1931+1951+2002 US-27 Bridges over Cumberland River and Abandoned Tunnel

2002: (B&T; Satellite) The 1931 and 1951 bridges were inundated by Lake Cumberland.

Tunnel: (Bridge Hunter; B&T; Satellite)

The 1931 bridge was high since the river used to be in a deep canyon.

BridgeHunter-tunnel

In fact, it was 108' high and it was the highest crossing in the state. It was 1,100' long and the adjoining tunnel was 182' long. [B&T-2002]

BridgeHunter-tunnel

Taken from downtown Old Burnside.

When I read "Old Burnside" in the caption above, I realized that Lake Cumberland inundated much more than a bridge and tunnel. This 1932 map doesn't have the new road marked. And the next map is 1954, and it shows that this area is flooded. But much of the town was indeed in the valley and it got inundated. 

1932 Burnside Quad @ 1:62,500

Today we have a UCEB (Ugly Concrete Eyesore Bridge).

uky
[The Cooper Power Station in the background still has coal in its storage pile and it consumes 600,000 tons per year.]

2 of the 4 photos posted by Bridges & Tunnels with Sherman Cahal with the comment:

Still waters surround the US Route 27 bridge and abandoned tunnel over the North Fork Cumberland River in Burnside, Kentucky.

The original crossing of the river was completed in 1931 and was considered the “last link” in the completion of a modern US Route 27, also known as the Cincinnati-Lookout Mountain Airline, as it removed the only ferry remaining on the route between Cincinnati, Ohio and Chattanooga, Tennessee. The tolled span was the highest crossing in the state at 108 feet from the low water mark on the river.

Also completed was an adjoining tunnel 182-feet in length.

As part of the Wolf Creek Dam project that created Lake Cumberland, the circa 1931 bridge and adjoining tunnel were replaced with a 1,130-foot-long deck truss structure in 1951. Construction started in 1999 on a four-lane replacement which was completed in 2002.

Check out more photos and history of the bridge and tunnel at http://bridgestunnels.com/location/burnside-bridge-us-27/ and http://bridgestunnels.com/location/burnside-tunnel/

a

b

The river level was so high in the satellite view when I wrote these notes that I could not see the tunnel. So I found this view where the river level is low enough to expose the tunnel and the sun has a good angle.

Google Earth, Oct 2015

In this view the river is even lower and shows how US-27 must have been practically carved into the river bluff before it punched through the point.

Google Earth, Apr 2012