The Fight for a Practical Highway
Local farmers and business owners clash with state planners over the expensive materials chosen for the Kennewick-Finley road.
If the wishes of the people of Finley and Kennewick are recognized, the contract for the construction of the Kennewick-Finley State Highway will not be let by the commissioners next Tuesday. The Commercial Club unanimously adopted a resolution asking the county commissioners to postpone the contract until conditions can be investigated and cheaper construction methods prepared. The current specifications call for an asphalt-macadam road costing $6,000 to $7,000 per mile, which would limit the work to only three miles. Residents suggest a more practical asphalt-sand road could be built for $3,000 per mile, extending the reach of the funding.
“The object was not to antagonize the county commissioners nor the state highway department, but to secure a more practical road.”
The tension between local practical needs and standardized state-level engineering budgets is a timeless theme in regional transportation politics. The push for more cost-effective solutions to improve more mileage remains a common debate in public works projects today.
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