Idaho's  First Paved Road

The following is from the “Report of the State Engineer A. E. Robinson of Idaho for 1911 and 1912.”

The sum of $20,000 was appropriated by the 11th Legislative Assembly to provide for the macadamizing of about five miles of the public highway adjoining the right-of-way of the Oregon Short Line Railroad Company at Ross Fork (Fort Hall) in Bingham County and extending to Gibson. This stretch of road is a section of the main-traveled highway between Pocatello and Blackfoot and is on the route followed by traffic leading from Pocatello to any of the eastern part of the State, to Yellowstone National Park and to Montana.

 So difficult was this stretch of road for teams and automobiles that it was marked as especially bad on automobile maps. It fully deserved this reputation, for during the greater portion of the year it was almost, if not wholly, impassable to automobiles, and it was impassable for any but the lightest loads over it with a team. The material over which this road passed was sand having a depth of from two to eight feet. In places the sand was very sharp, but generally the particles composing it were rounded – in other words, quicksand.

 This is the first hard-surfaced road built in the State, and this particular piece of road was by all means the most fitting on which to start permanent improvement in the State. The construction of this piece of road has resulted beneficially in other ways than the mere improvement of a difficult stretch of highway. It has done a great deal towards awakening the interest of residents of the southeastern part of the State in road improvement, and has demonstrated by a concrete example the many advantages of having modern improved roads.

 It was ascertained by making estimates that the amount of money appropriated would not be sufficient to construct the road in its entirety. It was decided then by the road commissioners, composed of Mr. J.P. Congdon of Pocatello, Mr. T.R. Jones of Blackfoot, and the State Engineer, to proceed with the construction of the road and to continue the work as long as funds would permit, hoping that the benefit to be derived from macadamizing this stretch of road would be so pronounced that additional funds would be raised for completion of the work. In the fall of 1911 it became apparent that only about one-half of the road could be constructed with the funds provided. A number of public-spirited citizens of the southeastern part of the State, headed by Mr. Theodore Turner, a good roads enthusiast of Pocatello, and assisted by automobile clubs and others, raised by subscription about $15,000 for the completion of the road. The work was continued under the supervision of a road commission until its completion in the spring of 1912.

 The rock used on this project was limestone hauled on the railroad from Portneuf to Fort Hall, where it was crushed.

Over the following years, the paved stretch extended its reach north to Blackfoot and south to Pocatello, connecting communities and sparking progress across the state. Other macadamized roads were soon built elsewhere in the state to improve heavily traveled roads.

What is a macadam road? It is carefully layering crushed stone in shallow, convex layers and then compacting it.