I lived in Denver for 22 years, and I made this drive many times. It never got old. Now I live in West Virginia, and although the Appalachians are beautiful, the Rockies are a lot closer to heaven.
This tunnel was one of the multitude of great things I remember experiencing in Colorado. We drove out to Colorado from Michigan in 2000 and this was one of the reasons we've gone back 2 more times. The Big Thompson Canyon is incredible beyond words. The whole state humbles me as a human when I look upon it's majesty surrounding me.
I Would Like to second that. The Rockies all on their own is truly Humbling. I ve driven from Texas all the way to Idaho and back, Through Utah, Colorado and Wyoming ? Lived in North Dakota for 4 years. So yeah I know what you mean. I Love the Rockies
I worked in this tunnel 3 summers (1970-71-72) as a construction miner. I worked in the crown drift as a chuck tender/driller. It wasn't pleasant but it paid top wages. People died in there every year it was under construction. It sure looks all pretty now. Great video.
Cracking video mate. Astonishing when you think of the geography, geology and elevations involved, that someone actually had the balls to build something like the 70.
Love your annotations. I salute the great men and women who made this a reality. I just take off to the mountains, first chance I get. All of this is possible because of their hard work. I amazing to learn, all of this started with one man's vision with a stroke of a pen. Thank you Mr. President.
AWESOME work on this, man! This is easily one of your best videos. Loved the introductory annotations in the first couple of minutes, and the changing elevation numbers throughout the duration of your drive through the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel was a nice effect, too. Going straight to the favorites list.
Omg.,makes me car sick...lolll but cannot stop watching.. love mountains...I live in Maine ..have Atlantic at my door step and White Mountains 45 minutes away!!! Love this ❤️♥️♥️♥️😍
I don't think I ever got around to seeing this until now? This was AWESOME! Great collection of facts, and an excellent story line, all the way up to the top of the Continental Divide. Nothing like seeing the Rocky Mountains in all its glory...especially above 10,000 feet!
Glad you pointed out that 9 people lost their lives, which is sad to hear but not surprising with a construction of this type. I live in Michigan and 5 people died while constructing its iconic Mackinac Bridge between 1954-1957.
Runaway Truck Ramps are there in case a truck loses its brakes going downhill. The ramps are usually up a small incline right off a corner of the road and covered in sand or gravel to help slow the vehicle down.
As in when you are crawling downhill at 10 mph, impatient ski traffic cuts in front of you then slows down, you tap the brakes and look in the mirror to see all tires have stopped turning but you are starting to go faster, on the ice.
Thank you for this great video! I did this in my '72 VW Super-Beetle in 1984, on my way home to PA after having purchased in in CA. I still have the car. And the memories of that trip home on that route.
Those are to stop trucks that are too tall. Trucks carrying hazardous materials aren't allowed in the tunnel, they have to take highway 6 over the Pass
The three videos so far of I-70 W of Denver have been fantastic. Well done, and your choice of music is outstanding (I don't know how you find such upbeat, beautiful music)! I hope to see some more soon, and keep up the good work.
My brother & I rode our BMW R1150 GS bikes through the tunnel eastbound last month and my Dad's brother Scott from Massachusetts rode with us on his Yamaha Virago 750, We then took the westbound route over Loveland Pass, That's a GREAT ride!!! You just have to remember to try to prolong your brakes by downshifting to a lower gear, We plan on doing this again next year, Fortunately, We had great weather all the way.
This is home to me! I grew up in Summit County and can remember when the Eisenhower Tunnel wasn't there..it was all Loveland Pass! Talk about scary! :) Thank you for posting this video!
One thing about I-70 I have always found very funny is the truck warning signs on a couple of the grades, for instance: "Don't be fooled - 4 more miles of steep grades and sharp curves" "Trucks: You are not down yet! 1 1/2 more miles of steep grade!"
