In Time of War

In Time of War Cochise County Overpass on Military Highway is Vital Link and First in Nation Under WPA

THE $50,000 Stark overpass, first grade crossing elimination project to be completed under President Roosevelt's WPA program, was formally dedicated Saturday, February 8, in the presence of several hundred civilians and a detachment of crack troops from famous Fort Huachuca. Situated on the newly routed Lowell-Fort Huachuca highway, a few miles west of Bisbee, the structure climbs above the main line of the Southern Pacific railroad.

In the event of war and immediate mobilization or concentration of troops, the new highway and its overpass would assume distinct military importance. All engineering phases in connection with the crossing and the motor route meet the high military standards of the United States army.

Colonel John F. Franklin, commanding officer at Fort Huachuca, participated in the dedicatory ceremonies with Shelton G. Dowell, chairman of the Arizona Highway Commission, and other Bisbee, Cochise County and state officials.

Colonel Franklin praised the overpass project as a vital link in an important military route which will assure speedy and safe transporation of the motorized army in case of eventualities and congratulated the state on its grade elimination work and its highway system.

Chairman Dowell declared that "among the vast number of projects now being undertaken by the Arizona Highway Department, none gives us the feeling of satisfaction equal to the construction of an underpass or an overpass. Long before high-speed transportation demanded wide roadways and safety fences, grade crossings constituted the greatest menace to motor travel."

"In Arizona," the speaker recalled, "during 1935 there were thirteen collisions with railroad trains, in which ten persons were killed and eighteen injured. This is only 4.6 per cent of the fatal andContinued on Page 18