Squirrel Hill Tunnel

Squirrel Hill Tunnel
East Portal of Squirrel Hill Tunnel in the snow
Overview
Location Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 763-4-1, 870+00 west portal

763-4-1, 912+25 east portal
Route I-376 "Parkway East"
Start I-376 Squirrel Hill interchange
End Nine Mile Run valley and Commercial St. Bridge
Operation
Work begun 1945
Opened June 5, 1953
Owner PennDOT
Operator PennDOT
Traffic automobile
Toll none
Vehicles per day 106,000
Technical
Construction twin bore, circular roof with flat plenum ceiling, concrete with ceramic tile lining
Length 4,225 feet (1,288 m)
Number of lanes 4
Operating speed 55 mph
Tunnel clearance 13.5 feet (4.1 m)
Width 28 feet (8.5 m)
Grade 2.5% (east to west)

The Squirrel Hill Tunnel is a tunnel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It serves as an eastern gateway to the city for I-376 and was completed in 1953 after 8 years of construction and at a cost of US$18 million 1953 dollars. At the time of opening it was the single largest investment by the State of Pennsylvania Transportation Department (PennDOT). It is 4,225 feet (1,288 m) long and is a twin-bore tunnel with 8 cross passages.

In Pittsburgh driving lore, the tunnels are notorious, most notably for several accidents when tractor-trailers that are too tall to safely travel through the tunnel get stuck against the roof of the tunnel. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is planning to raise the ceiling of the Squirrel Hill Tunnels in Pittsburgh in hopes of easing the bottlenecks the tunnels create into and out of the city.

Due to an engineering project by students at Carnegie Mellon University, it is possible to hear FM broadcasting the entire way through the tunnel.[1]

References

  1. ^ http://www.tunnelradio.net/story.htm

External links

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