The Hanging Lake Tunnel is a dual bore highway tunnel carrying Interstate 70 (I-70) and U.S. Route 6 (US 6) through a mountain bordering Glenwood Canyon

Glenwood Canyon

Glenwood Canyon is a rugged scenic canyon on the Colorado River in western Colorado in the United States. Its canyon walls climb as high as above the Colorado River. It is the largest such canyon on the Upper Colorado...

, just east of exit #125 in Garfield County

Garfield County, Colorado

Garfield County is the eighth most extensive and the twelfth most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 43,791 at U.S. Census 2000. The county is named in honor of United States President James A. Garfield...

, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, USA.

Description

Each bore is 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) long. The tunnels house a command center, which is accessed from a hangar door inside. The command center monitors cameras through the canyon, and are used to control variable message signs to slow down or re-direct traffic, engage contraflow in the event of an accident, and dispatch tow trucks. This command center also monitors the tunnels under Wolf Creek Pass

Wolf Creek Pass

Wolf Creek Pass is a high mountain pass on the Continental Divide, in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. It is the route through which U.S. Highway 160 passes from the San Luis Valley into southwest Colorado on its way to New Mexico and Arizona. The pass is notable as inspiration of a C. W....

 along US 160.

History

Construction began on the Glenwood Canyon Area in 1980, being one of the last portions of the Interstate highway system

Interstate Highway System

The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...

to be completed. The tunnels were completed in 1992 as part of the larger Glenwood Canyon project along I-70, totalling $490 million.