At the turn of the twentieth century, when auto travel was becoming the rage, Yuma, Ariz., was at a crossroads but with a big obstacle to the west: sand dunes -- vast sand dunes.The Algodones Dunes stretch more than 40 miles. Throughout history, travel of any nature was severely inhibited by this great barrier. Explorers, wagon freighters and stagecoaches approaching and leaving Yuma Crossing avoided the dunes by traveling north or south. With the building of Yuma's Ocean to Ocean highway in 1915, a way had to be found for automobiles to cross the vast expanse of sand. A wooden plank road seemed the answer.
The first such road was constructed in 1915 and was rapidly replaced by a second one in 1916. The San Diego Chamber of Commerce, eager for the business the road could bring, donated 13,100 oak planks. The second road was built in eight-foot by twelve-foot sections and reinforced with strap iron along the edges and centers. The speed limit was 10 miles per hour.It wasn't much of a road -- a 6.7 mile one-laner with pullouts for passing. During sandstorms, the road could become impassable, forcing motorists to wait. But sandstorm or not, it was always a rocky ride, earning the road the nickname "Old Shaky."
In 1925, traffic increased to 30 cars per day -- a problem; officials reacted by regulating the traffic: east-bound traffic would leave on even hours, westbound traffic on odd hours. But this wasn't enough: after 10 years of use, the road was falling apart and traffic jams were frequent and sometimes nasty when the right-of-way was disputed. On August 11, 1926, the opening of paved, two-lane California State Route 80 put an end to travel on the wooden plank road. Today, motorists speed across on Interstate 8.
A good place to see a piece of plank road is at Yuma Crossing State Park in Yuma, where a lone section of the old road has been preserved, complete with a 1909 Model T right on top.
3 comments:
To think that I've complained about some of those washboard roads encountered in my RV. Do we have it good or what these last several decades; particularly since the creation of the Interstate Highway System. In fact, many of the US and State Highways are of excellent quality; wide lanes and shoulders; excellent lane and shoulder markings and places to pull-over and rest along the way .
These wooden bridges across the sand are unique. When a friend told us about them and offered to take us out to see them, I was unsure if I wanted to see them. When we got out into the dunes, I realized they were a thing of beauty, and another one of those things that come into your life for you to enjoy.
This is similae to some of the early roads in Canada and Alaska built across Muskeg (peat boggs). These roads were built by chtting local trees and laying them side by side across the Muskeg. These roads were very rough as you can imagine.
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