Being the most important highway in the State, the Pacific Highway should be the best highway in the State. To make it the best and at the same time to bring it up to the standard of the same highway in the adjacent states of Washington and California is one of the ends toward which the Highway Commission has been working during the past two years. During that time 53.3 miles of the very worst stretches of this highway have been newly graded to trunk highway standards. This grading has eliminated practically all of those heavy and dangerous grades which have made Oregon notorious for bad roads and which have kept thousands of auto tourists from visiting the State. In addition to grading 53.3 miles on the Pacific Highway, the Highway Commission has put down 8.3 miles of pavement and 14.5 miles of macadam, the total cost of all of these improvements being $971,000.00. As a part of the 1919 program, the Highway Commission has already appropriated for the improvement of the Pacific Highway the sum of $1,147,000.00, with which it is planned to build 46 miles of pavement and 38 miles of macadam surface. The particular sections of the Pacific Highway constructed during 1917 and 1918, together with their mileages and total costs are given below. All of these sections are completed with the exception of the Canyonville-Galesville Forest Road Project which is well under way. ================================================+=====+=========== Sections |Miles| Total Cost ------------------------------------------------+-----+----------- Grading (including bridges)-- | | Oregon City to New Era | 4.0|$ 75,000.00 Divide to Leona | 7.0| 50,000.00 Yoncalla to Oakland | 10.8| 101,100.00 Myrtle Creek to Dillard | 12.8| 165,500.00 Canyonville to Galesville | 9.7| 211,000.00 Wolf Creek to Grave Creek | 4.9| 68,300.00 Grants Pass to Jackson County Line | 3.3| 13,000.00 Ashland Undercrossing | .8| 9,800.00 | | Macadam-- | | Cottage Grove to Divide | 1.0| 6,100.00 Divide to Leona | 7.0| 64,000.00 Siskiyou to California Line | 6.5| 56,300.00 | | Paving-- | | Oregon City to Canby | 7.5| 135,000.00 Ashland Hill Section | .8| 15,900.00 +-----+----------- Total cost of improvements completed and under| | way on Pacific Highway, 1917-1918 | |$971,000.00