[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 139 (Wednesday, September 19, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S11747]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IN COMMEMORATION OF SUMMIT ROAD'S 70TH ANNIVERSARY

 Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, I wish to commemorate 
the 70th anniversary of historic Summit Road, a significant highway 
which remains in use to this day as a popular tourist attraction and 
historic site within the State of Nebraska.
  It was Sunday, September 19, 1937, that the Summit Road leading to 
the top of Scotts Bluff National Monument in the Nebraska Panhandle was 
completed. The Summit Road is believed to be the oldest existing 
concrete road in the State of Nebraska. The road allows visitors to 
drive to the top of the bluff through three tunnels for a spectacular 
view of the valley 800 feet below.
  Summit Road was built entirely by the Civilian Conservation Corps, 
CCC, at a time when dry winds and dust storms were blowing across the 
western High Plains. The CCC was created by President Franklin D. 
Roosevelt when the entire country was in the grip of the Great 
Depression to employ jobless men who were struggling to earn enough 
money to buy food for their families.
  Scotts Bluff National Monument is named for a fur trapper by the name 
of Hiram Scott, who was wounded and deserted by his companions in 1828. 
He gained immortality by making his way to a magnificent formation of 
bluffs along the North Platte River before succumbing to his wounds. It 
was for Hiram Scott that Scotts Bluff National Monument, Scotts Bluff 
County, and the city of Scottsbluff have been named.
  Scotts Bluff National Monument, which rises 4,649 feet above sea 
level, was an imposing landmark, guiding wagon trains along the Oregon, 
Mormon, California, and Pony Express Trails. Native Americans 
originally called this natural formation Ma-a-pa-te, which translates 
into ``hill that is hard to go around.''
  Today, Scotts Bluff National Monument is home to an excellent museum 
providing information about the historic pioneer trails, together with 
an impressive collection of art from William Henry Jackson, a 
photographer and painter, best known as the first person to photograph 
the wonders of Yellowstone National Park.
  It was reported that 550 cars drove to the top of Scotts Bluff 
National Monument when the Summit Road was opened 70 years ago. Since 
then, thousands of vehicles have made the trip and are still able to do 
so today, thanks to the efforts of the CCC which built it and the 
National Park Service which now maintains the road.

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