YAMHILL COUNTY

In Yamhill County the State Highway Department has co-operated with the County in the grading and paving of 3.2 miles between Rex and Newberg and of 4 miles between Sheridan and McMinnville. The total expenditure on this work amounts to $147,000.00 of which the County has paid $18,273.49.

An effort has been made to secure Federal Aid in the construction of a section of the Portland-Tillamook Highway from Grande Ronde west. With this in view, the necessary surveys have been made, and it is expected that Federal Aid will be secured so that the construction may be undertaken during the 1919 season.

Sheridan Paving—1917

In 1917 the Highway Department constructed with its own forces and equipment 1.8 miles of concrete pavement from Sheridan east on the Sheridan-McMinnville Road. This pavement was 16 feet wide, 61⁄2 inches thick at the center and 51⁄2 inches thick at the edges. The mix used was a 1 : 11⁄2 : 3.

In connection with the paving there was a considerable amount of grading, the total expenditure for grading, culverts, etc., being $5,651.70. The cost of the 1.8 miles of paving was $31,432.99, the unit cost being $1.82 per cubic yard.

Yamhill County co-operated in the payment for this work to the amount of $10,000.00. A complete statement of the costs on this work is given below.

COST STATEMENT—SHERIDAN PAVING—1917

QuantityItem CostUnit
Cost
2498 cu. yds. Common Excavation}
652 cu. yds. Intermediate Excavation$ 4,442.85$ .906
1750 cu. yds. Solid Rock Excavation
182 lin. ft. 12-inch Culvert Pipe 283.901.56
118 lin. ft. 18-inch Culvert Pipe 276.002.34
44 lin. ft. 24-inch Culvert Pipe 134.203.05
290 lin. ft. 6-inch Porous Drain Tile 52.25.18
25 cu. yds. Class “C” Concrete 462.5018.50
17,150 sq. yds. Concrete Pavement 31,198.871.82
5050 lin. ft. Expansion Joints 234.12.046
Total Construction Cost $ 37,084.69
Engineering 1,131.35
Grand Total Cost $ 38,216.04
Paid by State $ 28,216.04
Paid by County 10,000.00
Total $ 38,216.04

Sheridan Paving—1918

Early in 1918, Yamhill County requested that the concrete pavement laid in 1917 be continued to a total length of four miles, and offered to pay for all grading necessary in connection therewith. This request was granted by the Highway Commission and in the early spring, construction was started on the additional 2.2 miles.

The type of pavement laid on this section was the same as that laid in 1917, except that crushed rock aggregate was used instead of gravel, and the mix was reduced to 1 : 2 : 31⁄2.

STATE OWNED PAVING PLANT IN OPERATION NEAR SHERIDAN IN YAMHILL COUNTY. ON THE YAMHILL NESTUCCA HIGHWAY

The coarse aggregate consisted of crushed stone ranging from 1⁄4 inch to 21⁄2 inches. For the fine aggregate, both Columbia River and Willamette River sand was used. The stone was crushed from a quarry operated by the State on Deer Creek which was near the center of the job and consisted of an altered basalt of rather coarse texture. The quality of this stone is not equal to the true basalt; but tests made by the Oregon Agricultural College showed that it was of good quality. The average haul on this material was .6 of a mile.

Crushing was begun early in March and 1200 cubic yards of material stored in a stock pile which was rehandled later by means of an automatic loader purchased by the State Highway Department for this class of work. The output of the crusher was insufficient to keep the mixer running and by means of this stock pile it was possible to keep the material coming on to the road steadily and finish the job in a minimum length of time and with the least inconvenience to traffic.

In this connection the experience on this job shows the advisability of using a stock pile of material to draw from in case of emergencies. When this is done the work is allowed to go ahead steadily, although a breakdown at the crusher may occur. The saving made by a steady run more than offsets the cost of rehandling the material, which is done very reasonably by the use of machinery.

The sand was shipped to Ballston and Sheridan by railroad, approximately equal amounts being shipped to both places and was so divided as to get a minimum length of haul on this material. The average haul was 3.5 miles. At Ballston the sand was unloaded from the cars into bunkers, which dumped directly into trucks, while at Sheridan no bunkers were available and the material was unloaded on the ground and rehandled by means of an automatic loader. No delay was caused by car shortage as we used our stock pile at Sheridan in emergencies. All the material was hauled and handled by means of trucks, two of which belonged to the State Highway Department, others working on a yardage basis.

