex
pensive and would cause un-
d u e environmental harm
along the right of way.
Good Roads spokesmen
said the road will be heavily
used as a scenic route and
as an access to recreation
areas in the Cascade Mnun-
Members of the Snoho
mish County Good Roads As
sociation and representa
tives of the Forest Service
yesterday came to tentative
agreement on how exten
sively to improve the Moun
tain Loop Highway — not
too much, not too little.
The agencies have had the
proposed improvements un
der discussion for several
months, since the Forest
Sendee announced it was
restudying the need for the
highway before going ahead
with the project. The Forest
Service indicated some
parts of the road might be
paved as a single lane route
with turnouts.
Good Roads Association
spokesmen said they had
been assured in the past that
the road would be improved
tains. Minimum standards,
they said, would not be suf
ficient for the traffic.
The Good Roads spokes
men agreed that the full
standard roads would be
more than necessary and
probably would detract from
the value of the area.
The Forest Service
spokesmen declined to com
mit themselves formally to
more than the single lane
road but indicated privately
that they agreed the road
should be more highly devel
oped than that.
The formal decision on the
improvement will be made
by a committee of federal,
state and county officials
who will meet June 5. Rec
ommendations by the Forest
Service and the Good Roads
Association are expected to
play a heavy part in the
committee’s decision.
Forest Service studies
show that the paved portions
of the road now average
about 1.100 cars per day
while the unpaved portion
averages about 200.
■ . ’ ' I
of the U.S. Forest
e sceni attractions
with a member of the
e discussion took place
w »» * v-
■■
MOUNTAIN LOOP — Cha*rles Donnen, ranger
Service’s Darrington District, right, pointed out th
of the South Fork of the Sauk River yesterday
Snohomish County Good Roads Association. Th
'2'.
. " ©Hi
' '2.
,■» :v
< -> <' ■>
< > r j <
47©-©- if
__
tour of the highawy.’ The tour resulted
I- on standards to which the road should be improved. (Staff
photo by Allan May)
’4
: aS
"• ■ - ■, ■■
.........
©
" ' ;©,©©- .
.©^©©©-
IIJ
c ©,<■© <
Mil i
-
<©©< ' ©4 *
, OCR Text: Wednesday, May 23, 1973, The Everett Herald 5A
Loop road fixing
©
mad©
Z*
i
>y-
'/►A-
during a i
agreement
pz •A
>*
. »
'•
.JiM
agreement
to the highest, two-lane stan
dards. They said they had
been told the project was
planned and would begin as
soon as the North Cascade
Highway was completed.
Yesterday, representa
tives of the two agencies
toured the 50-miIe road be
tween Granite Falls and
Darrington and agreed that
it should be more than one
lane, but less than speedway
standards.
Forest Service representa
tives said the high standards
would be prohibitively ex
pensive and would cause un-
d u e environmental harm
along the right of way.
Good Roads spokesmen
said the road will be heavily
used as a scenic route and
as an access to recreation
areas in the Cascade Mnun-
Members of the Snoho
mish County Good Roads As
sociation and representa
tives of the Forest Service
yesterday came to tentative
agreement on how exten
sively to improve the Moun
tain Loop Highway — not
too much, not too little.
The agencies have had the
proposed improvements un
der discussion for several
months, since the Forest
Sendee announced it was
restudying the need for the
highway before going ahead
with the project. The Forest
Service indicated some
parts of the road might be
paved as a single lane route
with turnouts.
Good Roads Association
spokesmen said they had
been assured in the past that
the road would be improved
tains. Minimum standards,
they said, would not be suf
ficient for the traffic.
The Good Roads spokes
men agreed that the full
standard roads would be
more than necessary and
probably would detract from
the value of the area.
The Forest Service
spokesmen declined to com
mit themselves formally to
more than the single lane
road but indicated privately
that they agreed the road
should be more highly devel
oped than that.
The formal decision on the
improvement will be made
by a committee of federal,
state and county officials
who will meet June 5. Rec
ommendations by the Forest
Service and the Good Roads
Association are expected to
play a heavy part in the
committee’s decision.
Forest Service studies
show that the paved portions
of the road now average
about 1.100 cars per day
while the unpaved portion
averages about 200.
■ . ’ ' I
of the U.S. Forest
e sceni attractions
with a member of the
e discussion took place
w »» * v-
■■
MOUNTAIN LOOP — Cha*rles Donnen, ranger
Service’s Darrington District, right, pointed out th
of the South Fork of the Sauk River yesterday
Snohomish County Good Roads Association. Th
'2'.
. " ©Hi
' '2.
,■» :v
< -> <' ■>
< > r j <
47©-©- if
__
tour of the highawy.’ The tour resulted
I- on standards to which the road should be improved. (Staff
photo by Allan May)
’4
: aS
"• ■ - ■, ■■
.........
©
" ' ;©,©©- .
.©^©©©-
IIJ
c ©,<■© <
Mil i
-
<©©< ' ©4 *
, Granite Falls Historical Society,Documents (articles, clippings, letters, papers),USFS Scans,Box 9,1680+History+11+Recreation.pdf,1680+History+11+Recreation.pdf Page 1, 1680+History+11+Recreation.pdf Page 1