Nostalgic as my parents drove that route from New Mexico to Montana throughout my grade school years. Somewhere up there we stopped for buffalo burgers
I rode my Harley thru Colo. last August to the Black Canyon, the Royal Gorge, we rode to the top of Pikes Peak then 25 north to friends in Denver,then 70 west thru the tunnel! my trip was except for the day we rode Pikes Peak it decided to snow on us! I'll be back in August for my 2nd adventure. P.s. your video is great I felt like I was back on my bike.
Excellent video, I took that drive in late October 2012, there was a little more snow about, but that's one great ride down the mountain from the Eisenhower Tunnel to Silverthorne, wouldn't like to do it in heavy snow though.
I just did this last August... on a bike... and I got totally soaked on the western side of the tunnel! the weather systems change drastically in that short of distance.
Awesome video. I liked how your camera handled the transition from daylight to the tunnel and back to daylight. One question: at 7:10, was that truck fixing to hit the runaway ramp or was he just stopped there?
I haven't seen runaway truck ramps since I went to Wolfcreek Pass skiing. Awesome video. People use your volume control if you don't like the music. I thought it was good.
I've seen one on I-176 South near the Morgantown exit for the Pennsylvania Turnpike (Eastern I-76; Colorado has an I-76 also). This was put in when PennDOT rerouted the highway from the traffic light intersection with PA Rt. 10 to the Morgantown exit itself.
Very Beautiful drive I actually just went through this area to go to Silverthorne to eat at some amazing chinese food... really it was just to have a fun drive and we discovered some good food haha. Thanks for the video.
Colorado needs another interstate quality road. It needs to run roughly from Longmont-Boulder west over to Grandby then west from there all he way to Grand Junction. This would take significant pressure off I-70 especially for traffic north of Denver into Wyoming and Nebraska. It would provide an alternate route for when the Glenwood Canyon is shut. Time for some visionary leadership.
That 's so cool driving West on I70 in the Rockies. I used to live in Denver and never had a chance to see the scenery. I agree with jimatmil56, "Thanks so much for sharing these vids.
There is one sign on the side of the tunnel that pedestrians walking can see, but the tunnel is in Colorado, and us native Coloradans are obsessed with the elevation of everywhere we go. If we are in a place for more than a few hours, we need to know the elevation, its like a sickness. Google image search Eisenhower Tunnel and one of the first images should be a picture of that sign
How scary is it to drive through this being a truck driver.. I’m suppose to be heading to Vegas next week and never been on the west side of America before so I don’t know what to expect
A friend of mine here in Minnesota helped build the Eisenhower Tunnel. He was born in Greeley. I've not been to CO. but I've been to WY. and I can understand how elevation plays a role in everything. Kind of hard to go someplace when there is a mountain in the way. I hope to make this drive myself someday and that is why I was wondering how you knew the elevations. I thought maybe they posted signs everywhere saying what the elevation is. Thanks.
11,158 ft. above sea level @ western portal. That is 2.11 miles above sea level (more than twice the height of Denver) with atmospheric pressure @ ~9.65 psi. (less than the 11 psi for jet airliners and the 10.2 psi used by astronauts aboard the International Space Station when preparing for an EVA).
Resolution is terrific! What camera did you use? And your music selections add to the enjoyment. What speed is the video set at? And how did you get that elevation counter in real time!!! Terrific!! Thanks for your great efforts!!!
Great video, just like always, a 6 minutes 26 second into the video, was that a runaway truck ramp on the right, if so, I have never seen one that has an uphill that steep before, but I can definiatly understand it, we are going down one heck of a steep grade here and if a truck becomes a runaway, by this point speeds could be pretty good.
Being a flatlander from Minnesota how do you know the elevations that you post long the route? Are there signs stating the elevations as you drive along? Thanks.
great video.just one question. these old 1950s stretlights.do still work. because if memory serves me correct that used to use Amber bulbs. it's just like the new LED street lights that they have now they sign Amber too. I'd like the yellow better before they put these new LED street lights
