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Show Contract For Zion Tunnel Awarded To Reynolds-Ely Co. Work To Cost $226,423: To Be Financed By Federal Funds; Tunnel Is One of Zion's Outstanding Points. ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah, October 27, 1936. The famous Zion-Mt. C'armel Tunnel, longest highway tunnel in the United States, will be the scene during the coming winter of a quarter million dollar improvement and completion job by the Reynolds-Ely Reynolds-Ely construction company of Springville, Utah, to whom the Secretary of the Interior has just awarded the contract for installation instal-lation of reinforced concrete lining lin-ing through the full length of the tunnel, 1.06 miles long. This improvement is the final step in the construction of the j tunnel, which was started in 1927 and opentd for liuffic in A930, and will be finished in time for heavy traffic next summer. Traffic Traf-fic through the tunnel during construction con-struction this winter will not be halted, however, and visitors may continue as usual to travel from Zion to the south rim of the Grand Cayon, or other points on U. S. highway S9. P. P. Patraw, Superintendent of Zion National Park, states that the project, which will ccst $22 6,-423.95, 6,-423.95, is being financed with federal funds for highway con struction authorized by the Department De-partment of the Interior appropriation approp-riation act for the fiscal year 1937. Work will start as soon as the Reynolds-Ely company can move in their equipment, which they will start doing this week. The government engineer in charge, F. Leroy Davis, of the Bureau of Public Roads, is already on the job, and states that he expects the wcrk to progrrs smoothly and rapidly. Completion of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel will be the climax in the history of the two million dollar highway connecting U. S. (Continued on Page 10) j ZION TUNNEL continued from first page) ;iays 31 and S9 through the i scenic portions of Zion Nasi Na-si Park. This highway has i to a large extent responsible the rapidly increasing popu-y popu-y of the park, vlvich wa& this year visited by over 124,000 persons. Magnificient views of astounding as-tounding rock formations are afforded af-forded by both the highway and the tunnel, especially the latter, which is unique in having six galleries gal-leries or windows through which the motorist may gaze at the canyon can-yon below. |