Highways of Yesterday

Do you remember highways from previous days? Of course a lot of them, or maybe I should say all of them, no doubt started out as gravel roads and as traffic and funds allowed, roads were paved, but what I notice as I drive our present highways is the changes made over the years.

Of course the width of even our two lanes is much greater than past generations drove, but what interests me are the changes made in the layout of the roads of the past. If you observe, you will notice the grades and bridge abutments of previous roads. I am sure that there are many who remember driving that narrow, somewhat winding road from Glasgow to Nashua. Going further down that highway you may remember a gas station located along the highway right about Frazer on the opposite side of the town.

Or how about the Opheim Highway, that particular highway was paved in three sections, with the middle section being gravel for many years.

It doesn’t seem like so many years ago that the Malta Highway was re-routed or even the changes in Highway 2, with four lanes of traffic entering and through the town. These are all great changes, but fun to remember. We might also remember the roads that used to be paved that are now gravel, and reminds us of how economy, area growth & deterioration, dictate changes even in our less populated areas.