Sideling Hill Tunnel
Encyclopedia
Sideling Hill Tunnel is one of three original Pennsylvania Turnpike
tunnel
s abandoned (this one in 1968) 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 traffic. Sideling Hill Tunnel is 6782 feet (2,067.2 m) long. It was the longest of the original tunnels on Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Ray's Hill Tunnel and Sideling Hill Tunnel are now part of the Pike2Bike Trail. Together, the two tunnels as well as the roadway are commonly known as the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike
.
From the Turnpike's opening in 1940 until the realignment projects, the tunnels were bottlenecks; opposing traffic in the same tubes reduced speeds. Four other tunnels on the Turnpike – Allegheny Mountain
, Tuscarora Mountain
, Kittatinny Mountain
, and Blue Mountain
– each had a second tube bored, the least expensive option. All of the original tunnels except for the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel
were part of "Vanderbilt's Folly", the never-completed South Pennsylvania Railroad
.
took over the entire grade of the abandoned railway.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission started construction on a new toll highway from Carlisle, Pennsylvania
to Irwin, Pennsylvania
in 1938. When the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened on October 25, 1940, the Sideling Hill Tunnel was one of the seven original tunnels along the highway, six of which were built from the old railroad tunnels from the 1880s. The Allegheny Mountain Tunnel
was constructed from scratch rather than from the tunnels because of structural concerns.
Beginning in 1951, the eastbound traffic at the Laurel Hill Tunnel
would back up during the summer weekends. By 1958, the Laurel Hill experienced congestion anytime from June to November. Because of the long bottlenecks, the Commission started looking into ways to remove the congestion. There were studies that began in the mid-1950s to decide on what to do with the tunnels. The studies looked into the major tunnels, the Laurel Hill and Allegheny Mountain, and the possibility of adding a second tube, or "twinning
", to them. Additional studies were put in for the remaining five mainline tunnels, including the Sideling Hill.
100 million In 1962 the contract cost on average of $100 million. This is equivalent to $ in present day terms. construction project to work with the tunnels. Construction began on September 6, 1962, with the first subproject being a bypass of the Laurel Hill Tunnel. On October 30, 1964, just two years after construction began, the Laurel Hill Bypass was completed and opened. The Laurel Hill Tunnel was permanently closed on that day. However, this was not the last bypass to occur for tunnels along the turnpike. Two years after the closing of the Laurel Hill, the Allegheny Mountain became the first tunnel to be twinned, and opened on August 25, 1966. With the twinning of the Blue Mountain, Kittatinny Mountain and Tuscarora Mountain tunnels under construction, the Commission turned its focus to the remaining two mainline tunnels, the Rays Hill Tunnel (the shortest tunnel) and the Sideling Hill Tunnel (the longest tunnel).
An engineering report dating back to 1961 suggested that building a bypass around the last two mainline tunnels was the best way to solve the congestion. The Commission awarded three contracts to construct the bypass from July 1966 to March 1967. The contracts cost $17.2 million In 1966 the contract cost on average of $17.2 million. This is equivalent to $ in present day terms. for roadway and another $2.5 millionIn 1966 the contract cost on average of $2.5 million. This is equivalent to $ in present day terms. for construction of a new Sideling Hill Service Plaza, to replace the Cove Valley Service Plaza, which was along the to-be-bypassed alignment. The $2.5 millionIn 1966 the contract cost on average of $2.5 million. This is equivalent to $ in present day terms. project was to include ramps from both directions to the service plaza, so it could serve both directions. The style of the tunnel bypass was to follow the same style as the Laurel Hill bypass. On November 26, 1968, the three twinned tunnels opened, and the bypass of the Rays Hill and Sideling Hill Tunnels opened. The new bypass also opened the Breezewood Interchange and the number of lanes along the turnpike expanded from four (two in each direction) or ten (five in each direction).
In 2001, the Turnpike Commission gave control of the 13.5 miles (21.7 km) length of the Rays Hill and Sideling Hill Tunnels and other roadways to the Southern Alleghenies Conservancy, who began work to convert the stretch into a bicycle trail. The trail is used by hundreds of bicycle riders, and studies occurred in 2004 and 2005 to figure how to best safely construct the trail. Because there is a lack of good lighting in the tunnels the conservancy wants to look into how to solve it. The system is called the Pike2Bike Trail and is planned to be an 18 miles (29 km) mountain bicycle loop that serves access to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
's Bicycle Route S.
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 abandoned (this one in 1968) after two massive realignment projects. The others are nearby 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...
, and further west, the Laurel Hill Tunnel
Laurel Hill Tunnel
Laurel Hill Tunnel is one of three original Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels which were abandoned after two massive realignment projects.The Laurel Hill Tunnel was bored under the border between Westmoreland and Somerset Counties...
