Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 April 1919 — MOVE IS MADE FOR HARD SURFACE HIGHWAY [ARTICLE]

MOVE IS MADE FOR HARD SURFACE HIGHWAY

TO E4«na IMi Hd son Throogh Entire County. PETITION TO BE FILED MONDAY t ~ With County Commissioners, and .Matter to Be Turned Over to the State Highway Commission.

A petition for an 18-foot hardsurface highway north and south through the entire longth of Jasper county will be filed with the county commissioners Monday, it is understood, and the matter wl 1 then be up to the state highway commission to act upon. This commission has authority to deviate slightly from the route petitioned for, and, In fact, has practilaly absolute power over the location and building of such roads. This petition was prepared by Hon. W. L. Wood and !■ for the purpose of enabling Jasper count’ to get in on the big state highway building program which will include the main, market and post roads and give Jasper county, if the program is endorsed by the highway commission, a much needed hard-surfaced road through the entire length of the county of about 40 miles, something The Democrat has been urging the necessity of for some years past. While the petition has not been circulated to any extent, it bears the signatures of many of the heaviest taxpayers, in the county, and everyone is for the proposition.

While the highway commission can deviate from the route proposed in the -petition if in its judgment such change will better ac-com-modate the needs of the country and the traveling public, as heretofore stated, the petition as drawn asks for the road along the following lines: Commencing at the Benton county line at the north side thereof and running directly north through the west side of the town of Remington to Washington street in Rensselaer; thence east on Washington street to Cullen street, the Makeever 'house corner; thence north on Cullen, crossing the Monoq railway at the street just east of the depot, to Merritt street; thence east two blocks to the Jackson highway again and running directly north to a point one-half mile south of Kersey; thence straight west to the Demotte stone road and thence north to the Porter county line at the Hebron bridge over the Kankakee river.

The entire length of the proposed road is about 40 miles, and the petition asks for its construction of either brick, concrete or some other hard-surfaced material 18 feet in width, and a rough estimate of the cost is in the neighborhood of SBOO,OOO. As the national government pays 50%. and the state and county the other 50% 25% each —it will be seen that this would make a very small tax indeed for Jasper county to pay and would give ws a main highway through the county over which we could welcome all the traffic that was a mind to come our way. Besides/ we must remember, that if we don’t get this main north and south road some neighboring counties will get it. Therefore, it behooves us to get busy and purti the matter to a successful conclusion. / The proposition has been endorsed by the Jasper County Betterment association.