11 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org Featured Article Book Review Building the Columbia River Highway: They Said It Couldn’t Be Done by Peg Willis By Renee Clough, PLS, PE, AICP This book, Building the Columbia River Highway: They Said It Couldn’t Be Done, isn’t directly about surveying, but it is about construction, which surveying heavily interacts with. And some of the key people were evidently surveyors at one point or another in their life. So, all told, it is reasonably relevant to the Oregon Surveyor audience. The book tells the story of constructing the Gorge portion of the Columbia River Highway. Although the Columbia River Highway spanned from Astoria to The Dalles, the book focuses on the section from Troutdale to The Dalles. It’s a quick read due to being a short book—186 pages, including the notes, index, and bibliography—which includes numerous photos. I heard about it in a presentation during the 2022 OSBEELS Symposium and ordered a paper version from Amazon; evidently there is also an e-book version available somewhere. I appreciated that the book starts with brief biographies of the key people. I found it easier to focus on the highway’s story when it wasn’t interrupted by introducing people as they became involved. It also made it easier for me to occasionally look back for a reminder of a nuance about someone. The book is written by a layperson historian for a layperson historian—it doesn’t give extensive details about construction methods, equipment, or material. It was clear, though, that much about large public works construction hasn’t changed in the 100 years since the Columbia River Highway was built. The engineers wanted to start early in the year to capture good construction weather, but didn’t get the go-ahead until late August. Contractors had to be watched closely; the book’s mention of a ditch dug uphill to drain water away from the road sticks out in my memory. They also had to deal with armchair “engineers” who were convinced they knew better than the professionals. Nonetheless, I did note with awe the speed with which they were able to complete the project; authorization for the project was given on August 27, 1913, construction was underway by February 1914, and the last bit of pavement was completed on June 27, 1922. The book also talks about the highway’s history between the end of construction and 2014, when it was published. I enjoyed learning how the highway influenced development in the area and how it evolved into Interstate 84. Although not mentioned in the book, today the highway is reopened where possible and reconstructed where necessary; much of it can be driven today but some is open to only bike and foot traffic. I recommend the book for anyone who enjoys Oregon history. Today the highway is reopened where possible and reconstructed where necessary; much of it can be driven today but some is open to only bike and foot traffic.
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