Cars are massed on the road Oct. 28, 1977, awaiting the end of the dedication ceremony marking the opening of the new highway on the Lewiston Hill in this Roy C. Woods photo published in the Oct. 29, 1977, Lewiston Tribune. Cecil Andrus, U.S. Secretary of the Interior and former governor of Idaho, was speaking at the event and Tribune photographer Barry Kough is seen mounting a stool at the right to snap a photo of Andrus. The new highway, which had a speed limit of 55 mph, replaced the Spiral Highway, which had a limit of 35 mph, according to the accompanying story. A number of other dignitaries spoke at the event including, Gov. John V. Evans, and, after a ribbon was cut opening the highway to traffic, the governor and Andrus, “led a caravan of some 200 to 300 behicles to the top of the hill and back. It then was officially open to traffic.” Andrus drove on the way up the hill and Evans drove the car on the trip back down. The Lewiston High School band, shown in the foreground, played the national anthem during the ceremony but didn’t get to make the trip up the hill, according to a related story. As the hundreds of cars moved up the hill in celebration of its opening, the band members filed back onto a school bus which returned them to school. Readers who would like to share their historical photos (20 years or older) from throughout the region may do so by emailing them to blasts@lmtribune.com or submitting them to: Blast from the Past, P.O. Box 957, Lewiston, ID 83501. Questions? Call Jeanne M. DePaul at (208) 848-2221.
