Show aton MT CARMEL HIGHWAY samong tA MONG WONDERS OF WORLD what the mineshaft mine shaft and tunnel do in making the valuable ore rec ace es auble land and productive ot at wealthy roads 0 adi d do 0 tor for scenic and the outstanding scenic development work in recen recent t yeara years in the united states bates ln in tact fact one ot f the outstanding d development in highway construction in the world history has been the building budding of tho the zion mt carmel highway pew few agencies out side of 0 the united states government could finance such a an enterprise and still fewer would care to io ce certainly it was ta tar t beyond th the reach of rand kane county or washington to county to which it has greatest acono economic importance the rho cost coat of tha the theroan road Is i about the assessed ed valuation of all of kane county cut through tl the a face ot of a forbidding cliff writes E T suda of zion and daryce canyon nai national lonal parks a tunnel more than a mile in length opens up the beautiful ful upper reaches of zion national park over avei a scenic winding road leading to bryce canyon by way of mt carmel from the entrance of zion alon national park the road winds back and forth along tile the slopes of pine crook c canyon climbing upward feet la in tour 1011 miles to tho portal atthe of the tunnel through r ugh the high sandstone bandstand cliff w n asfor for feet the tunnel 22 feet feel wide Vl ae anda d 16 feet high follows just b the face of the cliff on a 6 ped cent grade grada rising rl alne that Is 28 eat i in X aay in the until atthe at the opposite end it has climbed above tho the walls walla of bf the lower pine creek canyon from there the road leads through Bands tono ridges and nd across rocky plateaus to the eastern boundary of the park dark and then to the grand canyon banyon highway south 0 of bit carmel at half a dozen points the tunnel approaches close enouch to the face of the cliff tot galleries to be cut on its side permitting views from on high of the winding canyon rodd road the turreted crags of east temple and of the west canyon canyon wall some 0 of galleries are large enough for motorists to park their cars construction of the tunnel oute aute to tit mt carmol carmel nna anew bryco bryce canon was started in 1927 after labor oua sarv surveys e s in an effort to fird elrd it a horter route between the zion and he bryce national parks parka by airline i t was only 64 54 miles but by road it iwas as IBS miles over a route barely at best beat and at times impassable or dang dangerous brous the new biroute shortens the distance stanco di to SS tallies INA tho the six miles or more of the highway within the zion national park was 7 as built entirely at the expense of the federal government in iii the form of approbations to the th e national parks barks service tho the surface of tho the road within the tunnel Is surfaced with concrete and at places the tunnel walls and root are ard unnoted ed with the same material the remainder of the roadway in the park has an oll oil mulch sur the 1 cost to the parks service was something a million and a quarter dollars outside them the park aty i i ai area about fifteen and one halt half miles of road from the grand canyon high way a y to the parks boundary was waa built tb as a federal aid road it cost around reb quarters of a million dollars of which tho the federal government contributed tri buted three fourths tho the state of utah with its gasoline sales tax revenues contributed the remainder this portion of the federal governments expenditures was waa taken from the which was share of the annually appropriated by the united states as federal aid tor for highways h ys hagh hale while t the ho alon mt carmel road to Is outstanding as a part of the development ant work to make ako accessible the scenic resources of southern sout bein utah it la Is by no means all of it connecting salt lake with that area there have been constructed in the past decade excellent roads over ofer both tho zion national park highway known on the road maps as U 8 01 91 and the grand canyon highway known as U S route 89 then there have been connecting roads into the parks parka to zion the road from andersons ranch was early put into shape and to bryce the remarkable highway up ned aed canyon from the orand grand route south ot of panguitch and from cedar city union pacific railhead into the parks area has been constructed the cedar long valley road which not only servos serves as aa one of the connections between zion and bryce canyons but also opens up to the scenery lover cedar breaks and the lovely navajo lake this road reaching an altitude of feet Is only a summer road however the mt carmel road will bo available for travel the year round arizona also has a task to perform she has aided in connecting up fre donla noar near utah arizona li the kaibab forest and the grand canyon bridge at lee V ferry orry with the grand canyon lilg highway liway on the north and with the southern network of highways wa yo at rilau flagstaff staff the grand canyon bridge itself Is J hn important part of the highway development of the scenic ye resources sources of that vas vast tarea area in it tho the indian service or of federal government joined the state in meeting the expense in a proportion of about four parts from the service to seven parts from the state united states forest service has been quick to lend its ita assistance the rend read through the alabab Is at the same time one of 0 the most startling and one of the most restful portions of the entire visit to that area of thrilling wonders likewise several other sect sections ioni of the network of roads con connecting netting up the scenic areas have been built in whole or in part with forest funds the roads affording afford lug interconnections inter connee with the various national parks are not all completed up until july ot of this year the aviators will find detours necessary in the three lakes section north of kanab and between kanab and fredonia Fro donla other projects are under way no notably t ably one from panguitch Pan gultch to bryce bry ce canyon junction however the roads roada remaining to be reconstructed are those sections that in former years were tho the best part ot of the Inter parks system the old bugbears of travel in the parks region have been eliminated and their place 13 taken b by broad highways with even grades and easy curves an enjoyable trip it three or four hours replaces what was a few years ago a nerve car breaking eing experience requiring an emyly start in the morning and last ing often until well along in the evening roads now follow frequently high cool and green plateaus instead of hot dusty desert trails through dreary desert lowlands all of which means that that utah scenery c an er y is accessible to the tourist the resources are already yielding dividends in tourist traffic and unlike those of the mine with which comparison was made at the beginning jot of this artel cle scenery Is a resource 0 that Is not depleted as it Is turned into money tribune |