That wide shoulder looks a lot better than the 2-lane hilly roads with no shoulder I would have to ride on. Hilly and no shoulder means cars have to wait behind me until they crest the hill before they can pass, which likely means there will be some impatient drivers.

There is one stretch for about 1.5 miles of 4-lane 55-MPH speed limit, which actually has marked bike lanes on both sides. I'd say the road looks about similar to the pics you posted above, minus the blasted out mountains.