. It was less expensive to realign the Turnpike than to bore a second tube for four lane traffic. Sideling Hill Tunnel is 6782 feet (2,067.2 m) long. It was the longest of the original tunnels on Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Ray's Hill Tunnel and Sideling Hill Tunnel are now part of the Pike2Bike Trail. Together, the two tunnels as well as the roadway are 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...
.
From the Turnpike's opening in 1940 until the realignment projects, the tunnels were bottlenecks; opposing traffic in the same tubes reduced speeds. 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, the least expensive option. All of the original tunnels except for the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel
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...
were part of "Vanderbilt's Folly", 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....
.
Construction
The Sideling Hill Tunnel's original plans date back to the year 1881, when surveying for the South Pennsylvania Railroad began. Construction began that year, with the plans for nine brand-new tunnels, most of which were drilled by 1885. The Sideling Hill Tunnel was built before December 1884 by John O'Brien, an engineer from Rhinebeck, New York. On July 6, 1885, a blast occurred at the end of the Sideling Hill Tunnel. The blast, which was caused by dynamite, claimed the lives of three people, including O'Brien. Several other people were injured in the blast. Just sixteen days later, another blast occurred in the tunnel, taking the lives of a Hungarian worker, along with two African-Americans, two Italians, and one Irishman. The bodies were so cut by the rocks during the blast, that the people were almost unidentifiable. Unfortunately William H. Vanderbilt, who had started the plans for the railroad, noticed that expenses began to inflate, and he began to look for a second way to work things out. The construction was abandoned and never finished. In 1938, the Pennsylvania Turnpike CommissionPennsylvania 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...
took over the entire grade of the abandoned railway.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission started construction on a new toll highway from Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
to Irwin, Pennsylvania
Irwin, Pennsylvania
Irwin is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh. Some of the most extensive bituminous coal deposits in the State are located here. In the past, iron foundries, flour mills, car shops, facing and planing mills, electrical goods, and mirror factories provided...
in 1938. When the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened on October 25, 1940, the Sideling Hill Tunnel was one of the seven original tunnels along the highway, six of which were built from the old railroad tunnels from the 1880s. The Allegheny Mountain Tunnel
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...
was constructed from scratch rather than from the tunnels because of structural concerns.
Laurel Hill Tunnel
Laurel Hill Tunnel is one of three original Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels which were abandoned after two massive realignment projects.The Laurel Hill Tunnel was bored under the border between Westmoreland and Somerset Counties...
would back up during the summer weekends. By 1958, the Laurel Hill experienced congestion anytime from June to November. Because of the long bottlenecks, the Commission started looking into ways to remove the congestion. There were studies that began in the mid-1950s to decide on what to do with the tunnels. The studies looked into the major tunnels, the Laurel Hill and Allegheny Mountain, and the possibility of adding a second tube, or "twinning
Dual carriageway
A dual carriageway is a class of highway with two carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation...
", to them. Additional studies were put in for the remaining five mainline tunnels, including the Sideling Hill.
Action on tunnels
After the studies completed, the decision was made to go ahead with a US $United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
100 million In 1962 the contract cost on average of $100 million. This is equivalent to $ in present day terms. construction project to work with the tunnels. Construction began on September 6, 1962, with the first subproject being a bypass of the Laurel Hill Tunnel. On October 30, 1964, just two years after construction began, the Laurel Hill Bypass was completed and opened. The Laurel Hill Tunnel was permanently closed on that day. However, this was not the last bypass to occur for tunnels along the turnpike. Two years after the closing of the Laurel Hill, the Allegheny Mountain became the first tunnel to be twinned, and opened on August 25, 1966. With the twinning of the Blue Mountain, Kittatinny Mountain and Tuscarora Mountain tunnels under construction, the Commission turned its focus to the remaining two mainline tunnels, the Rays Hill Tunnel (the shortest tunnel) and the Sideling Hill Tunnel (the longest tunnel).
In 2001, the Turnpike Commission gave control of the 13.5 miles (21.7 km) length of the Rays Hill and Sideling Hill Tunnels and other roadways to the Southern Alleghenies Conservancy, who began work to convert the stretch into a bicycle trail. The trail is used by hundreds of bicycle riders, and studies occurred in 2004 and 2005 to figure how to best safely construct the trail. Because there is a lack of good lighting in the tunnels the conservancy wants to look into how to solve it. The system is called the Pike2Bike Trail and is planned to be an 18 miles (29 km) mountain bicycle loop that serves access to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, currently Barry Schoch Presently, PennDOT supports over of state roads and highways, about 25,000...
's Bicycle Route S.