I-70

[Rose Pink]

Curious as to why I-70, which starts (ends?) in the east and extends west, abruptly ends (starts?) where it Ts into I-15 in western Utah. Why does it not continue westward through Nevada and into California? Is this a Federal government thing (as in top secret military testing in Nevada--we all know that is where they are keeping the Roswell aliens ) or is it a state thing (maybe the mafia was trying to funnel all the traffic through Las Vegas )?

Does anyone know off the top of your head why I-70 ends at I-15? I am just curious.

[riverdees05]

The five longest Interstate routes, each more than 2,000 miles, are east-west routes. These are:

I-90, 3,020.54 miles, from Seattle, Washington, to Boston, Massachusetts,
I-80, 2,899.54 miles, from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey,
I-40, 2,555.40 miles, from Barstow, California, to Wilmington, North Carolina,
I-10, 2,460.34 miles, from Los Angeles, California to Jacksonville, Florida, and
I-70, 2,153.13 miles, from Cove Fort, Utah, to Baltimore, Maryland.

[Bill4728]

Where do you think it should end? San Francisco and LA are both taken. (Barstow too.)

[JLB]

Where would you want it to go?

I-15 completes it to SOCAL and US 50 completes it to NOCAL. If US 50 was an 4-lane divided Interstate, both routes would be Interstate all the way.

[Rose Pink]

"Where do you think it should end?" "Where do you want it to go?"

Those who don't know the answers, ask more questions.

I am just curious, that's all. Why wasn't 50 made into a continuation of 70? Funding? Environmental? I've driven the I-15 corridor many times and I always find it a little odd that 70 just ends. It's like it doesn't have a destination point.

[riverdees05]

Interstate 70
Route
A New Route Through Uncharted Territory
Before the interstate highway system was built, a traveler driving from Los Angeles to Denver would head north to Barstow, then east across Arizona on US 66 to Albuquerque, and then turn north again to Denver.
As planners set to work laying out the new network of highways that would become the Eisenhower Interstate System, they believed that this particular roundabout routing needed a more direct link. Cobbling together a network of freeways which largely retraced the routes of the more popular existing routes, the planners were left with a serious gap if their objective of linking the Mile High City with the City of Angels was going to be met.

It was from this plan that the routing of Interstate 70 in Utah came to be. I-70, envisioned as that new link between Denver and Los Angeles which would pull traffic away from US 66, would be routed across Utah, near lands that were among the last places in the continental United States to be explored and mapped.

Existing roads from Colorado entered Utah, and then turned northwesterly, following the route of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad through Price toward the Wasatch Front. But to make the new route viable, a completely new alignment, through that desolate area where there had never been any roads, would have to be plotted across Emery County.

The area through which I-70's course was charted was largely under the control of the Bureau of Land Management, featured rugged terrain, and was sparsely populated. In fact, during the time of the highway's construction, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that, in the San Rafael Swell area, one of the canyons through which I-70 was ultimately cut was so narrow that a man could not walk through without touching the sides!

While the rugged, isolated terrain may have added to the cost of building a freeway through the area, it also helped lower the cost in another way: UDOT acquired this remote right of way for the lowest cost per mile of any of Utah's interstates.

The area's isolation ended on November 5, 1970, when the Utah Division of Highways, predecessor to UDOT, opened the 70 mile section of I-70 between Fremont Junction and Green River. The opening was fêted at the Ghost Rocks view area with a ribbon cutting ceremony featuring dignitaries from the Utah communities which expected to benefit from the new highway. Even the mayor of Grand Junction, Colorado, came out. At the dedication, Governor Cal Rampton noted that I-70 was the first road built over a completely new route since the AlCan (Alaska) Highway was built in the early 1940s.

After that ceremony, Green River and Salina were officially linked by the new freeway. But, in truth, the two communities had been informally joined for some time before that day. The Tribune reported that, aside from lacking some guardrails, striping, and signage, the highway had been fully paved and passable for weeks, and many locals had already taken the opportunity to "sneak" onto it and try "out the (road) and the scenery."

I-70 Doesn't Serve Utah's Transportation Needs
The source of I-70's genesis is also one of its biggest liabilities, at least as far as Utah travelers are concerned. The fact that the highway's routing was planned as a Denver-Los Angeles link means that I-70 does not serve the urban population areas of Utah. Even today, there is no direct freeway link between Salt Lake and Denver, two metropolitan areas which are arguably more closely linked than are Los Angeles and Denver. Traffic between the Wasatch Front and points east must use dangerous US 6 for 130 miles before joining I-70 near Green River. Others who prefer using freeways, must follow I-80 through Wyoming, and then catch I-25 at Cheyenne to drop down into Denver.

