Astounding Bridges & Tunnels. Construction Marvels. Engineering You'll Never See Happen Again!
- Jon Litle
- May 6, 2023
- 6 min read
For those of you who have been following our history reports and helping us with adding more details we want to thank you. This effort starts with our writers many of who have walked out of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette due to having troubles with the Billionaire Block (John and Allen) twins who won't honor the labor contract.
The purpose of this article is to point out the construction miracles that made these infrastructure projects possible and provide some safety reminders to avoid accidents and injury.
Here is a list of the major tunnels in Pittsburgh, along with some information on their construction:
Liberty Tunnel - The Liberty Tunnel connects the neighborhoods of Mount Washington and the South Side. It was built in 1924 and consists of two tubes, one for northbound traffic and one for southbound traffic. The tunnel was constructed using the cut-and-cover method, in which the roadway is excavated and then covered with a roof.
Squirrel Hill Tunnel - The Squirrel Hill Tunnel is located on Interstate 376 and connects the Squirrel Hill neighborhood to the east with downtown Pittsburgh to the west. It was built in 1953 and is approximately 4,225 feet long. The tunnel was constructed using the New Austrian Tunneling Method, which involves excavating the tunnel using a rotating cutter head.
Fort Pitt Tunnel - The Fort Pitt Tunnel is located on Interstate 376 and connects downtown Pittsburgh to the west with the Fort Pitt Bridge and the neighborhoods to the south and west of the city. It was built in 1960 and is approximately 3,614 feet long. The tunnel was also constructed using the New Austrian Tunneling Method.
Armstrong Tunnel - The Armstrong Tunnel is located in the South Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh and connects Forbes Avenue to Second Avenue. It was built in 1927 and is approximately 2,816 feet long. The tunnel was constructed using the cut-and-cover method.
Wabash Tunnel - The Wabash Tunnel is a former railroad tunnel that was converted to a roadway tunnel for public transit in the early 2000s. It is located in the Mount Washington neighborhood and connects Station Square to the neighborhoods of Beechview and Overbrook. The tunnel was originally built in 1903 and is approximately 3,500 feet long. The conversion involved adding a new roadway and lighting, as well as making other safety and accessibility improvements.
Pittsburgh & Castle Shannon Tunnel - The Pittsburgh & Castle Shannon Tunnel is a former streetcar tunnel that was built in 1903 and is approximately 2,000 feet long. It is located in the Beechview neighborhood and was converted to a pedestrian and bicycle trail in the 1990s. The tunnel was constructed using the cut-and-cover method.
There is also a top secret tunnel you can't use unless you drive a Port Authority Bus or Port Authority Streetcar (Trolley, Train, T)
The tunnel in Pittsburgh for buses and trolleys under Mount Washington is the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel. It was opened in 1904 and is operated by the Port Authority of Allegheny County, which is the public transit agency serving the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
The Mount Washington Transit Tunnel is approximately 3,614 feet long and 26 feet wide, with a clearance of 13 feet 6 inches. It allows for bus and trolley traffic to travel through the mountain under Mount Washington, providing a more direct route between downtown Pittsburgh and the South Hills neighborhoods.
The tunnel was originally built to accommodate streetcars and was converted to bus and trolley use in 1967. It has three lanes, two for inbound traffic and one for outbound traffic, and is equipped with a ventilation system that helps to maintain good air quality within the tunnel.
The Mount Washington Transit Tunnel is an important transportation artery in Pittsburgh and serves as a key link between the city's central business district and the South Hills communities.
Here are some general safety guidelines for driving in tunnels:
Observe the posted speed limit and follow all traffic signs and signals. Tunnels often have lower speed limits than open roads due to reduced visibility, so it is important to drive at a safe speed.
Maintain a safe following distance from the vehicle in front of you. This allows for better reaction time in case of an emergency.
Keep your headlights on, even during the day, to increase your visibility to other drivers and help you see the road ahead.
