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<br />Gunnison Tunnel <br /> <br />This photograph shows the Eastern Portal of <br />Gunnison Tunnel and ItS di."ersion structure on <br />the Gunnison Rrver which IS located upstream of <br />the boundary of the Black Canyon of the Gunni- <br />son Naltonal Monument <br /> <br />In 1890. F.e, Lauzon concei."ed the idea of build- <br />Ing a tunnel from the Gunnison River to the Un- <br />compahgre Valley. The Colorado legislature was <br />approached about assisting in this project and In <br />1901.525.000 was set aside for lhe construction <br />01 the tunnel. ThaI same year, Fredenck Newell <br />allocated $4.000 to survey the tunnel and canal <br />locatIOn. The Geological Survey mapped the <br />region as well as conducted se."eral addlllonal <br />surveys, indudlng the geologic structure of the <br />tunnel route, The State of Colorado started con. <br />struction on the tunnel In the fall 011901, but It1€! <br />project was abandoned due to Jack of funds. <br /> <br />The project was made possible in 1902 wh€n <br />US, Congress passed the ReclamatIOn Act <br />which allowed the farmers and water users to <br />pay back th€ project o."er a long period of llme <br />interestlree. The funds for the project were allo- <br />cated by the Secretary of the Intenor and the site <br />was designated as one of the first proJ€cts 01 the <br />Reclamation service. now known as the Bureau <br />01 Reclamation. <br /> <br />Construction of the tunnel began again in early <br />1905. and It was finished In September 1909. It <br />was one of the largest tunnel projects to be at. <br />tempted at th€ time: 11 feet wide by 12 feet high <br />and stretching almost six miles through hard <br />rock. day, sand, and shale. There were many <br />dangers to face in the construction of the tunnel. <br />The tunnel was steamy and hot because of hot <br />water seepages and underground streams often <br />flooded the tunnel. The tunnel provides approxi- <br />mately 640.000 acre-feet of water annually to the <br />Uncompahgre Valley Water Users AsSOCIation <br />and Irrigates approximately 80.000 acres <br /> <br /> - - <br /> -- - -- <br /> "'~;-~ - <br /> July 2005 , , .. . .. . <br />.. . , . , .. " . . . .. .. " " <br />,,'. ., " " " '. " .,.. " .,., . <br />.. . .. .. .. .. .. >>" " ... .... <br />. .. . . . .. .. . " <br /> <br />Sun Mon I Tue r Wed Thu , Fri Sat <br /> I I I , I <br /> I I I I 1 2 <br /> I <br />--J I * <br />4-t r - J <br /> 7 8 9 <br /> I <br /> I -L <br /> I <br /> Independence Day I -I I <br /> I I 151 <br /> I 131 ~ <br />10 11 I 121 16 <br /> I <br />~ I <br /> - <br />18 19 20 21 22 23 <br />24 25 26 27 28 29 30 <br />31 <br /> r".r...,,^ I~_ <br /> <br />Annl......~.r< ,_ <br />