During the time that I-70 was on the drawing board, rural interstates were permitted to be two lane roads (a provision later changed by Congress to a four lane requirement), so I-70 opened between Green River and Salina as a "Super-Two", a limited-access highway with only one lane of traffic in direction. This section didn't get its other two lanes until the mid 1980s.

Even today, more than thirty years after I-70 opened, the area is still rugged and sparsely populated. At a meeting about a month before the new section opened, a group of government leaders tried to map out plans for development along the corridor. The mayors of Green River and Salina feared that their towns would lose tourist dollars, so they expressed concern that developers would locate services close to the interstate "for better advantage" rather than what they described to be in the interest of the travelling public (in their towns)

AT the time, The Salt Lake Tribune noted that there was some interest in placing a motel at the Moore interchange (exit 114), but, that plan, as well as the mayors' fears themselves, never materialized. In fact, there are still no services on I-70 for 104 miles between Salina and Green River, the longest such section on any interstate in the nation. Whether it's in the "best interest of the travelling public" is dubious, but merchants of the two towns continue to benefit from I-70's long serviceless stretch. Stock up and fuel up before you head out, and then enjoy the spectacular scenery, as Utah's stark landscape treats you to an unforgettable ride!.

A couple more tidbits...
These days, US 50 shares I-70's route through the area, but, prior to 1975, US 50 arched far to the north and along the route still followed by present-day US 6 through Spanish Fork Canyon.
Interstate 70 is the only transcontinental (well, almost!) interstate that begins/ends in Utah.
Interstate 70 begins at I-15 at EXIT 131 and rolls 232 miles eastward to the Colorado state line.

[JLB]

IMHO, the best question in this exciting thread is why US 50 from the end of I-70 to NOCAL is not a limited-access 4-lane highway, like I-15 is to SOCAL.

From SOCAL I have driven to KC once on I-70, but kept my eyes closed through most of Utah. The one time I drove to NOCAL from KC, I went up to I-80 as soon as I could after seeing those big hills. That was on I-25.

Then there are those who would prefer that the US end about where I-70 does.

http://members.aol.com/utahhwys/rte070.htm

[JLB]

Probably more than anyone needs to know about the conception of I-70:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/covefort.cfm

Note the portion starting Extending I-70 West of Cove Fort.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by JLB

Probably more than anyone needs to know about the conception of I-70:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/covefort.cfm

Note the portion starting Extending I-70 West of Cove Fort.

Thanks for posting this, JLB. I found it quite interesting reading the history of I-70 between Denver and Cove Fort.

Rose Pink, I have wondered the reason that I-70 didn't extend to the west coast as well. But, as is mentioned, there just isn't a need for a third route from Utah to Nevada and California.

What we do need, however, is an interstate link between I-15 at Spanish Fork and I-70 at Green River. Highway 6 has way too much traffic...and there needs to be a direct interstate link between Denver and SLC. The alignment of I-70 makes sense as it does a great job of connecting Denver with Southern California. But with the growth in both Utah and Colorado, we now need an interstate along the "route not chosen" for I-70.

Steve

[Rose Pink]

Originally Posted by Steve

What we do need, however, is an interstate link between I-15 at Spanish Fork and I-70 at Green River. Highway 6 has way too much traffic...and there needs to be a direct interstate link between Denver and SLC. . . . . But with the growth in both Utah and Colorado, we now need an interstate along the "route not chosen" for I-70.

Steve

Amen, amen, amen, brother.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing. JLB, thank you for that link. It is interesting.

[JLB]

Well, you know how it is when you don't know the answer.

google the question

Originally Posted by Rose Pink

Amen, amen, amen, brother.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing. JLB, thank you for that link. It is interesting.

[Rose Pink]

Riverdees, I meant to thank you, too. I was just a little curious but you and JLB must have really gotten curious as you both spent the time to research the answer.

[JLB]

We are both Show Me boys, as in Show Me the answer.

Originally Posted by Rose Pink

Riverdees, I meant to thank you, too. I was just a little curious but you and JLB must have really gotten curious as you both spent the time to research the answer.