Man's Futile Attempt to Control Nature
In April of 1983, the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, US Highway 6, and the small town of Thistle, Utah were destroyed in a landslide which dammed the Spanish Fork River, accumulating nearly 65,000 acre-feet of water behind a 300 ft. natural dam. By April 17, 1983, three days after the slide closed the railroad and US Highway 6, crews with bulldozers were working feverishly to stop or at least reduce the flow of the landslide. Efforts to save the original highway and rail alignment were officially abandoned later this same day. The railroad would be realigned through a 3000 ft. tunnel through nearby Billy's Mountain, opening for traffic on July 4, 1983. By late in the fall, the lake was essentially drained and by winter, a new alignment for Highway 6 opened for traffic.
Man's Futile Attempt to Control Nature
In April of 1983, the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, US Highway 6, and the small town of Thistle, Utah were destroyed in a landslide which dammed the Spanish Fork River, accumulating nearly 65,000 acre-feet of water behind a 300 ft. natural dam. By April 17, 1983, three days after the slide closed the railroad and US Highway 6, crews with bulldozers were working feverishly to stop or at least reduce the flow of the landslide. Efforts to save the original highway and rail alignment were officially abandoned later this same day. The railroad would be realigned through a 3000 ft. tunnel through nearby Billy's Mountain, opening for traffic on July 4, 1983. By late in the fall, the lake was essentially drained and by winter, a new alignment for Highway 6 opened for traffic.