[8] Originally a cantonal road, the Julier Pass was adopted into the Swiss federal highway system on 1 January 2020 as part of the new N29 from Thusis via Tiefencastel to Silvaplana.

The theater tower cost 2.5 million Swiss francs and was ceremonially opened by Federal Councillor Alain Berset.

By that point, large, efficient horse-drawn vehicles could cross the Brenner, allowing a single teamster to transport 30 Zentner (3000 pounds) of goods.

In Graubünden, road conditions were still so poor that only pack animals or two-wheeled carts could cross the passes.

By this point, the Brenner Pass had overtaken Graubünden as the most efficient transalpine route, largely due to better road infrastructure.

In 1816, a six-meter-wide road along the 100-kilometer-long San Bernardino route was plotted by Ticino State Councillor Giulio Pocobelli [de] within a few days.

Although supported by Ticino and the Kingdom of Sardinia, the project was difficult to finance and was opposed by cantons along the Gotthard route and Austria, which controlled Lombardy.

Eventually, with funding from the merchants of Chur, the Porten, and the municipalities along the route, construction of the San Bernardino commercial road began on 14 September 1818 and was completed by the summer of 1823.

[24] The Julier Pass was chosen over the Septimer for its gentler slope, lower avalanche risk, and access to the Engadin valley.

[17][25] The construction of this new road proved prescient when massive flooding of the Hinterrhein in 1834 obstructed the Untere Strasse to San Bernardino at 72 locations and destroyed 24 bridges.

[24] From 1835 onward, the chief engineer of the canton of Graubünden, Richard La Nicca, worked to improve the Obere Strasse, including the Julier Pass.

[26] In the second half of the 19th century, the Julier Pass was most notable for providing access to the spa towns of the upper Engadin, while transalpine traffic preferred the Splügen route or new alpine railways.

[17] In 1923, the Swiss federal government forced Graubünden to open a through road for automobiles, and the canton chose the Julier route for this role.