Choosing a Route

After Glacier National Park was established, efforts began to construct a road into the park’s interior, and two contrasting philosophies emerged in the choice of route. National Park Service Chief Engineer George Goodwin proposed a route that climbed Logan Pass through 15 switchbacks, a plan considered easier to build and a statement of man’s mastery over nature. National Park Service Landscape Architect Thomas Vint proposed instead one long switchback hanging along the Garden Wall, a route that required more stone masonry retaining walls and was more difficult and expensive to construct, but that blended into the mountainside and offered sweeping vistas. National Park Service Director Stephen T. Mather brought in U.S. Bureau of Public Roads engineer Frank Kittredge to survey the feasibility of both routes, and Kittredge judged the Vint proposal superior for its wider curves, lower 6% grade, and aesthetic appeal. Mather chose the Vint route because he considered it the better design, with fewer impacts and greater access to the park’s interior for the public. Driving the Going-to-the-Sun Road today still preserves the road’s 1932 stone masonry features, original alignment, and historic look and feel.

Montana · United States