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Generals Highway Roads and Bridges
Sequoia National Park, California
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE RUSTIC ROADS
Park roads in both design and purpose are unlike most state and federal highways found outside park boundaries. The primary purpose of park roads is to provide access to the scenic and cultural wonders "preserved" within, while altering the existing landscape as little as possible. Park roads are not required to be the quickest and most direct route, and therefore can follow a path dictated by scenic and historic interest rather than topography. Under the supervision of landscape architects, the design and construction of Generals Highway from 1921 through 1935 followed strict guidelines in order to ensure the preservation of the natural landscape. Restrictions on the construction of roads included limiting blasting (difficult in rocky mountain terrain), selecting quarry and borrow sites that were not in view of the road and would not harm the landscape, the careful disposal of rock and other fill materials, avoidance of unnecessary cutting of trees and vegetation, and placement of construction camps in areas that could easily be restored.
1925 ceremonies dedicating the Generals Highway to the Giant Forest. |
| Introduction | Acadia | Blue Ridge Parkway | Chickamauga and Chattanooga | Colonial Parkway | Generals Highway | George Washington Memorial Parkway | Great Smoky Mountains | Mount Rainier | Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway | Shenandoah's Skyline Drive | Southwest Circle Tour | Vicksburg | Yellowstone | Yosemite |
