Rays Hill Tunnel
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Rays Hill Tunnel is one of three original Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels which were abandoned (this one in 1968) after two massive realignment projects. The others included the Sideling Hill Tunnel, and further west, the Laurel Hill Tunnel. The reason for abandonment was because it was thought to be less expensive to realign the Turnpike than to bore a second tube for four lane traffic.
From the Turnpike's opening in 1940 until the realignment projects, the tunnels were bottlenecks due to reduced speeds with opposing traffic in the same tubes. Four other tunnels on the Turnpike each had a second tube bored, as it was determined in these instances to be the cheaper option (Allegheny Mountain, Tuscarora Mountain, Kittatinny Mountain, and Blue Mountain). All of the original tunnels were part of the never-completed South Penn Railway system which history has dubbed "Vanderbilt's Folly."
Rays Hill Tunnel is 3532 feet (1077 meter) long. It was the shortest of the seven original tunnels on Pennsylvania Turnpike. Due to its short length, it only contains ventilation fans at its eastern portal.
Since 2001, this tunnel, like the Sideling Hill Tunnel several miles to the east, has been incorporated into a bicycle trail. The entire length of the bypassed section is now commonly known as the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike.
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