Pavant Range

The survey crew did not use the route of the railroad past the San Rafael Reef. However, they did use the route of the railroad across the Wasatch Plateau. The construction crews destroyed two of four tunnels when the bed was widened for the freeway. The two remaining tunnels are visible just south of the freeway and are used by a frontage road.[26]

Some portions of I-70 over the Pavant Range and Wasatch Plateau were opened to traffic before the portion over the San Rafael Swell. These portions were temporarily signed as State Route 4.[3] The portion over the San Rafael Swell opened to traffic in 1970, finally making the Utah portion of I-70 a drivable route.[1]

Interstate 70 was dedicated on December 5, 1970, at the Ghost Rocks view area inside the swell, even though it would take another 20 years to fully complete the freeway.[1] At the ceremony the mayors of cities recently made neighbors, including Grand Junction, Colorado, introduced themselves. Then Governor Calvin L. Rampton noted that I-70 was the longest road the U.S. had built over a completely new route since the Alaska Highway, during World War II. It was also noted this was the longest piece of the Interstate Highway System to open at a given time.[1]


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