Laurel Hill Tunnel is one of three original Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels which were abandoned (this one in 1964) after two massive realignment projects.
The Laurel Hill Tunnel was bored under the border between Westmoreland and Somerset Counties. The others, located further east, were the Sideling Hill (Fulton County) and Rays Hill Tunnels (under the border of Fulton and Bedford 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, Tuscarora Mountain, Kittatinny Mountain, and Blue Mountain - 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 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, and the property is still owned by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. In addition, the tunnel is not open to the public. It is routinely patrolled by the Pennsylvania State Police, who strictly enforce "no trespassing" signs.
The tunnel is currently used by Chip Ganassi Racing 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 Indycar.
Famous quotes containing the words laurel, hill and/or tunnel:
“Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay,
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.”
—A.E. (Alfred Edward)
“For now the moon with friendless light carouses
On hill and housetop, street and marketplace,
Men will plunge, mile after mile of men,
To crush this lucent madness of the face....”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)
“You may raise enough money to tunnel a mountain, but you cannot raise money enough to hire a man who is minding his own business.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)