Highway 63 Will Be a Boulevard

Source: Nemaha County Courier Tribune

Seneca, Kansas

April 19, 1934

The state highway department is building a magnificent roadway as a project on No. 63, extending as far south as the proposed dam for Lake Nemaha. When the lake is brought into being, Nemaha County can rejoice in the consummation for a major development. Four contractors are combining their forces on the five and a half miles of highway leading south of Seneca to give Nemaha County its premier roadway. All Nemaha people, who will have occasion to use 63-and that will mean a large number of south county people as well as those living in the north part-will be astounded by the character of the work being done. While the lack of rainfall has not been helpful to the crop situation, it is a boom to the contractors. Since the work began more than a month ago, hardly more than a day of time has been lost by the road builders. Hutton hill and Tennessee creek fill have been virtually completed and this week will mark the completion of the earthwork from Hutton's to the southern terminus of the road at Julius Tangeman's farm.

Nearly a hundred men are now working on the highway. The Geo. Bennett Construction Co. is using approximately 60 men on earthwork. The Reece Construction Co. employs some 24 men on drainage structures and S.B. Murphy has some 10 men working on the Tennessee Creek bridge where footings are now being placed for the piers. A dragline is being used to cut a channel west of the Tennessee Creek bridge. It will also be used to cut the channel cast of the bridge.

More is involved in building the bridge than most people realize. The piers must have a solid footing. Since most of Tennessee creek valley is "made land" washed down by countless years of erosion, there is no solid footing for the concrete piers. This makes it necessary to drive piling for a footing. Five piling, each about 20 feet long, are driven into the earth for each of the piers, and the concrete will rest on this base. This is the same sort of footing used in the city of Chicago where there is no rock upon which to build skyscrapers. The same plan will have to be used to secure a sound footing for the spillway of Kampler dam. At first one might think that the piling would rot away. This is not true, engineers assert, where the wood is placed below the water line where there is no chance for air to get to it.

But the easy grades, the broad roadway leading along the valley of the Nemaha will not complete the picture. Lake Nemaha must be brought into being in order to give Nemaha the place it deserves among scenic counties of Kansas.

We would like to give special thanks to the Courier Tribune, Seneca Kansas for granting permission to web publish this article.