Which route would you consider to be the fastest way to get from Grand Junction to Palisade: the old highway or the Interstate? As it turns out, the difference in travel time is drastic. Check out the comparison.

Obviously, if one sets out from 32 Road, it would pay to take I-70. But what if you were heading from downtown Grand Junction to downtown Palisade? For the purpose of this comparison, the route would be from the Townsquare Media studios at 315 Kennedy Avenue to 4th Street and Main in Palisade.

We had a broadcast at that location the other day, and it made for a great opportunity to put this question to the test.

For the record, I always considered the two routes would ultimately be about the same. As it turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong. For the record, the drive from the studio to Palisade, and the return trip were conducted one right after the other. There was no noticeable difference between the amount of traffic on the road during the two trips. I drove the company vehicle to 4th and Main in Palisade to deliver a piece of equipment, and then came right back to the studio.

On the way out, my routing took me down Patterson and down the old highway. On the way back, I took I-70. The difference:

  • KEKB studio to 4th and Main in Palisade via I-70: 16 minutes 54 seconds
  • 4th and Main in Palisade to KEKB studio via old highway: 24 minutes 47 seconds

Google Maps computes the two routes as:

  • KEKB studio to 4th and Main in Palisade via I-70: 14.4 miles
  • 4th and Main in Palisade to KEKB studio via old highway: 12.4 miles

You'll notice the shorter distance (old highway) results in the longer travel time.

Google Maps estimates the travel time should vary by five minutes, not the eight-minute difference I experienced.

There you have it. If you're making your way from GJ to Palisade, whereas some people such as myself felt both routes were comparable, is in reality much faster via the interstate.

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