On August 7th, 1917, no satisfactory unit price bid having been received, the State Highway Department entered into a "cost plus" contract with the Warren Construction Company of Portland, Oregon, to macadamize with broken stone the Cummins Hill Section between Fossil and the Gilliam County line, on the John Day River Highway. The rock for this work was crushed on the job, and the macadam surface was constructed sixteen feet wide with a compacted thickness of six inches. Payment to contractor was made on the basis of actual cost plus a percentage of 10 per cent on labor and five per cent on materials. To November 30th, 1918, the State had expended $32,465.44 on this work, and it is estimated that there are bills outstanding against it to the amount of $1,500.00. In addition to the 3.4 miles of grading done by the State on Cummins Hill the County continued the grading at the foot of the hill for a distance of 0.7 miles, making a total of 4.2 miles. The full section has been macadamized, giving Wheeler County 4.2 miles of standard macadam road. Butte Creek Summit Grading During the 1918 season, the County has graded under State supervision, a one and seven tenths mile section about nine miles southeast of Fossil on the John Day River Highway. This section is known as the Butte Creek Summit Section. The construction was paid for entirely by the County. Engineering supervision was furnished by the State Highway Department, the engineer in charge of the work being Mr. B. H. McNamee. The total amount expended by the County, prior to November 30th, on this work was approximately $30,000.00, and the quantities of construction completed to this date were as follows: Common Excavation 8,000 cu. yds Rock Excavation 12,000 cu. yds. Pipe, 12-inch 234 lin. ft. Pipe, 20-inch 72 lin. ft. Pipe, 16-inch 100 lin. ft. Clearing 8 acres Grading between Cummins Hill and Fossil During April and May, 1918, Wheeler County graded, under the direction of the State Highway Department, a section of the John Day Highway between Cummins Hill and Fossil. This grade was .7 of a mile in length and joined up with the Cummins Hill grading. This improvement cost the County approximately $4,000.00. Geo. Hibbert was inspector and transitman in charge for the State Department. Survey of the John Day River Highway With the exception of a two mile section immediately West of Fossil, the entire John Day River Highway through Wheeler County is covered by location survey made during the past two years. The total length of survey on this highway is 41.5 miles. For all but about twelve miles, of this total, the detailed plans are practically complete. The survey of this highway has been in charge of B. H. McNamee. Survey of the McKenzie River Highway