Colorado’s Interstate 70 is the bane of many skier’s and snowboarder’s existence. Brutal weather, nasty potholes, and vicious traffic always seem to fill the road all day, every day. But for all our complaints, I-70 through the Colorado Rocky Mountains is undoubtedly an engineering wonder. It blows through mountains, winds along rivers, hikes up and down massive slopes. Without it, travel through the state would be a whole different ball game.
So how’d they do it? Beaver Geography took a look at the engineering that went into the roadway, the difficulty of blowing through mountain rock, and much more in relation to Colorado’s I-70.
“The interstate system involves several engineering marvels. The process of building these freeways across the diverse landscape of America, including swamps, mountains, deserts and other challenging areas proved to be one of the most impressive infrastructural accomplishments in US history. Specifically interstate highways that pass through mountainous areas brought countless challenges to planners and engineers because finding a way to pass such a large piece of roadway safely through an area with difficult terrain is no easy task.“