Laurel Hill Tunnel is one of three original Pennsylvania Turnpike

Pennsylvania Turnpike

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll highway system operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. The three sections of the turnpike system total . The main section extends from Ohio to New Jersey and is long...

 tunnel

Tunnel

A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...

s which were abandoned (this one in 1964) after two massive realignment projects.

The Laurel Hill Tunnel was bored under the border between Westmoreland

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 369,993 people, 149,813 households, and 104,569 families residing in the county. The population density was 361 people per square mile . There were 161,058 housing units at an average density of 157 per square mile...

 and Somerset

Somerset County, Pennsylvania

Somerset County is a county located in the state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 77,742. Somerset County was created on April 17, 1795, from part of Bedford County and named for Somerset, United Kingdom. Its county seat is Somerset. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania,...

 Counties. The others, located further east, were the Sideling Hill

Sideling Hill Tunnel

Sideling Hill Tunnel is one of three original Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels abandoned after two massive realignment projects. The others are nearby Rays Hill Tunnel, and further west, the Laurel Hill Tunnel. It was less expensive to realign the Turnpike than to bore a second tube for four lane...

 (Fulton County

Fulton County, Pennsylvania

Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 14,845.Fulton County was created on April 19, 1850, from part of Bedford County and named for inventor Robert Fulton.Its county seat is McConnellsburg....

) and Rays Hill Tunnel

Rays Hill Tunnel

Rays Hill Tunnel is one of three original Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels which were abandoned 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...

s (under the border of Fulton and Bedford

Bedford County, Pennsylvania

Bedford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 49,762. The county seat is Bedford. It is part of the Altoona, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

 Counties). All three were abandoned because it was thought 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

Allegheny Mountain Tunnel

The Allegheny Mountain Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel carrying the Pennsylvania Turnpike through the Allegheny Mountains. At this point, the Turnpike carries Interstates 70 and 76. The original Allegheny Mountain Tunnel was built in the late 19th century for the South Pennsylvania Railroad, which was...

, Tuscarora Mountain

Tuscarora Mountain Tunnel

Tuscarora Mountain Tunnel is one of four original Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels still in active use. A second tube was bored in the late 1960s to ease traffic conditions. The Tuscarora Mountain tunnels measure 1.1 miles in length and are the second-longest active tunnels on the Pennsylvania...

, Kittatinny Mountain

Kittatinny Mountain Tunnel

The Kittatinny Mountain Tunnel is a tunnel through Kittatinny Mountain in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. It is one of seven tunnels completed for the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and one of four still in use today. The Kittatinny Mountain Tunnel is 4727 feet in length, and is located 600 feet west of...

, and Blue Mountain

Blue Mountain Tunnel

The Blue Mountain Tunnel is one of two tunnels through Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania, located west of Newburg. It is one of seven tunnels completed for the Pennsylvania Turnpike mainline, and at in length, is the shortest of the four still in use today. The Blue Mountain Tunnel is to the east...

 - 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 Allegheny Mountain were part of the never-completed South Pennsylvania Railroad

South Pennsylvania Railroad

The South Pennsylvania Railroad is the name given to two proposed but never completed Pennsylvania railroads in the nineteenth-century. Parts of the right of way for the second South Pennsylvania Railroad were reused for the Pennsylvania Turnpike....

 system.

Laurel Hill Tunnel is 4541 feet (1384 m) long. Its western portal is marginally visible from the current eastbound turnpike roadway at milepost 99.2.

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

Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike

The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike is the common name of a 13 mile stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike that was bypassed in 1968 when a modern stretch opened to ease traffic congestion in the tunnels. In this case, the Sideling Hill Tunnel and Rays Hill Tunnel were bypassed, as was one of the...

, and the property is still owned by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was created in 1937 to construct, finance, operate and maintain the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The commission consists of five members. Four members are appointed by the Governor of Pennsylvania. The fifth member is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation.In...

. In addition, the tunnel is not open to the public. It is routinely patrolled by the Pennsylvania State Police

Pennsylvania State Police

The Pennsylvania State Police is the state police force of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. It was founded in 1905 by order of Governor Samuel Pennypacker, in response to the private police forces used by mine and mill owners to stop worker strikes and the inability or...

, who strictly enforce "no trespassing" signs.

The tunnel is currently used by Chip Ganassi Racing

Chip Ganassi Racing

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series. It is owned by businessmen Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. They have won 4 Champ Car, 3 Indy Racing League and 1 Grand-Am championships...

 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

G-Force Technologies

G-Force Technologies was a racing car manufacturer based in England and formed by Chip Ganassi and Ken Anderson in 1991. Ganassi would leave the company early on and the company was renamed G Force Precision Engineering. The company built successful cars in the Indy Racing League and 24 Hours of...

 Indycar

IndyCar

IndyCar is the trade name of an American-based open-wheel auto racing sanctioning body. IndyCar sanctions three racing series, the premier IZOD IndyCar Series with its centerpiece Indianapolis 500, and developmental series Firestone Indy Lights and the U.S...