Interstate 70 stretches from Cove Fort, Utah, to Baltimore, Maryland. In Colorado, the highway traverses an east–west route across the center of the state. The Eisenhower Tunnel, with a maximum elevation of 11,158 feet and length of 1. 7 miles, is the longest mountain tunnel and highest point along the Interstate Highway System.
About Interstate 70 in Colorado in brief
Interstate 70 stretches from Cove Fort, Utah, to Baltimore, Maryland. In Colorado, the highway traverses an east–west route across the center of the state. The highway connects the metropolitan areas of Grand Junction and Denver via a route through the Rocky Mountains. The Eisenhower Tunnel, with a maximum elevation of 11,158 feet and length of 1. 7 miles, is the longest mountain tunnel and highest point along the Interstate Highway System. In eastern Colorado, I-70 crosses the Great Plains, connecting Denver with metropolitan areas in Kansas and Missouri. Bicycles and other non-motorized vehicles, normally prohibited on Interstate Highways, are allowed on those stretches of I- 70 in the Rockies where no other through route exists. The U.S. Department of Transportation lists the construction of the highway as one of the engineering marvels undertaken in the Interstate highway system, and cites four major accomplishments: the section through the Dakota Hogback, Eisenhower Tunnel and Vail Pass. The portion through Glenwood Canyon was completed on October 14, 1992, and is one of the most expensive rural highways per mile built in the United States. Along this section, the eastbound lanes are suspended on a cantilevered viaduct over the Colorado River, while the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad occupies the south bank of the river. Through the No Name Tunnel, Hanging Lake Tunnel, Reverse Curve Tunnel, and Reverse 40 bridges, a significant portion of the roadway features 12-mile of retaining walls, and retaining walls.
Along the northbound lanes of the canyon, a command center with emergency response vehicles and tow trucks on standby is on hand to assist motorists in the event of an accident. Along this section of the freeway, the freeway hugs the north bank of the Colorado river, and message signs will automatically warn motorists of exceeding the bank’s bank limit. The Grand Valley is home to several towns and small cities that form the Grand Junction Metropolitan Statistical Area, the largest conurbation in the area regionally known as the Western Slope. The freeway passes to the north of downtown, while US 6 and 50 retain their original routes through downtown, US 50 departs on a course toward Pueblo; US 60 and US 70 departs toward Grand Junction. The Beavertail Mountain Tunnel is the first of several tunnels built to route the freeway across the Rockies. This tunnel design features a curved sidewall, unusual for tunnels in theUnited States, where most tunnels feature a curved roof and flat side-walls. Engineers borrowed a European design to give the tunnel added strength. The highway directly serves the communities of Fruita, Grand Junction, and Palisade. Grand Junction is the largest city between Denver and Salt Lake City and serves as the economic hub of the area. Along this freeway run, motorists can see the north side of the U. S. Highway 40, the original transcontinental U. S. Highways.
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This page is based on the article Interstate 70 in Colorado published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 14, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
