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Show i .!? Ut J's B'cenfennfl mglwav; Big Dedication Set for September 17 rnorC8lvinL. Rumpton Limed Utah Highway e of the most scenic constructed in Utah in the past two decades as Utah's Bicentennial Highway High-way to be so designated on future state highway maps and road signs. The Governor signed the proclamation in his office, Tuesday, in the presence of officials from the Utah Department Depart-ment of Transportation, the Utah Bicentennial Commission, Commis-sion, the Utah Travel Council, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service. U-95 stretches some 133 miles across southern Utah's fabulous red rock country between Hanksville in Wayne County and Blanding in San Juan County. After more than 15 years of construction and the expenditure of over $20 million in highway funds, the last 29 miles of paving between White Canyon and Atomic Rock were completed this summer, linking southeastern south-eastern and southwestern Utah for the first time with an all-weather paved highway. Since 1960, Utah highway planners have envisioned U-95 as a trunk line in the "Golden Circle Network" of scenic highways connecting tourist attractions in Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. The highway provides motorists with a paved access to Natural Bridges National Monument, Lake Powell and many other scenic and recreational attractions. attrac-tions. It also serves as a connecting link between Utah's Ut-ah's five great national parks. Considered an engineering marvel, U-95 crosses the Colorado River, the Dirty Devil River and White Canyon with three spectacular bridges, and cuts through the 750-foot-high Comb Ridge, a formidable natural barrier. The Colorado River and White Canyon bridges won awards from the American Institute of Steel Construction for their excellence excel-lence and beauty. In a report to the President of the United States, U-95 is mentioned as an outstanding example of long-range sce:iic highway planning. Although now open to traffic, U-95 will be formally dedicated in ceremonies along the route this fall. The ceremonies will begin with a historical pageant in Monticel-Io Monticel-Io to be held the evening of September 17. The next morning, a formal dedication program will be held at the Natural Bridges National Monument, Mon-ument, followed by a motorcade motor-cade procession to the most recently completed section of the highway near Fry Canyon for a ribbon-cutting. The two-day celebration will conclude con-clude in the afternoon with a watermelon bust at Hanksville. Hanks-ville. The dedication celebration is being jointly organized by . r m m 9 . t state and local travel councils, Utah Department of Transportation Transpor-tation officials and representatives representa-tives of the National Park Service, Garfield, Wayne, San Juan and Grand Counties will host the festivities. |