Helping Halt Highway Death Toll.

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS Helping Halt Highway

None of the most impressive and colorful ceremonies ever enacted in Cochise County, high federal, state, county and Douglas city officials formally dedicated the $300,000 Douglas underpass and industrial approach on November 7. The dedication was marked by addresses by Shelton G. Dowell, chair man of the Arizona Highway Commission, who launched the big project, Prof. James B. Shaw, who paid tribute to Chief Cochise, for whom the underpass was named, and other outstanding figures in public and private life. Chairman Dowell presented the underpass to Mayor L. J. Tuttle of Douglas after an address in which the commission chairman lauded state engineers and other officials who helped bring the artistic WPA project to successful completion. It was Dowell who instigated the movement to construct the grade elimination project and who was instrumental in pushing it to completion. The underpass was built at a cost of $130,000 and Dowell told the dedication crowd that "it stands as just that much returned to the taxpayers of Douglas in the form of insurance against accidents." G. W. Hoopman, president of the Douglas chamber of commerce, presided as master of ceremonies and introduced the speakers and other prominent officials seated on the platform. A unit of Indian Scouts from Fort Huachuca headed by Sgt. Riley, attired in full headdress and costumes, was given seats of honor on the speaking stage. They were introduced by Lieut. Williams. T. S. O'Connell, state highway engineer, was one of the principal speakers. He outlined the steps involved in securing final approval for the project and told of the difficulties encountered before the construction work was started. "This underpass is one of the outstanding works of its kind not only in Arizona but in the entire southwest," Dowell told the gathering in presenting it to the city of Douglas. Approximately 40,000 square feet of concrete was used, he pointed out, as well as 303,000 pounds of structural steel, and 370 tons of asphalt mixture was used in paving the highway under the railroad bridge. The highway commission said the underpass eliminates all grade crossings from El Paso to San Diego on U. S. Highway 80 with the exception of one at Mesa. A total of 14 grade elimination projects have been completed in Cochise County alone and there are 15 crossings on main and branch railroad lines yet to be removed, Dowell said. "The duty of the highway department and the commission is to build better roads and safer roads and that is what we are attempting to do," he continued. "Good roads are becoming more necessary than ever before with high speed automobiles replacing old methods of slow transportation. "The motor car of today which speeds along the highways covering 600 miles a day is a far cry from the days of the Apache Indians and Chief Cochise, who traveled 20 miles a day." Funds with which to build the structure came under the huge public relief bill in 1935, a portion of which was ear-marked for grade crossing elimination projects. O'Connell told the gathering. Technicalities formed the biggest, obstacle to efforts to start the project, the state highway engineer said. Labor provisions had to be changed and it took time to get the official approval of such changes, he added.

Death Toll Great Cochise Underpass at Douglas is Formally Dedicated

As an instance he pointed out that 90 per cent of the labor was to have been taken from the relief rolls. There were not enough men available on the relief rolls to meet this provision and when the project was completed, it was found that only 67 per cent of the labor was from WPA rolls. It would have been impossible to have built the structure according to original specifications, O'Connell said.

Many such hurdles confronted those working for the underpass, he asserted. It was the second such structure built under the WPA program in the United States, according to the state engineer. Divisional Manager Strasbury of the Southern Pacific company gave a short talk in which he lauded state officials and Douglas civic leaders, for their efforts in making the underpass possible. He told the crowd that "our government is to be commended for its works program, building such worthwhile projects as this."..

A. H. Gardner, secretary of the Doug-las Chamber of Commerce, assumed the lead in arrangements for the dedicatory ceremony.

The remarks of Prof. Shaw, professoremeritus of the mathematics department of the University of Illinois, and now a resident of Cochise Stronghold, follow: "In 1874 the great Apache leader was (Continued on Page 26)

ADDRESS By Chairman Dowell

One of the principal speakers at the dedication of the big Douglas underpass and industrial approach project November 7, was Shelton G. Dowell of Douglas, chairman of the Arizona Highway Commission. Mr. Dowell's address follows: "Improvement of our highways, like Time, marches on. All of our Highway Department's facilities are exerted to bring to the motorist the utmost comfort and, above all, SAFETY. Of primary importance is this newest grade separation represented here today by an underpass that is the most outstanding piece of engineering of its kind, not only in Arizona, but in the entire great Southwest.

"What more fitting name could be given this structure than "Cochise," the outstanding Apache Chief! He made his home in this county which was named after him and he doubtless passed over the site of Douglas many times but I'm sure he wasn't bothered at any time by railroad traffic.

"This beautiful structure necessitated the removal of 23,760 cubic yards of (Continued on Page 25)