Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 June 1919 — JASPER CO. GETS STATE HIGHWAY [ARTICLE]

JASPER CO. GETS STATE HIGHWAY

Line Designated Over Route Suggested By Committee. GIVES US ABOUT 45 MILES Of State Road Through the Entire Length of County Tentative Outline of Roads Completed.

Indianapolis, June 24. —L. H. Wright, director of the state highway commission, has completed a tentative outline of the roads of Indiana, which will be proposed as part of the state. highway system. The comprehensive plan, which spreads out over the state like a spider web and reaches every county seat and city of 5,000 or more population, contains 3,008 miles. The act of the 1919 legislature provides that the state highway commission shall designate the roads to be embraced in the state system before April 1, 1920. Mr. Wright said yesterday it was probable the road • system would be adopted by January. The law requires that from the date that the state takes over the roads tlfey shall be maintained by the state highway commission. The great system of highways suggested in the preliminary plans of the director would, if laid out in a straight line, extend about one-eighth of the distance around the world. The tentative system includes the "back bone system” designated by the old highway commission. This system included the range line road from Indianapolis to South Bend, the National roai from state line to state line, east and west, the Indianapolis and Louisville road, the Lincoln highway and the French Lick trail, and the road through .the state from Vincennes to Lawrenceburg. The tentative state highway system that is to be proposed to the state highway commission for consideration and approval is set out below. For the purpose of convenience the stafe is divided into four sections; north and south by the range line road and the Indianapolis and Louisville road and east and west by the National road. Northwest Section. Winona trail, Plymouth to Valparaiso. Liberty Way, Logansport through Star City, Knox, Union Center, Tracy, Laporte, Bejfast to Michigan City. Road from Hammond through Cavanaugh, Gary, Aetna, Fairfield and along the dunes to Michigan City. Road south from Gary to Crownpoint, south on Jackson highway to Orchard Grove, east to 2 miles south of Hebron, south to Demotte, east to Kersey, south through Rensselaer and connecting with the Corn Belt highway at Remington. Corn belt highway from west state line east through Kentland, Goodland, Wolcott, Montidello, Ida-

ville, Logansport, thence by lower route from Logansport to Peru. | Highway south from Corn Belt highway at Goodiand to Fowler, 1 Rainsville, Attica and connecting with the Dixie highway at Veedersburg. Belt Line highway from Chase, 1 east through Templeton to Otter-j 6ein, thence along Jackson highway to Lafayette, • thence east through Monitor, Pettit and connecting with | north and south state highway east Of Rossville. Highway south from Monticello to Delphi, Prince William, Cambria, connecting with Jackson highway j at Frankfort, thence south to Indianapolis. Road from Attica to Williamsport. Dixie highway from west state ( line to Crawfordsville, thence east to Lebanon. Dixie Bee line road from Terre Haute, north to point where that highway turns west to Danville, 111., thence north connecting with Dixie highway at Foster. Ben Hur trail from Crawfords- ( ville, southwest through Waveland, to Rockville. Pike’s Peak Ocean-to-Oeean high-' way from Dixie Bee line east to Danville, thence southeast through Cartersburg to National road. Road from Greencastle southeast to National road. The Lincoln highway in Lake, Porter, Laporte and.’ St. Joseph counties Is also Included in the plans. Northeast Section. Hoosier Dixie highway from Goshen to Warsaw. | Winona trail from range line road east through Columbia City to Ft. Wayne. Wabash way from Peru to Wabash. Hills and Lakes trail from Wabash north to Winona trail. Road southeast out of Wabash, east through Dora to Ben-Hur trail In Huntington county. Ben-Hur trail from Marlon north to Huntington. Hoosier Dixie highway from Marlon, south to Anderson, thence south through Huntsville and Eden to Greenfield. Hug highway from range line road, east through Tipton, Alexandria and Muncie to Winchester. Highway south from Muncie to Newcastle, thence southeast to National road. Road from Ligonier to Kendallville. Road from north state line, south through Lima, Lagrange, Wolcottville, there connecting with east and west state highway, east of Brimfield. Ohio, Indiana and Michigan highway from Kendallville to Ft. Wayne. Highway from Huntertown north through Auburn; Waterloo, Angalo and Fremont to north state line. Highway east from Huntington to points on Hoosier highway on Allen and Wells county line. Highway from Ft. Wayne south through Bluffton to Pennville. Highway from Hartford City: east through Pennvjlle to Portland.' 0., I. & M. way from Portland south through Winchester to Richmond; also Lincoln highway In this section. Southeast Section. Highway from Indianapolis to Shelbyville, thence to Greensburg, Napoleon, Versailles, thence to New Marlon, Bryantsburg to Madison. Highway from Versailles east through Elrod, Dillsboro to Aurora. Highway from Aurora south through Rising Sun, Senter Square, Vevay, Brooksburg to Madison. Highway from Greensburg north through Rushville through Sexton to National road. • Highway from Cambridge City south through Connersville, Brooksville, New Trenton to Harrison on state line. Highway from Connersville east to Liberty, thence southeast to

state line. French Lick route from Jackson highway east through Vernon to Versailles. Highway from Madison west through Kent to Austin. Southwest Section. Dixie Bee line from Evansville north through Princeton to Vincennes, deflection north of Vincennes to take in. Bruceville, thence north to Terre Haute. Highway from Evansville to Mt. Vernon. Highway from Bruceville to Bicknell, Edwardsport, Marco, thence north, connecting with the proposed state highway from Linton to. Bloomfield. Highway north from Elliston, through Worthington, Spencer, Gosport, Paragon, Morgantown, Centerton to Plainfield. Highway from Bloomington through Nashville to Columbus. Highway from Martinsville south through Dolan, Bloomington, Harrodsburg, Bedford, Mitchell, Orleans, Paoli, English, Leavenworth, Corydon to New Albany. Dixie highway from Paloi through Hardinsburg, Fredericksburg, .Palmyra, Galena to New Albany. Road from New Albany to Sellersburg. French Lick trail from Evansville to Boonville, Jasper, French Lick, West Baden to Paoli. Midland trail from Vincennes east through Washington and Shoals to West Baden. Hoosier highway from Princeton east to Muren to Jasper. Highway from Muren to Petersburg. Highway from Cannelton north •to Tell City, Troy and Midway to Boonville. Highway from Rockport to proposed east and west state highway. Highway from Fredericksburg north to Salem, .thence on Jackson highway to Seymour. > French Lick trail from Bedford through Leesville to Vallonia. Mr. Wright explained that the system that has been laid out “is not to be regarded as final. He asserted that nearly every mile of the highways he Aias selected has been gone over and that in choosing the roads every effort was made to distribute the system, evenly over the state. Just what roads will be taken over by the state is of great importance at this time to county commissioners, as they have before them petitions for road construction under the three-mile gravel road law and the county unit law on which they are deferring action because of the possibility that the state will take over the particular highway next spring. A copy of the tentative state highway system has been submitted to the state board of tax commissioners by Mr. Wright so that the tax board would have some idea of the road work that need not be undertaken by the counties by reason of the fact that the state will shortly assume jurisdiction. Delegations of county officials are calling at the offices of the highway commission daily in an effort to learn what roads In their counties will be taken o,ver by the state. It is estimated that it will take the highway commission from seven to eight years to build all the roads in the state system as mapped orut. The state- commission will, however, repair and maintain all the roads from the date they are taken over.