Sideling Hill Tunnel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

West portal
West portal

Sideling 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 nearby Rays Hill Tunnel, and further west, the Laurel Hill Tunnel. The reason for abandonment was that 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 - Allegheny Mountain, Tuscarora Mountain, Kittatinny Mountain, and Blue Mountain - each had a second tube bored, as it was determined in these instances to be the less expensive option. All of the original tunnels except for the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel were part of the never-completed South Pennsylvania Railroad which history has dubbed "Vanderbilt's Folly."

Sideling Hill Tunnel is 6782 feet (2067 meters) long. It was the longest of the original tunnels on Pennsylvania Turnpike. Alongside the Ray's Hill Tunnel, the Sideling Hill Tunnel is now part of the Pike2Bike Trail. Together, the two tunnels as well as the roadway are commonly known as the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike.

[edit] External links

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
Completed Highways
East-West MainlineNortheast ExtensionJames E. Ross HighwayAmos K. Hutchinson Bypass
Under Construction/Future Highways
Mon/Fayette ExpresswaySouthern BeltwayKeystone Shortway
Tunnels
Allegheny Mountain TunnelBlue Mountain TunnelKittatinny Mountain TunnelLehigh TunnelTuscarora Mountain Tunnel
Aborted Expansion Plans
Chester ExtensionErie ExtensionGettysburg ExtensionNorthwest & Southwest ExtensionPhiladelphia Loop ExtensionScranton Extension
Historical
Abandoned Pennsylvania TurnpikeLaurel Hill TunnelRays Hill TunnelSideling Hill TunnelSouth Pennsylvania Railroad
This box: view  talk  edit