Avoid sudden lane changes or braking, as this can create dangerous conditions for other drivers.
Do not stop or park in a tunnel. If you need to pull over for any reason, look for a designated pull-off area or wait until you are outside the tunnel.
Do not use your phone or engage in other distracting activities while driving in a tunnel. Keep your attention focused on the road.
Be prepared for changing lighting conditions, as tunnels are often darker than the outside environment. Allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness as you enter the tunnel.
In case of an emergency, stay in your vehicle and follow the instructions of any emergency personnel on the scene.
These tunnels could not be built today due to three main reasons: 1. Energy Cliff. There isn't enough energy to pull off this type of energy intensive construction project. Political leaders on a federal level are arguing over sourcing energy. There is this over-arching belief in "the energy tooth fairy" that somehow US and Europe can pivot to Net Zero emissions by 2050 using so called "green" or renewable energy.
This is an impossible initiative because there are not enough minerals such as copper, silver, zinc, nickel, graphite, lithium (minerals in batteries) to accomplish. Plus it's immoral to allow children in the Congo to work cobalt mines for US luxury EVs.
It is unrealistic to move away from the internal combustion engine and fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal. It was the oil, gas and coal that surrounds Pittsburgh that made these tunnels possible. Moreover, the political class is deadlocked in silly wedge issue topics such as gender sensitivity, diversity and inclusion nonsense and other cultural wars that have the public fighting on social media instead of rallying around infrastructure. Even though the government says they have passed legislation for infrastructure, the spending spree of the omnibus bill (1.75 trillion) and other excuses that just debase the currency there is no solution in sight for infrastructure. 2. Government priority has always been to fund wars. There have been 57 undeclared wars since WW2 so there is no money for tunnels, bridges, etc. The war in Afghanistan was 2.5 trillion (5 times the price of Vietnam) and what was accomplished? Nothing strategically, The Taliban was replaced with the Taliban. But it gets worse, profits for the political class laundered through the military and war profiteers. Executive orders can bypass public debate and The Federal reserve is a private bank that has no accountability. They can print money with a mouse-click and debase your currency. It costs them only .17 cents to print a $100 dollar bill yet you have to do $100 worth of energy, labor, time in exchange for what costs .17 cents. This is called seignorage and its one of the oldest devices central banks use to debase the currency and steal from us villagers.
3. You won't see another tunnel constructed in Pittsburgh unless there is an overhaul of The Fed and the political class.
Photos inside Pittsburgh Marquis Tunnels (these infrastructure projects could never happen again or in other words wouldn't happen today because political class is too incompetent and corrupt)
3 photos documenting Liberty tunnel (political class could not coordinate project like this today due to our corrupt system) There is no democracy or civic engagement. Today it is a culture of authoritarianism, which is not democracy, nor an oligarchy .. not even a plutocracy. We have a kleptocracy which means our rulers steal from workers through the insidious inflation tax, seignorage and unending wars.
Here are some general safety guidelines for driving in tunnels:
Observe the posted speed limit and follow all traffic signs and signals. Tunnels often have lower speed limits than open roads due to reduced visibility, so it is important to drive at a safe speed.
Maintain a safe following distance from the vehicle in front of you. This allows for better reaction time in case of an emergency.
Keep your headlights on, even during the day, to increase your visibility to other drivers and help you see the road ahead.
Avoid any lane changes or sudden braking, as this can create dangerous conditions for other drivers.
Do not stop or park in a tunnel. If you need to pull over for any reason, look for a designated pull-off area or wait until you are outside the tunnel. In Pittsburgh there are no such pull-off areas.
Do not use your phone or engage in other distracting activities while driving in a tunnel. Keep your attention focused on the road.
Be prepared for changing lighting conditions, as tunnels are often darker than the outside environment. Allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness as you enter the tunnel.
In case of an emergency, stay in your vehicle and follow the instructions of any emergency personnel on the scene.
Don't honk your horn like a Jackass.
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