News

Gunnison Tunnel Centennial Celebration

Sep 29, 2009

Saturday September 26,2009 Montrose, Colorado.
"Gunnison Tunnel is Done" was the headline in 1909 when President William Howard Taft dedicated to opening of the Gunnison Tunnel. Dedication Ceremony was actually held September 23, 1909 while President Taft visited several cities in the west.

This 10 foot wide by 12 foot high tunnel was the first project commissioned by the newly created Bureau of Reclamation. The U. S, Reclamation Service, as it was named then, managed the construction. The New York Times reported that the surveys were so accurate that the sides met within 12/100 of a foot and the tops were within 65/100 of a foot when the two ends of the tunnel met.

The tunnel is 5.8 miles long. Started in 1904 and completed in 1909 the tunnel brings water at the rate of 1000 cubic feet per second to the Uncompaghre Valley, the people of Montrose, Olathe, and Delta, Colorado. Water is supplied to over 80,000 acres of farmland through a network of laterals, canals and irrigation ditches.

In 2008 crops watered are valued at over 22 million dollars. The area is famous for Olathe Sweet Corn and broccoli.

Copyright Charles E. Carstensen
Copyright Charles E. Carstensen
Copyright Charles E. Carstensen