Original news article printed in 1951 in the San Juan Record, after the men broke a tunnel through the Blue Mountain. - This article is in possession of Cleal Bradford.

Typed Text of the Above Article

By Josephine Bayles

    Blanding-- Uncle Walter Lyman's dream came true, Thursday afternoon, December 27, 1951, when the tunnel through the Blue Mountain was completed. For several days prior to this date workmen had been expecting to complete the job, but it took a little longer than they anticipated. Marvin Lyman, (son of Uncle Walter C.) Vet Bradford, and  Don Smith went on snow shoes to the north entrance of the tunnel. They had made a code of taps with the workmen on the south side of the tunnel to show them where to drill.

    They first tried on the east side, which proved to be wrong. Then they tried on the west side, and when the drill had gone only thirty inches Kay Bradford, the driller, let out a war whoop. Immediately Marvin Lyman jumped to the opening and shouted in answer. In a short time, the "break through" was complete, and the men all walked out the south side of the tunnel. It was a dream of long standing "come true" for a great many Blanding people.

    In August, 1921, work on the tunnel was begun. Walter C. Lyman was in charge. David Black, Sr., was the foreman of the first road that was built right up in the bottom of Johnson Creek. The last end of the road was so extremely steep, it took a good four horse team to pull one ton of supplies to the tunnel.
 

David P. Black and his horse, "Stranger." David Black, Sr., was the foreman of the first road that was built from the bottom of Johnson Creek that lead to the tunnel. - Dottie Laws photo.
 
    Because of the lack of equipment, and the shortage of funds, the work on the tunnel was discontinued at that time.

    In 1939 a group of the Blanding citizens decided to try the project again. It was resurveyed by Engineer A. Z. Richards of Salt Lake City. A road was built by way of Camp Jackson, in which the Forest Service participated. New cabins and machine shops were constructed at the entrance of the tunnel, also a powder house and stable were built.

    Work was begun without even a compressor. Walter Lyman did the timbering that was necessary until they got in to solid rock. Individuals put up different amounts of money, and where they didn't have the money at that time, they pledged themselves to secure it and pay later. It was understood that they would be reimbursed by shares of tunnel stock.

    After the work began to lag, it was decided to contract, and a contract was let to Dick and Jess Walker for 500 feet, which they completed. Next a contract was let to Heber Carroll, William Sheppard, Charlie Harvey and Charlie Carroll. Next, Marvin Lyman and Vet Bradford took a contract for 1000 feet, which was completed in 1947. At this time funds were exhausted, and the pledges of a good many people were not kept, and it looked like maybe the tunnel could not be completed. The (Building a One Mile Long Tunnel)Blanding Irrigation Company was contacted to see if it could help out or take over.

    The Blanding Irrigation Company sent a delegation to Salt Lake to see the Utah Power and Water Board. Charles Redd was a member of this board, and as he was familiar with the need of the tunnel and what had been done on it, he was a great help to the members of the Irrigation Company in securing a loan of $75,000. to finish the tunnel. This money was to be paid back in a period of 25 years, and was secured by a mortgage on the property of the Irrigation Company.

    It was the judgment of all of those connected with the loan that this amount would be sufficient to complete the project. However, immediately after the loan was granted, prices of labor and material started to increase very rapidly. For this reason, the completion of the tunnel has been a very heavy burden to the contractors and everyone else concerned.

    Under the new contract taken by Mr. Lyman and Mr. Bradford, work was resumed in August, 1948. Construction continued early and late, as long as weather would permit each year. Two different times, an extension of time had to be secured from the Utah Power and Water Board.
 

Thora Bradford by the stove in the cabin kitchen. Thora, supported her husband, Vet, by cooking and caring for the miners in a most admirable fashion while they worked on the tunnel. - Donated to the San Juan Historical Commission by Thora Bradford (Blanding, UT) in 1989. 
 
Vet Bradford has had charge of the construction, and has been on the job constantly. His wife, Thora, has stayed by his side, cooked and cared for the miners in a most admirable fashion. Most of the time, when help has been hard to secure, his own boys have stuck with him on the job. For the past two years, George, Ed, and Roger Foster have been very dependable and loyal workmen, and have stayed with Mr. Bradford.
 
(Left to Right)Roger, George, and Ed Foster were brothers from Dolores, Colorado. They worked on the south side of the Blanding tunnel for three summers. - Kay and LaRae Bradford photo.
 
    Marvin F. Lyman's part has been played well, also. He has had charge of the ordering and freighting of materials, and keeping them on hand. There have been times when it was hard to get labor and materials.

    The tunnel measures 5370 feet, and according to Mr. Bradford, had a very good grade. He says that 4311 feet of it are so straight that the boys could read small print that many feet back from the reflection of a mirror at the south entrance.

    Everyone is rejoicing over the completion of the project. Friday after the "break through", several car loads of Blanding people rushed to the scene, and pictures were taken. Mr. Bradford says "When I got home, Thursday night and told Thora we were finally through, she was so happy, she started to cry."

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Last Updated July 9, 1997 by Janet Wilcox