August 22
| 1986 | Engineering News-Record, in its issue dated July 29, 1965, said, "The motorist who zips across the country on I-80 will be able to sample a hefty slice of Americana." A complete "zip" was not possible until now. Today, Regional Administrator Morris Reinhardt and Division Administrator Daniel Dake join Utah officials for a 1-hour dedication ceremony near Salt Lake City for a 5-mile section of I-80, the last segment of the 2,907-mile highway. It is the first transcontinental Interstate highway to be completed, at a cost of $3.2 billion, linking two great suspension bridges, the George Washington Bridge and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Lt. Governor W. Val Oveson says the fact that I-80 was completed in Utah does not mean Utahns are slow "but just the most important and right in the middle." The ceremony--the segment actually opened following its completion last Sunday, August 17--takes place about 50 miles from Promontory Point, where a Golden Spike was pounded into the track, on May 10, 1869, symbolizing completion of the Nation's first transcontinental railroad."This will go down in history. You will be able to read about it in your history books." |
