Hewn From Rock

Although Formosa was colonized hundreds of years ago by settlers from the Asian mainland, the inaccessible mountainous east coast began to emerge from primitivism only in modern times. During their tenure, the Japanese tried and failed to open up the back country by putting a road across the 10,000-ft. mountain range that forms a spine down the center of the island. Four years ago the Chinese Nationalists set out to make the long-dreamed-of road a reality. Last week, after the expenditure of $13.5 million and the loss of 212 lives to avalanches and other mishaps, the roadway was finished.

By the standards of the New York Thruway, Formosa's cross-island highway, totaling some 200 miles, is no cloverleaf designer's dream. Only 12 ft. wide and gravel-surfaced most of the way. it is restricted to alternating one-way traffic with cutoffs for passing. Traffic moves at a maximum speed of 15 m.p.h. To build it, the government mobilized more than 12,000 workers. Hanging by ropes over the edges of thousand-foot cliffs, workmen planted dynamite, then with pick and shovel carved the highway into near-vertical rock faces. All told, the road required 61 bridges and 85 tunnels. Accidents were almost a daily occurrence. One typhoon last August washed out four whole miles, necessitating complete rebuilding at a higher level.

The road is the pet project of the Generalissimo's eldest son. Lieut. General Chiang Ching-kuo. As head of the Vocational Assistance Commission for retired servicemen, he conceived the road as a way to provide useful work for the growing number of aging veterans of the 400,000-man Nationalist army. Last week many an old soldier was staying behind to take work in logging camps or else settle down on a little mountainside farm with a Formosan-born wife. The road is also expected to boost Formosa as a tourist attraction. A new 60-room hotel has been built at one of the most scenic mountain spots, and the Chinese are even talking of skiing facilities an auto drive away from their tropical coastland.

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