"Begun c.1885 by S. Pennsylvania RR; completed 1940 by Penna. Tpk. Comm.; bypassed and abandoned in 1964" [BridgeHunter]
A 2-mile, 4-lane bypass was used to remove the 2-lane restriction of the Laurel Hill Tunnel. [pahighways]
A bypass was also built for the Sideling Hill and Ray Hill Tunnels. They added a second bore to the remaining four tunnels on the turnpike.
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| OnlyInYourState, Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain 🅁🄴🄼🄴🄼🄱🄴🅁 🅆🄷🄴🄽: 🄿🄴🄽🄽🅂🅈🄻🅅🄰🄽🄸🄰 posted "Laurel Hill Tunnel is a 4,541-foot-long (1,384 m) tunnel on the Pennsylvania Turnpike that was bypassed and abandoned in 1964. It is bored through Laurel Ridge, spanning the border of Westmoreland and Somerset counties. Its western portal may be seen from the eastbound side of the Turnpike at milepost 99.3." "The tunnel was built for the never-completed South Pennsylvania Railroad, as were two other tunnels to its east—Sideling Hill and Rays Hill—that were similarly on the original Turnpike and abandoned after being bypassed." Info: Wikipedia Walter Beattie: Pennsylvania Turnpike - Most expensive toll road in America. Bill Storm: Walter Beattie cause it's like a welfare case ,they give most of the profits to the state to give to large cities. Jackson-Township historical preservation posted The former Laurel Hill Tunnel on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Somerset County in 1964. At one time the tunnels on the Turnpike was a single lane in each direction. 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 of the original tunnels except Allegheny Mountain were part of the never-completed South Pennsylvania Railroad system. Laurel Hill Tunnel is 4,541 feet long. Its Western portal is marginally visible from the current Eastbound turnpike roadway at milepost 99.2. 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. 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. (Photo form Ed Saxman via https://www.facebook.com/groups/253780567972963/) |
South Pennsylvania RR was owned by NYC. NYC was building this railroad across Pennsylvania while the Pennsy RR was building a railroad up the Hudson River valley. JP Morgan felt this was competition gone crazy and arranged for each railroad to stop building their redundant routes. But NYC had built several tunnels and done a lot of grading. So the Pennsylvania Turnpike bought the route and turned it into a highway. [memory] But by the early 1960's, the two-lane tunnels had become severe choke points. Rather than bore a second tube at Laurel Hill, by 1964 they had removed part of a mountain. Chip Ganassi Racing bought it in 2004 as a climate-controlled test facility. [AtlasObscura]
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| Frank Clement posted The red alignment is the right of way of the South Pennsylvania Railroad at the Laurel Hill Mountain Tunnel and the green is the turnpike tunnel alignment. Off to the far right is the Laurel Hill tunnel bypass under construction.. |
From the East, this topo map shows they went up the valley of the Clear Run river, through a 2700' high ridge, and back down another valley.
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| 1957 Donegal Quad @ 62,500 |
The 1940 Pennsylvania Turnpike was America's first superhighway. "In the late 19th century, steel baron Andrew Carnegie and second-generation railroad tycoon William H. Vanderbilt joined to build a new rail line in Pennsylvania between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. Work started in 1883; the route crossing the Allegheny Mountains required nine tunnels and was nearly complete when skittish investors pulled out. Construction stopped in 1885." Ganassi bought the tunnel 2004. "Clearly, Ganassi was onto something. His IndyCar team won four straight championships from 2008 to 2011....Ganassi even has a patent on the idea [of testing in a tunnel]." "In addition to the standard aerodynamic information, the tunnel provided data that's all but impossible to obtain in a scale-model tunnel. High on the list are the effects of deforming bodywork. At speed, the wings and engine covers naturally flex, but by how much? How do those bits interact? And is there a way to maximize that movement and make it an advantage?" For 2015, both Indycar and NASCAR outlawed the tunnel testing. "Chalk this up to another victory for parity over ingenuity." A 1.7-mile unused railway tunnel in England was planned to be converted to testing in 2015. [RoadAndTrack]
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| Ken Trombatore, Sep 2022 |
Road racing consumes a lot of tires.
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| Ken Trombatore, Sep 2022 |
The metal building that was added hides unloading the racecars from the transport truck.
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| racecar-engineering "Imagine being able to do limitless straight-line testing in perfect conditions – no wind, controlled temperatures and with a real, full-scale car. In the past this was impossible, but not any more." The building also provides an airlock that helps with the climate control of the tunnel. "When the car is running, the roller doors at each end of the tunnel are opened half way and the opening is covered with a clear film, allowing an out of control test car to exit the tunnel into the emergency run offs if necessary." There are turntables at both ends to expedite running test runs in both directions. "Multi-car tests have been conducted with two cars running nose to tail or side by side." Ganassi holds two patents, but they probably can't be enforced because of a "prior-art" article written eleven years earlier. |
After revving its engine some, you can hear a racecar take off and shift a few times.
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| 0:17 video @ 0:08 |
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