Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 89, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 February 1920 — HIGHWAY DIRECTOR WAS HERE [ARTICLE]

HIGHWAY DIRECTOR WAS HERE

- / Last Sunday and Drove Over TWo Roads to Crown Point. L. H. Wright, director of the state highway commission, together with a number of Lake county people, drove down from Crown Point Sunday forenoon over the route via Mt. Ayr, and after a splendid lunch at the Makeever hotel, where several (people from Brook, Kentland, Morocco and Mt. Ayr—boosters for the Mt. Ayr route —had already gathered, all went to the handsome quarters of the Van Rensselaer club where Mr. Wright was Introduced by Representative W. L. Wood and spoke for perhaps 30 minutes or more on. the plans and work of the commission. Following this the party returneu to Crown Point, accompanied as far as Hebron by several from here, and going back over the route as first adopted by the highway commission and which is the shortest, most direct and only logical route from this city to Crown Point, as it passes through a much better and more thickly settled country, is more centrally located between the Dixie highway just over the line in Illinois and the next state highway on the east —Winamac, 40 miles frojm Rensselaer —and which route 95% of all the people of Jasper, Lake, Porter, Starke and Pulaski counties stand solidly for. This route runs directly north without a tdrn for 17 miles from Rensselaer, to within % mile of Kersey, then turns west 2% miles to % mile south of Demotte, thence directly north through Demotte to the Kankakee river—s miles —crossing the river on the new and wide Hebron grade and brand-new river bridge, thence on directly north to within 1 mile of Hebron, thence west to Orchard Grove and north to Crown Point.

This route will best serve all Jasper county, as well as Francesville, Medaryville, San Pierre and all of southern Porter county and no other route should be even considered, so convincing and logical is its location. The advantages of this route so appealed to the members of the commission when the matter was first put up to them that every member personally declared that It was plain to he seen that this was the proper route to be adopted from Remington on north. And It was so adopted in the first selection made of the highway system for 1116 state. But politics seem to have entered into the matter of the selection of ‘the route from Rensselaer to Crown Point and an effort is being made to pull it over west of Mt. Ayr to within a few miles of the Illinois state line and but a short distance from the Dixie highway in’ that state, regardless of the fact that there are no feeders for the road if taken so far west, and that there is not a fair-minded man in Newton county Who will not admit that the proper route for this road is straight north from Rensselaer. Jasper county, as well as her neighboring counties Who are behefited by this north and

south state highway, insist that it be located on merit alone, and they will resent to the uttermost any interference by the politicians. This is to be a permanent road, a road for all time, and there is absolutely no argument in favor of locating it over within a few miles of the state line on the west and within less than 20 miles of the Dixie highway, another state and national road along the west side of Illinois. The nearest state highway on our east, as previously stated, is at Winamac, 40 miles away, and by locating this road as originally planned to run directly north from Rensselaer, It will accoinmodate the west side of Pulaski, southern Starke and Porter and the greater portion of Lake county and not in the slightest degree Inconvenience Newton county. It will also afford an outlet for the vast tiucklng district of Jasper, Pulaski, Starke, Porter and Lake, giving direct entrance to the great manufacturing cities of the 'Caulmet district whose desire it is to be connected with this truck section. A few hours’ time means everything in putting garden truck on the market, and we cannot believe that the highway commission will permit the politicians of Newton county to pull this road over there without regard to the wishes of the people or the~ advantages to be derived from leaving it as originally planned. All the highways to be Included in the state system unust be designated by April 1, 1920, and a permanent decision on this line must be made before that time.