Rim Rock Drive is a scenic road in

Colorado National Monument Colorado National Monument is a National Park Service unit near the city of Grand Junction, Colorado. Sheer-walled canyons cut deep into sandstone and granite–gneiss–schist rock formations. This is an area of desert land high on the Colorad ...

. The drive follows the upper rim of a series of canyons, extending from the vicinity of

Fruita, Colorado The City of Fruita is a home rule municipality located in western Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 13,395 at the 2020 United States Census. Fruita is a part of the Grand Junction, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area a ...

, in the west to near

Grand Junction, Colorado Grand Junction is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 65,560 at the 2020 United States Census, making Grand Junction the 17th mo ...

, in the east, connecting points only miles apart in a straight line. The entire road has been designated a historic district on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

The routing of the road was determined in November 1931 by

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

Engineer Thomas W. Secrest during a visit to the monument. The detailed design for the road was developed in 1932 by the National Park Service Branch of Engineering and Branch of Plans and Design for maximum scenic impact, using the National Park Service Rustic style. Most of the road was constructed with almost entirely manual labor by labor from the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

, Public Works Administration, and

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

, and represents one of the most significant

Depression-era The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

public projects. Extensive drilling and blasting was required, and three tunnels were bored. Work was suspended by the Second World War from 1942 to 1948, and was finally completed in 1950. At its height, the project employed more than 800 men.

References

External links

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Rim Rock Drive
Colorado National Monument

Colorado National Monument Association * {{National Register of Historic Places Roads on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado National Park Service rustic in Colorado National Register of Historic Places in Colorado National Monument Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado Civilian Conservation Corps in Colorado Works Progress Administration in Colorado Transportation in Mesa County, Colorado Historic American Engineering Record in Colorado