Multnomah County OR Archives History - Books .....The Warren Construction Company 1928
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Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com September 7, 2009, 7:59 pm

Book Title: History Of The Columbia River Valley From The Dalles To The Sea, Vol. II, Pages 778-779

     Among Portland's business enterprises, none has more deservedly gained 
wide repute than the Warren Construction Company, which has specialized in the 
building of highways. In this line of work it stands in a class by itself, 
because of the high quality of its work and the superiority of the material 
used. The record this company made on one job alone, the construction and 
paving of many miles of the Columbia River highway, the greatest scenic 
highway in the world, has not been equalled in the history of road 
construction in this country and gained for it a national reputation. The 
Warren Construction Company, a Washington corporation, was organized in 1902 
and is owned by the Warren Brothers Company, of Boston, Massachusetts. The 
first president of the corporation was W. E. Hacker, of Tacoma, Washington, 
who served in that capacity until 1920, when he was succeeded by the present 
president, William M. Macphail, an engineer of wide experience and recognized 
ability. The first general manager of the company was Jerry O. Hoyt, who was 
succeeded by R. D. Hoyt, who served until 1922, when Louis J. Gavin was made 
general manager, in which position he is still serving. In large measure the 
success which this company has attained in road building has been due to the 
employment of Warrenite-Bitulithic as a paving material, the resiliency, 
strength and endurance of which has been so thoroughly demonstrated that it is 
now acknowledged to be the ideal material for modern highways, subject to the 
strain of heavy automobile traffic. The early construction of bitulithic 
pavement, before automobiles came into general use, was characterized by a 
high crown in the center of the roadway to permit easy drainage. Under the 
strain of heavy motor traffic the edge of the roadway was hammered still 
lower, increasing the chances for "skidding" and proving entirely improper for 
traffic under all conditions. Modern bitulithic roads are constructed almost 
as flat as a concrete roadway and are no more slippery than the concrete. 
After many years of practical experience under the severest conditions 
possible, it has been demonstrated that Warrenite-Bitulithic is practically 
indestructible, and therefore, in addition to its other superior qualities, 
commends itself as the most economical and satisfactory material that can be 
used.

     Two hundred and eighteen miles of the beautiful Columbia River highway, 
in a continuous stretch from The Dalles to Seaside, were constructed under the 
specifications, methods, service and inspection of the Warren Construction 
Company, and this concern had the entire contract for the construction and 
paving of considerably over half of the highway from Portland to the Hood 
River county line, amounting to three hundred and fifteen thousand eight 
hundred and twenty square yards, at a cost of five hundred and three thousand 
and thirteen dollars and seventy-one cents.

     Leaving the city of Portland by three separate highways —- Sandy road, 
Base Line road and Powell Valley road —- averaging eight miles each, with a 
total length of twenty-four miles, the Columbia River highway crosses the 
gorge of Sandy river and reaches the gorge of Columbia river along the Oregon 
side, which it follows for forty-eight miles. It skirts the river over 
mountains, up hill and down dale, through tunnels and over bridges and 
embankments, with every foot designed to preserve and accentuate the natural 
beauty of the mountain-river scenery. Something of the engineering difficulty 
of this work may be inferred from that fact that at no point was a grade of 
five per cent exceeded. To the enterprise and energy of Multnomah county and 
the city of Portland was the construction of this great boulevard due and it 
was projected, planned and executed without either state or federal aid. 
Following the expenditure of approximately seven hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars in work preliminary to paving, Multnomah county voted a bond issue of 
one and a quarter million dollars for building and regulating the foundations, 
most of which were already macadamized, providing adequate foundation and 
surfacing for the roadways. This work was begun in the fall of 1913 and 
completed in the fall of 1915. It has been said by many who have examined it 
and who have also traveled over foreign scenic highways, that there is nothing 
in Europe which excels, even if it equals, the Columbia River highway in 
beauty and grandeur, not excepting the famous Axenstrasse on Lake Lucerne in 
Switzerland. The Warren Construction Company is justly proud of the part it 
had in the construction of this great boulevard, which stands as the finest 
example of road construction, under existing conditions, in this country.


Additional Comments:
The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

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