Existing comment:
Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon:
The Toughest 12 Miles of the Interstate System:
In 1874, Glenwood Canyon was considered impassable; even Ute Indian trails avoided this narrow rugged gorge. In 1885, David Henry Moffat started driving the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad along the southern bank of the Colorado River, completing the project on October 5, 1887. The railroad had conquered the canyon! However, the canyon also impacted the railroad! General Motors executive C.R. Osborn "put the see in scenery" when he developed the concept of the vista dome passenger car while traveling through the canyon on July 4, 1944.
Colorado District Attorney Ed Taylor envisioned a highway through the canyon in1887. It was not until 12 years later that funding was secured for the Taylor State Road from Denver to Grand Junction. Over $30,000 was spent pushing the single-lane road through the canyon from 1900 to 1902. The road was upgraded in 1914, and again in the 1930s when highway 6 and 24 was built at a cost of $1.5 million. Planning for the Interstate Highway System in Colorado began in 1958. However, it was not until 1975 that the route through Glenwood Canyon was finally selected.
The Colorado legislature called for "the wonders of human engineering to be blended with the wonders of nature." The freeway you drive today meets these instructions: terraced roadways, viaducts and tunnels carry Interstate 70 over reclaimed scars of Highway 6 and 24; cut and fill quantities were carefully balanced to use all the material; talus slopes were stabilized for bridge foundations; special fences minimize rock fall hazards; advanced earth reinforcement technology matched the roadways with the canyon; rock reinforcement technology made it possible to have natural safe exposures of rock; landforms were strictly preserved and restored; blasted rock faces were stained to match the natural exposures; comfort station buildings were earth-sheltered to blend them into the landscape and reduce energy consumption; and unique composting toilets require no water to operate.
After more than 22 years of planning, design and construction, the $500 million project was described by a former adversary as "a prototype for future highways in environmentally sensitive terrain." The Interstate has not conquered the canyon! Instead, a super highway blended with the environment was created by the Federal Highway Administration, Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado Transportation Commission, Glenwood Canyon Citizen's Advisory Committee, 15 construction contractors, 14 consulting firms, 2 design consultants and a program management consultant.
The Association of Engineering Geologists is honored to designate Interstate 70 Through Glenwood Canyon as an outstanding environmental and engineering geologic project. Dedicated: October 4, 1994. |