Show New Zion Zion-Mt Carmel Road One of Worlds World's Great Highways Besides Shortening Distances Between National Parks It Becomes Itself with its Switchbacks Tunnels and High Scenic Galleries Another Another Outstanding Attraction for that Region Union Pacific Magazine A highway which In spectacular I qualities will rank with any in the world is to be opened for use this summer between Zion National park and Mt Carmel in Southern Utah and will be an added feature of the Union Pacific's tours in that extraordinary re toe re- re gion glon Already the five great attractions of the region region Grand Grand Canyon Bryce and Zion National parks the forest forest for for- est and Cedar Breaks Breaks- were so close to together ether as to make a 1 unique opportunity opportunity for travelers The effect of the new highway is to bring them still closer together ZIon and Bryce now miles apart by road will be 88 miles apart and the driving time between them will bo be reduced approximately one half From ZIon to Grand Orand Canyon the distance nce will be reduced from to miles mUes and the driving time about one But Butin ln addition to thus shortening the routes the highway lt Itself lt becomes a major point of interest on em the tours A way two-way illuminated tunnel a mile and an eighth long the longest rura rural highway tunnel In the United States five galleries in the tho side of the tun tun- nel net at which one may stop in an automobile automobile automobile auto auto- mobile and look out from a height of several hundred feet up a sh sheer er cliff on the giant glant colorful formations o of Zion national park six switchbacks 3 miles of road to cover a a. distance of less than a a. mile air line and arid althis al all all this without a moment of difficult driving that driving that is what the government and state highway engineers engIneer in cooperation cooperation ro co- co- co operation with the national park service service ser ser- vice tee have endeavored to accomplish and have accomplished on th the road There has been a touch of the dramatic dramatic dram dram- all through the building of th the highway The tunnel involved some som new problems in engineering engineering- problems lems icons that no engineer had ever tackled tack tack- led ed before No human being for example example ex- ex ample mple had ever been at either cither of or the points where the two portals for the tunnel now stand until the plans for forthe forthe the he tunnel began to be made and except except ex- ex ept for a few hardy surveyors no one ever vcr approached either of until them them until they hey were approached from inside the lift cliff no one had ever scaled the mountain through which the tunnel goes gocs and It has not been scaled yet Instead of laying out the line of the tunnel from above as is usually done the he engineers had to follow the t unprecedented un- un n- n procedure of determining Its ts route from a footpath at the base of ot the cliff In some places two hundred feet below where the tunnel was to be When the engineers found that it was impractical to start the tunnel at either end they did the next best 1 thing They started in between They erected a scaffold an eerie looking but perfectly safe scaffold high up the face of the cliff and started drilling In When they had got in to the p point where the tunnel was to be as aa determined determined de determined de- de by the survey from the foot foot- path they began boring in either either- di direction direction dl- dl from that point on the tunnel proper Then they into the face of the cliff at other points and started similar headings as the sections of a tunnel are called and af after after after af- af ter months of labor all these headings were brought together into a consecutive consecutive consecutive tive tunnel with never more than 3 of a foot of variation from where I they should be Presently also from also from inside the cliff in both Instances the Instances the cast east and west entrances to to th the tunnel were opened up Continued on Page Five |