The Zion-Mt. Caramel Highway Tunnel along UT 9 was one of the park’s most impressive construction projects. Still considered an engineering marvel, workers blasted the 1.1-mile tunnel through solid sandstone, between 1927 and 1930 at a cost of $2 million. The tunnel increased access to the park, extending the highway to Zion’s east side and the town of Mt. Caramel, which runs along U.S. 89. At first, the tunnel included lookout “galleries,” cut like windows in the rock to allow motorists a better view of the canyon below. Today motorists cannot stop along the tunnel route. Larger vehicles traversing the tunnel must have an escort, available for a $15 fee.
