Allegheny Tunnel

www.paturnpike.com/newsletters/winter2000/page03.htm

When it opened in 1940, the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Allegheny Tunnel in Somerset County was considered an engineering wonder. Folks marveled at the sheer act of blasting a mile-long hole through a mountain — in this case, the Allegheny Ridge. The two-lane tunnel (one of seven that together totaled 6.7 miles in length) flattened the roadway for motorists and helped usher in the era of the American superhighway.

The westbound tube of the Allegheny Tunnel opened during the launch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike nearly six decades ago. That single tunnel accepted two-way traffic for more than 25 years. The eastbound (southern) tube opened in 1965 to relieve congestion at the four-lane-to-two-lane bottleneck. At the same time, the original tube received a complete overhaul.



Today, the Allegheny Tunnel continues to serve thousands of customers each day, millions each year. But its main systems — from lighting and ventilation to the ceiling slabs and ceramic tiles lining the tunnel walls — need attention. Many of those components are becoming obsolete, and annual operating and maintenance costs for the 1.1-mile tunnel (the longest on the Turnpike’s "mainline") are nearing $2.4 million as a result.

HWW ~ Best wishes to all