The Crazy 9-Mile Tunnel Through Vail Mountain That Never Happened
I still haven't made through the Eisenhower tunnel, which sounds pretty impressive and is ONLY about 1.6 miles long.
Instead, imagine how crazy it would've been to cruise along I-70 and find a much longer tunnel going UNDER the ski community of Vail, as opposed to through it. The idea never came to fruition, but it's a pretty fascinating scenario and read.
Oh, what could have been.
The interstate has been frustrating to many (from what I hear because, like I said, I have yet to experience it yet), with traffic issues and pretty much splitting Vail in half to the North and South. It turns out that one engineering company dared to imagine a different outcome that avoided both these pitfalls.
According to Denver Channel 7, a 53-page document from 2005 put together by engineering firm Kracum Resources details an insanely ambitious project to construct a tunnel beneath the ski town itself, which was ultimately shot down.
Just try to visualize what it would look like not to have to deal with those headaches or see the interstate at all from Vail, instead having the roadway disappear into the mountainside. And for those who were travelling along I-70, imagine approaching the rocky slope and then driving for 9 miles through the darkness. Crazy right?
youtube/Denver7 The Denver Channel
I don't have a problem with tunnels or claustrophobia, but I know plenty of people that do who get nervous driving through Eisenhower. I'm not sure those same people would be able to do a tunnel for a full 9 miles.
That's a LONG time to be traveling through a mountain.