Around 25 minutes from me there is an abandoned stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike about 14 or so miles long including two tunnels that shut down in 1968 when they bypassed the old two-lane tunnels. They were originally built in the 1880's for a stillborn railroad and then utilized in the building of the PA Turnpike in the 1930's.
These tunnels are pretty creepy and darker than night inside. This stretch of road is recently being turned into a bike trail. The tunnel we walked through is about 1.25 miles long.
Where you start your hike up makeshift stairs at an old underpass.

Miles of deserted open road.






Some old electric motors for exhaust fans

One of the huge exhaust fans in a room above the tunnel entrance

 

Looks like a neat place to spend some time.

 

Wow. I didn't know that was there. I lived in Pa. all my life and never heard of that section of road. I can say, the tunnels currently used are scary enough. I always think of "what if someone wrecks in front of you" as you are passing through.

 

If you think driving through the active tunnels is scary, try walking about 1.3 miles in almost total darkness from one end to the other and turning around to walk back through. It's creepy and when there's other people in there making noise too it gets really scary lol.

 

Two things occur to me.......

First.....who's the brunette and why aren't there more pics of her?

Second.....what are the chances of getting a car down there for a top speed blast?

 

No thank you!!!!!!

 

In fairness I though she was a red - but I'm with you on that... and as for the highspeed blast you echo my thoughts exactly - though looking at some of the debris a high power 4*4/pick-up may be better fun

 

It's a pity you cannot roll up these roads like carpets as they look better than some of our local roads.

 

I had no idea tollroads went back to the 1930's.

 

Makes me think of the Stephen King book The Stand...did you do it with or without flashlights?

 

Toll roads go bacK to our beginings.

There are places in the east that you can be drivingdown what apperas to be a city thoroughfare. Watch the road signs very carefully. 'cause if ya don't, suddenly there is a toll booth and you pay for the last 20 miles. Weird.

I love Dalls where there are no tol booths, you just get a bill in the mail 'cause they took your picture.

I drive all over the country. I wish we had a national E-Pass.



roadster with a stick

 

Actually, it's a little known secret that cars with out of state plates will drive free through the tollpass lanes. To the chagrins of the NTTA (North Texas Tollroad Authority), the states won't share license plate information so they can't mail you a bill.

 

No Warning, thanks for posting those photo's. Growing up in Ohio, I bet I passed thru those tunnels at least a dozen times or more on family Vacations to the East Coast in the 50's and 60's.
I remember my Dad would always wake my brother and I up every time we approached another tunnel. Sometimes we'd try to hold our breath thru the entire tunnel.
Just curious, where exactly are they located? If I'm ever in that area, I'd like to check em out.
I'm surprised they haven't been turned into some sort of Civil Defense Disaster Shelter or something like that.

 

First.... that's my lovely fiance , all mine to look at

Second.... I'm not sure... about 3 or 4 years ago they destroyed a couple entrances you could have used to get cars there.

 

We had flashlights, but we did do it on the way back through pretty much without once we realized there were no animals or creepy bushwackers in there lol.

The only reason we did it more or less without flashlights, instead of "blind," was because I refused to turn mine off but in all reality, on the way back you can see light the entire time through. - Keila (the redish-burnette)

 

They are a couple miles east of Breezewood and Everett where Route 30 meets the Turnpike.

Actually one of the tunnels was used by the military around the time of the Iraq War to store weapons and to train soldiers in combat exercises. And there is a short stretch of road that was repaved that the Turnpike Commission uses for testing rumble strips, line painting, barrier tests and other such things.

There is another abandoned Turnpike tunnel that Ganassi Racing uses for research and development and is rumored to have a massive wind tunnel inside. I've seen pictures where there are used racing tires and racing fuel barrels laying around and even a couple grills for barbecues out back lol.

This fall also there is a post-apocalyptic movie coming out called The Road and they filmed part of the movie at one of the tunnels.

 

Thanks for posting those pics.

Those places are like road versions of urban exploration.

 

Thanks for posting the pictures.

I had known the abandoned tunnel existed, but I didn't know where, and I didn't know there was so much road associated with it.

I might have to actually drive there and take a look myself one day. That is pretty neat.

 

When I saw those pictures, what came to MY mind was an article I read in some so-called science magazine. In it, some "expert" announced that 50 years after humans died off from some apocolyptic event (war, virus, etc.) all evidence of humanity would be gone except for big buildings and tunnels.

His theory was that all of our roads would be taken over by weeds and vegatation - they'd still be there, but invisible for all of the plant growth.

Those pictures show just how wrong he was, and that I was right to doubt yet another self-proclaimed expert.

 

Wow, I lived most of my life right over in Blair county and never knew about the abandoned tunnels.