Majestic mountains — Glacier's famous highway turns 75

What might sound like mountains of problems were viewed as mere molehills by engineers filled with the can-do spirit prevalent in early 20th century America.

So, you want to build a road through some of North America's most rugged terrain? No problem — well, maybe some problems, but nothing that couldn't be overcome.

It's been 75 years since Going-to-the-Sun Road opened in Montana's Glacier National Park, and it is still considered an engineering marvel. That landmark achievement will be celebrated at the park this summer, with official ceremonies on June 27 featuring performers, dignitaries, tribal leaders, elected officials and more.

The date Going-to-the-Sun Road was officially dedicated was July 15,1933, but "we will celebrate a few weeks early to reduce congestion and minimize impacts to park visitors," says Amy Vanderbilt, event coordinator at Glacier.

The ceremony will be held at Logan Pass, one of the most popular stops along the road. Visitors will be brought in by the park's new shuttle buses.

The shuttles, which were used in the park for the first time last summer, will begin normal summer operation on July 3.

Visitors to the park will notice another change: The past 75 years have taken their toll on the Sun Road, as it is often abbreviated, and a comprehensive "rehabilitation" has begun to ensure that it lasts well into the future. Many of the most urgent repairs have already been finished, but the complete work is projected to last 10 years and cost some $250 million.

The project is one of the largest road rehabilitation projects in National Park Service history, but as previous Glacier Superintendent Mick Holm wrote, "a trip across the Sun Road does provide an iconic experience for a vast number of Glacier's visitors. The scope and magnitude of the project is clearly unprecedented and daunting. But I believe we can and must do nothing short of completing this rehabilitation in a timely manner, thereby preserving this phenomenal mountain byway experience for generations to come."

During Glacier's peak season — June to October — some 475,000 vehicles travel the road, an average of about 3,500 a day. Surveys show that approximately 80 percent of all the park's visitors travel the road.

Going-to-the-Sun Road is essentially a two-lane highway that winds from Apgar Village at West Glacier through the heart of the park, up the steep slopes of the Continental Divide and over the 6,646-foot-high Logan Pass and on to Saint Mary on the eastern side of the park. It's a distance of 50 miles.

It offers spectacular views of clear lakes, pristine forests, craggy mountains and alpine valleys. It provides textbook visuals of the work of nature and how it changes landscape. It was called, at the time of its completion, "the most beautiful piece of mountain road in the world," and nothing has changed that assessment in the hearts and minds of visitors in the past three-quarters of a century.

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