Posted on 03/17/2018 7:43:51 PM PDT by Voption
A quick trip across the highest point on the U.S. Interstate Highway System, Interstate-70 in Colorado. The Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel, under the continental divide.
(Excerpt) Read more at youtu.be ...
So another piece of Colorado history that my father impacted through his journalism is on point to your post. Shortly after the tunnel was buil a truck lost its brakes on the westbound descent and killed a family. My father covered this story extensively and this is what contributed to the building of the upper and lower truck escapes on the westbound descent to Dillon. Who knows how many lives this has saved. Yes I am very proud of my dad.
I believe you are correct; 1st tunnel was completed in 1969, second in 1973.
There is another driving video of this same cruise at YouTube, with a lot more on-screen factoids but not as good music background. (and some knuckle-busting video’s of driving in snow-storms, as mentioned elsewhere.)
1st tunnel was budgeted at $55 million (+/-) ended up costing $100 million.
Tangent question:
Who has been on that Texas Toll Road, with the 85 mph speed-limit?
It was right near where they were building the tunnel that a chartered Martin 404 prop plane carrying the Witchita State U. football players crashed.
I have not but I recall a time when I-94 in North Dakota speed limit irony daylight hours was posted as “reasonable”
I read about that and forgot but you are correct. Plane crashed on Loveland pass. Nasty place to aviate no matter how high.
Mountain wave action will knock you around even at FL350 and 500 knots.
That’s Great!
I’ve been pretty much “everywhere” East of the Mississippi but not “out west.” Contemplating a route-66 drive before I die.
Northern Michigan & the UP, you can get away with 75mph+ easy, but watch for Deer.
That, is an interesting factoid.
The shelf road trails in southwest colorado are wicked
Black Bear and Yankee Boy Basin
Imogene and engineers pass
There’s some others here and there ..
One I did on the front range near Blanca peak whose name escapes me from west to east in my FJ
east side had some narrow wet shelf traverse
Lake Como trail is a beast they say
Pearl Pass from Crested Butte to Aspen is my favorite but it’s not open much due to late or even summer snow which is prevalent there
Moab has trails as does all the west but colorado takes the cake for altitude
Back in the 1980s I was driving I-70 West and entered the tunnel in decent weather and came out the other side in a snow storm.
Very Cool!
Thank you for that!
Don't know about a toll road but I-10 between Kerrville and El Paso is practically "name your speed". Sparsely populated and thinly patrolled, you can pretty much push your engine as fast as you dare without fear of being pulled over.
A big consideration, though, is to factor in gas stations and restroom stops because you won't see many of either.
The only thing I know ‘about that Texas Toll Road,’ — the whole segment is about 90 miles long, runs N-S between two major E-W interstate highways, it’s engineered for 85mph, “privately built,” and the toll was like $8.50 for the whole route —but I don’t follow Texas politics or roads.
—I can’t readily re-locate the YouTube video where I saw it.
Reminded me of a few high speed runs on my Yamaha FJ1100. Doing that in SoCal was a rush, then you got the heck off the freeway for a while.
There was a Professor Johnson at the Colorado School of Mines - but I’m guessing they didn’t name it after him. He was the surveyor for the tunnel. They dug the tunnel from both ends, and met up in the middle.
When they met up with the 20-foot wide holes (or whatever) - they were off by a half a foot or something - quite a bit for a survey that should be within .01 feet. But - the final tunnel was something like 40 feet wide, so the half-a-foot was no big deal in the design or construction of the tunnel.
BUT - the saying at the school when asking how precise one’s number had to be - sometimes it was “Oh just get it close enough for tunnel work.”
One year in surveying class a kid asked the leading instructor the question. “Oh - just get it close enough for tunnel work - a tenth of a foot is good enough.”
A silence took over the room, and everyone looked over at his assistant - Prof. Johnson. (He had a temper - but obviously the two of them got along - he remained quiet.)
I-70 through the Colorado Rockys is one of the mos beautiful drives nation.
I have an old wood-and-brass folding ruler that is marked in both fractions of an inch—and in tenths of an inch.
Volkswagen exported their 1982 Diesel Camper to the US only for one year. I had one and took this road, using its 1500-cc engine to navigate it. There, I was NOT the slowest vehicle going uphill!
That’s the toll road that skirts Austin on the east. Get on it at Georgetown off I 35 and it takes you to Seguin where you merge with I10 just east of San Antonio. Spanish firm built it and guess what? Bankruptcy with Texas taxpayers paying the bill.
It’s a great way to avoid Austin stalled highways and you can drive 85+.
But there is lots of truck traffic of all types on it. Your speed may vary!!
BTTT
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