The pavement, after being struck off, was finished by the roller and belt method; being rolled from two to four times, according to the condition of the concrete and later belted with eight and ten inch belts. The eight inch belt being used first. By using this method of finishing, we were able to eliminate the use of skilled labor, which showed a material saving in the finishing item, and at the same time secured a very satisfactory surface.

As soon as sufficiently hardened, the pavement was covered with earth from the roadside and kept moist for at least one week while curing. The earth covering was later removed by means of an ordinary road grader, when ready to be opened for traffic, the elastite joints being trimmed at the same operation.

A short stretch of pavement was left out at Deer Creek to allow a fill to settle during the winter rains. In conformity with our general practice, sufficient crushed rock was left on the job to complete this stretch and make repairs.

Elastite joints were placed every thirty feet and extended the entire width and depth of the pavement. Continuous forms were used on a portion of this pavement and were found to be much superior to the ordinary type, and the Department has adopted the continuous form for future work. These forms are made by using two pieces of form lumber 11⁄2 inches by 51⁄2 inches nailed together. The joints are lapped one-half the length of the stick. The finished form is 3x51⁄2 inches and is easily placed on either tangents or sharp curves.

The concrete was mixed with a sixteen cubic foot Koehring Mixer equipped with bucket and boom. The plant is owned by the Department.

The grading was paid for by Yamhill County and the crusher, roller, grader, and scarifier were also furnished by them free of charge. Earth shoulders were built along the pavement by means of road grader.

Mr. J. M. Baker was Superintendent of Construction on this work.

COST STATEMENT—2.2 MILES, 16-FOOT CONCRETE PAVEMENT, EAST
OF SHERIDAN—BUILT IN 1918

Quantity and ItemTotal
Cost		Unit
Cost
Grading$ 1,853.07
19,566 sq. yds., 1 : 2 : 31⁄2concrete pavement
Average thickness 6 inches		36,378.01$ 1.86
6,192 lin. ft., Expansion Joints247.68.04
140 cu. yds., Broken Stone Macadam420.003.00
Total Cost of Construction$ 38,898.76
Engineering1,166.85
Grand Total Cost$ 40,065.61
5099 bbls. Cement used on this work at a cost of $13,299.00 F. O. B. Work.
15 yds. of Sand and 120 yds. broken stone left stored on job.

Paving—Multnomah County Line to Newberg

A complete description of the paving of the 15.7 mile section of the West Side Highway between the Multnomah County Line and Newberg is given in the Chapter devoted to Washington County. It should be mentioned here, however, that 3.2 miles of this pavement is within Yamhill County, and was built by the State at a cost of $57,500.00. The construction of the subgrade was paid for by Yamhill County, part of it having been done by County forces and the balance of it by the paving contractor under a cost plus 10 per cent agreement with the County. For the work done under this agreement, the contractor was paid $6,153.05.

Survey—Grande Ronde Section

A survey was made in the spring of 1918 between Grande Ronde and the Bee Ranch at the east end of the Sour Grass road improved in 1916. This is an important link about 61⁄2 miles in length on the Yamhill-Nestucca Highway, connecting as it does the cities of McMinnville, Willamina, Sheridan and Tillamook. In addition it will afford a short and direct route between the hay and grain fields of the Willamette Valley and the dairy ranches of the coast. Further, this highway is used by hundreds of autoists in summer enroute to the Tillamook beaches.

From the fact that only 21⁄2 miles of this section are in service as a postal route, Federal Aid could be applied for only on that section and cooperation has been requested as follows: United States Government $15,000; State of Oregon $15,000; Yamhill County $10,000. For the remaining four miles, Yamhill County has appropriated $5,000 from the 1919 funds.

It is estimated that the total cost of the remaining section will be $50,000 and it is expected that the work will be done in 1919. The entire project as proposed will be graded 24 feet wide, conforming to the State standards as to alignment and grade and surfaced with macadam 12 feet in width, thus closing the gap and affording a road between Portland and Tillamook which will be open the entire year.

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