I cannot speak to the 35-70, not having used one in 10 years or so. However 2 other nikkor lenses to consider,
24-70 F2.8, is an excellent lens. It's going to over lap on the 16-35 a bit however, but optically it's a great lens. Also the latest Tamron 24-70 is a great lens.
Nikon 24-120. This lens seems to be my carry lens more often than not. The range it has is more to my liking and overall it produces very good files. Mine is prone to vignetting at 24mm.
In the field I tend to carry the 24-120 with the 14-24, the 14-24 being my workhorse, as it's still the best wide zoom I have ever used, with amazing image quality.
Paul