Wednesday, May 23, 1973, The Everett Herald 5A Loop road fixing © mad© Z* i >y- '/►A- during a i agreement pz •A >* . » '• .JiM agreement to the highest, two-lane stan­ dards. They said they had been told the project was planned and would begin as soon as the North Cascade Highway was completed. Yesterday, representa­ tives of the two agencies toured the 50-miIe road be­ tween Granite Falls and Darrington and agreed that it should be more than one lane, but less than speedway standards. Forest Service representa­ tives said the high standards would be prohibitively ex­ pensive and would cause un- d u e environmental harm along the right of way. Good Roads spokesmen said the road will be heavily used as a scenic route and as an access to recreation areas in the Cascade Mnun- Members of the Snoho­ mish County Good Roads As­ sociation and representa­ tives of the Forest Service yesterday came to tentative agreement on how exten­ sively to improve the Moun­ tain Loop Highway — not too much, not too little. The agencies have had the proposed improvements un­ der discussion for several months, since the Forest Sendee announced it was restudying the need for the highway before going ahead with the project. The Forest Service indicated some parts of the road might be paved as a single lane route with turnouts. Good Roads Association spokesmen said they had been assured in the past that the road would be improved tains. Minimum standards, they said, would not be suf­ ficient for the traffic. The Good Roads spokes­ men agreed that the full standard roads would be more than necessary and probably would detract from the value of the area. The Forest Service spokesmen declined to com­ mit themselves formally to more than the single lane road but indicated privately that they agreed the road should be more highly devel­ oped than that. The formal decision on the improvement will be made by a committee of federal, state and county officials who will meet June 5. Rec­ ommendations by the Forest Service and the Good Roads Association are expected to play a heavy part in the committee’s decision. Forest Service studies show that the paved portions of the road now average about 1.100 cars per day while the unpaved portion averages about 200. ■ . ’ ' I of the U.S. Forest e sceni attractions with a member of the e discussion took place w »» * v- ■■ MOUNTAIN LOOP — Cha*rles Donnen, ranger Service’s Darrington District, right, pointed out th of the South Fork of the Sauk River yesterday Snohomish County Good Roads Association. Th '2'. . " ©Hi ' '2. ,■» :v < -> <' ■> < > r j < 47©-©- if __ tour of the highawy.’ The tour resulted I- on standards to which the road should be improved. (Staff photo by Allan May) ’4 : aS "• ■ - ■, ■■ ......... © " ' ;©,©©- . .©^©©©- IIJ c ©,<■© < Mil i - <©©< ' ©4 * , OCR Text: Wednesday, May 23, 1973, The Everett Herald 5A Loop road fixing © mad© Z* i >y- '/►A- during a i agreement pz •A >* . » '• .JiM agreement to the highest, two-lane stan­ dards. They said they had been told the project was planned and would begin as soon as the North Cascade Highway was completed. Yesterday, representa­ tives of the two agencies toured the 50-miIe road be­ tween Granite Falls and Darrington and agreed that it should be more than one lane, but less than speedway standards. Forest Service representa­ tives said the high standards would be prohibitively ex­ pensive and would cause un- d u e environmental harm along the right of way. Good Roads spokesmen said the road will be heavily used as a scenic route and as an access to recreation areas in the Cascade Mnun- Members of the Snoho­ mish County Good Roads As­ sociation and representa­ tives of the Forest Service yesterday came to tentative agreement on how exten­ sively to improve the Moun­ tain Loop Highway — not too much, not too little. The agencies have had the proposed improvements un­ der discussion for several months, since the Forest Sendee announced it was restudying the need for the highway before going ahead with the project. The Forest Service indicated some parts of the road might be paved as a single lane route with turnouts. Good Roads Association spokesmen said they had been assured in the past that the road would be improved tains. Minimum standards, they said, would not be suf­ ficient for the traffic. The Good Roads spokes­ men agreed that the full standard roads would be more than necessary and probably would detract from the value of the area. The Forest Service spokesmen declined to com­ mit themselves formally to more than the single lane road but indicated privately that they agreed the road should be more highly devel­ oped than that. The formal decision on the improvement will be made by a committee of federal, state and county officials who will meet June 5. Rec­ ommendations by the Forest Service and the Good Roads Association are expected to play a heavy part in the committee’s decision. Forest Service studies show that the paved portions of the road now average about 1.100 cars per day while the unpaved portion averages about 200. ■ . ’ ' I of the U.S. Forest e sceni attractions with a member of the e discussion took place w »» * v- ■■ MOUNTAIN LOOP — Cha*rles Donnen, ranger Service’s Darrington District, right, pointed out th of the South Fork of the Sauk River yesterday Snohomish County Good Roads Association. Th '2'. . " ©Hi ' '2. ,■» :v < -> <' ■> < > r j < 47©-©- if __ tour of the highawy.’ The tour resulted I- on standards to which the road should be improved. (Staff photo by Allan May) ’4 : aS "• ■ - ■, ■■ ......... © " ' ;©,©©- . .©^©©©- IIJ c ©,<■© < Mil i - <©©< ' ©4 * , Granite Falls Historical Society,Documents (articles, clippings, letters, papers),USFS Scans,Box 9,1680+History+11+Recreation.pdf,1680+History+11+Recreation.pdf Page 1, 1680+History+11+Recreation.pdf Page 1