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Abandonded tunnel in Pennsylvania, United States
Laurel Hill Tunnel
Laurel Hill Tunnel in 1942
|
|
Line
| South Penn abandoned
|
---|
Location
| Laurel Hill
Westmoreland
and
Somerset
counties, Pennsylvania
|
---|
Coordinates
| 40°6′0.4″N
79°13′38.4″W
/
40.100111°N 79.227333°W
/
40.100111; -79.227333
|
---|
Status
| Closed to traffic, leased to
Chip Ganassi Racing
for testing
|
---|
Crosses
| Laurel Hill
|
---|
|
Work begun
| 1881, railway
1938, highway
|
---|
Constructed
| 1881?1885, railway
1938?1940, highway
|
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Opened
| October 1, 1940
|
---|
Closed
| October 30, 1964, I-70/I-76
|
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Owner
| Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
|
---|
|
Length
| 5,450 ft (1,660 m), railway
4,541 ft (1,384 m), highway
|
---|
No.
of
lanes
| 2
|
---|
Laurel Hill Tunnel
is a 4,541-foot-long (1,384 m) tunnel on the
Pennsylvania Turnpike
that was bypassed and abandoned in 1964. It is bored through
Laurel Ridge
, spanning the border of
Westmoreland
and
Somerset
counties. Its western portal may be seen from the eastbound side of the Turnpike at milepost 99.3.
The tunnel was built for the never-completed
South Pennsylvania Railroad
, as were two other tunnels to its east—
Sideling Hill
and
Rays Hill
—that were similarly on the original Turnpike and abandoned after being bypassed.
Bypass
[
edit
]
The tunnels on the Turnpike had been bottlenecks ever since the Turnpike's opening in 1940 due to reduced speeds and two-way traffic in a single tube. A second tube was added to four tunnels?
Allegheny Mountain
,
Tuscarora Mountain
,
Kittatinny Mountain
, and
Blue Mountain
?where it was the less expensive option.
Unlike the
Sideling Hill
and
Rays Hill
tunnels, the Laurel Hill Tunnel is not on the bypassed section commonly known as the
Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike
and is still owned by the
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
. It is not open to the public and is routinely patrolled by the
Pennsylvania State Police
for trespassers.
[1]
The highest point on the Turnpike, 2,603 feet (793 m), is on the Laurel Hill Tunnel bypass at Mile 100.45 in Somerset County.
Testing use
[
edit
]
The tunnel is used by
Chip Ganassi Racing
for high-speed race car aerodynamic testing. The tunnel has been repaved, equipped with climate control, safety equipment, and data collection systems. The tunnel was first used for testing in 2004 to develop the
G-Force
Indycar
.
[2]
[3]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
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Completed highways
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Partially completed highways
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Tunnels and bridges
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Aborted expansion plans
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Historical structures
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Tolling systems
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