Fort Pitt Tunnel
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The Fort Pitt Tunnel carries I-279 between Downtown Pittsburgh and its suburb of Green Tree in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It has two lanes both inbound and outbound. The tunnel travels beneath Mount Washington. Its northern ramps lead directly to the double-deck Fort Pitt Bridge. To mesh with the bridge, the North portal has openings at two levels, with the eastern opening leading to the top deck of the bridge. At the South portal the openings are at the same level. FORT PITT TUNNEL is mounted in small letters on a grey marblestone frame-like entranceway above the South portal, with large letters used in the North portal frame (as seen in the photo on the left).
Before entering the tunnel at its southwest end, one sees a commonplace view of Western Pennsylvania's rolling green hills, but upon exiting at the northeast end, one sees a spectacular view of Pittsburgh's skyline, often famous as "the best way to enter an American city". The view was also the inspiration for the news open on CBS affiliate KDKA-TV for several years in the 1980s and 1990s. [1] It is referenced in Stephen Chbosky's novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
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[edit] History
On July 11, 1954, contracts were awarded for the basic design of the Fort Pitt Tunnels. The groundbreaking ceremony for the Fort Pitt tunnel was held April 17, 1957 and drilling began August 28 of the same year. In April of 1960 construction on the tunnels was complete and they opened for the first time on September 1, 1960.[1] On Thursday, May 31, 2007 a bomb threat shut down the Fort Pitt Tunnel along with the Liberty and Squirrel Hill tunnels, causing a major traffic jam. [2]
[edit] Dimensions and Specs
- 3,614 feet in length
- 28 feet wide
- 13.5 feet verticle clearance[1]
- Serves nearly 107,000 vehicles per day.
- There are 1,788 light fixtures with 3,576 bulbs.
- There are 187,200 sq ft (17,390 m²) of tiled surface to wash.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Cridlebaugh, Bruce S. (2001-09-10). Bridges And Tunnels Of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania - Fort Pitt Tunnel. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
- ^ Ayad, Moustafa & Majors, Dan (2007-06-01), “Bomb threats close major tunnels during downpour, snarling traffic throughout city”, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, <http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07152/790751-147.stm>
[edit] External links
- [2] - video of the tunnel
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