George L. Beam's Scenic Rails of the West

Glenwood Canyon

Thermal springs at the confluence of the Colorado and Roaring Fork Rivers have drawn people since pre-historic times. By the 1920's, when Beam took the photo on the above left, Glenwood Springs was a world class resort with full accomodations.

The Colorado River cuts through almost 2000 feet of solid rock for a 12 mile stretch before it enters Glenwood Springs. Even Native Utes had no path along the river, and Rio Grande Railroad's narrow gauge tracks in 1886 were the first passage through the gorge. A wagon road in 1899 made the shortcut from Denver to Grand Junction available to the public, and the route became the inevitable choice for what was to be the last link in the Interstate Highway system.
Haphazard enhancements to the road were already disturbing the beauty of the canyon, and public pressure influenced the Colorado Legislature to charge in its 1968 resolution concerning Glenwood's development that: "the wonders of human engineering will be tastefully blended with the wonders of nature." This goal was achieved after a 12 year construction project unlike any other.

Development proposals for Glenwood Canyon

The highway design strategy for Glenwood Canyon was to reduce the intrusive mass of the highway as much as possible. Elevating the roadways allowed the riverbanks to revert to a naturalized landscape; terraces, viaducts and tunnels allowed the curves to be straightened and reduced the need for blasting out sections of cliff.
Today, the drive through Glenwood Canyon takes twenty minutes - in years past it could take hours. People enjoy the river and its trails, biking, rafting or hiking, while the freeway high above accomodates 20 to 30 thousand vehicles a day. Exhaust pollution is actually reduced, because cars and trucks are not idling bumper to bumper on a two lane road.

The picture on the lower left above shows how cut-and-fill road and railroad track grades were as some said, "reducing the river to an irrigation ditch."