The Bold Plan to Pave the Northwest
Promoters of the Evergreen Highway are pushing for an all-weather, cross-state route designed to connect the Inland Empire to the coast.
A. J. Elrod, of Pasco, secretary of the Evergreen Highway Association, visited Kennewick yesterday. He grows more enthusiastic daily over the proposed year-round highway across the state, noting that the idea is gaining popularity with communities on both sides of the mountains. Recently, Elrod and other officials attended a conference in Lewiston to secure support for the highway. The goal is a winter-proof route from the east to the coast, serving North Yakima, Pasco, Walla Walla, Dayton, Waitsburg, Pomeroy, and Clarkston, eventually connecting to Idaho and Montana. The association plans a nationwide publicity campaign, including a 'pathfinding' trip this summer to officially log the route with moving picture operators in tow. Proponents believe this will attract tourism to the rich Inland Empire region and highlight the region's industrial potential.
“The great North Pacific states shall secure an all-winter route from the east to the coast.”
This 1917 push for an 'all-winter route' captures the early obsession with linking Eastern Washington to the coast via road, a struggle that defined the development of the region's infrastructure. While we take the highway system for granted today, the competition between towns to be on the 'main line' remains a constant theme in modern regional planning.
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