The proposition was discussed freely and while all were in favor of the proposed road, the question of details was referred to the railroad committee which was to confer with the promoters of the enterprise at a date to be fixed to suit the convenience of all parties.

Bridgeport-Newark Line

In 1915, railroad officials announced that definite arrangements were being made for the building of the long expected river road, and that the plans were to be given out soon. It was stated that the road was to run from Bridgeport to Newark on the south side of the river instead of to Kearney, and cross the river twice. Blue prints were said to have been prepared, and maps ready for distribution.

It was also stated that the necessary funds for building the new line had been raised and that it would be rushed to completion in time to accommodate through trains, through the tunnels, at Guernsey.

"Bridgeport will now prepare to become the leading city of western Nebraska." enthusiastic journals of that town declared.

These were several of the dreams that were shattered by the war in part. All of them would be practical, and possibly may come in the future.

Highway Development

It is a far cry from the trail of the Indian, <>r the unbroken surface of the boundless prairie, which greeted the earliest trappers, ranchers and homesteaders of the Morrill county area to the wonderful gravel-surfaced, boulevarded roadways being constructed by the Nebraska State Department of Public Works in this second decade of the twentieth century. This single feature in the physical evolution of the county goes a long ways toward marking the progress made in even* phase of its life. Something of the scheme of the vast undertaking of the new state highway system has been outlined