Wabash Tunnel
{{Short description|Tunnel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox tunnel
|name=Wabash Tunnel
|image=Wabash_Tunnel_-_Pittsburgh,_Pennsylvania_(4191403184).jpg
|caption=The north end of the tunnel, which faces downtown Pittsburgh.
|line=
|location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
|coordinates={{coord|40.4266|-80.0172|region:US-PA_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|system=
|status=in use
|start=
|end=
|startwork=1902
|opened={{start date|1903}}
|closed={{end date|1946}}
|reopened={{start date|2004}}
|owner=Pittsburgh Regional Transit
|operator=
|character=
|construction=
|length={{convert|3342|ft}}
|linelength=
|tracklength=
|notrack=2 (1903–1944)
|gauge={{gauge|sg}} (1903–1944)
|el=
|speed=25 mph
|hielevation=
|lowelevation=
|height={{height|ft=13|in=1}}
|grade=
|lanes=
|traffic={{plainlist|
- railway until 1946
- automobile since 2004}}
|crosses=Mount Washington
}}
The Wabash Tunnel is a former railway tunnel and presently an automobile tunnel through Mt. Washington in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Constructed early in the 20th century by railroad magnate George J. Gould for the Wabash Railroad, it was closed to trains and cars between 1946 and 2004.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette1"}}
Operation as a railroad tunnel
Conceived in the late 1800s, the tunnel was built in 1903 for Gould's Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway venture into Pittsburgh, which failed financially in 1908.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette1"|"PittsburghPressRoto1"}} It carried passenger trains into the city until 1931, and freight trains until 1946.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette1"|"PittsburghPostGazette2"|"PittsburghPostGazette4"}} After the end of train service, the tunnel sat empty for many years. The tunnel was once connected to the Wabash Bridge across the Monongahela River, but the bridge was demolished in 1948,{{R|"PittsburghPressRoto1"}} and was not replaced. Its two stone support piers remain in the river.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette1"}}
Conversion to a transitway
In the early 1970s Pittsburgh Regional Transit, then known as Port Authority, or PAT, spent {{Nowrap|US$6 million}} {{Nowrap|(US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|6|1971|r=1}}}} million}} today) rebuilding the tunnel for the never-to-be-operational Skybus people mover system.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette1"|"PittsburghPostGazette4"}} The project was also to include a new Monongahela River bridge.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette2"}}
Use as a bus garage
During this period, the tunnel was used to hold up to 87 of PAT's disused 1950s-era transit buses in reserve.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette3"}} The tunnel portals were reinforced to deter vandals, to the satisfaction of PAT's insurers.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette3"}} Despite this, in 1980, vandals gained access and smashed hundreds of windows and headlights on the two rows of buses parked inside.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette4"}}
Conversion to a roadway
Image:NorthaccessWabashtunnel.jpg
By 1992, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) was considering using the Wabash Tunnel as a roadway to compensate for an upcoming closure of the Fort Pitt Tunnel.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette4"}}{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FbYqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DGQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2235,4097422|title=The Pittsburgh Press – Google News Archive Search|website=news.google.com|access-date=9 May 2018}} As part of the conversion to a roadway, the guideways for the Skybus system were removed and replaced with new paving and drainage.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette4"}} When awarded in 1994, the contract for this work was worth {{Nowrap|US$3.2 million}} {{Nowrap|(US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|3.2|1994|r=1}}}} million}} today).{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette1"|"PittsburghPostGazette4"}} However, in 1995, PAT declined to build a new road bridge (estimated at {{Nowrap|$US25.8 million,}} or {{Nowrap|US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|25.8|1995|r=1}}}} million}} today) to connect the tunnel with downtown Pittsburgh.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette4"}}
On July 23, 2003 PAT approved contracts for {{Nowrap|{{US$}}10.9 million}} {{Nowrap|(US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|10.9|2003|r=1}}}} million}} today) to build high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) ramps and modernized the tunnel, as well as provide a 172-space park-and-ride lot along Woodruff Street.{{R|"PittsburghBusinessTimes1"}} The HOV lane was opened on December 27, 2004,{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette4"}} running from West Carson Street on the South Side and through the tunnel to Woodruff Street in Mt. Washington. The Fort Pitt Tunnel to the west and the Liberty Tunnels to the east carry nearly all of the vehicular traffic heading downtown.{{Citation needed|date=September 2012}}
On November 6, 2013 the Federal Transit Administration lifted the car pool requirements to provide an alternate route for drivers, due to the two-year closure of outbound West Carson Street.{{cite news | url=http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2013/11/06/Feds-stuck-in-traffic-on-Wabash-Tunnel-decision/stories/201311060162 | work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | title=Wabash Tunnel HOV restrictions lifted – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | date=November 6, 2013 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221013029/http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2013/11/06/Feds-stuck-in-traffic-on-Wabash-Tunnel-decision/stories/201311060162 | archive-date=December 21, 2013 }}
On February 24, 2017 PAT announced that the HOV restrictions had been waived permanently.{{cite web|url=http://www.portauthority.org/paac/Default.aspx?tabid=96&mid=731&newsid731=1737&Wabash-Tunnel-HOV2-waiver-to-remain-in-placepermanently|title=Port Authority of Allegheny County > News & Events > Latest News|first=Port Authority of Allegheny|last=County|website=www.portauthority.org|access-date=9 May 2018}}
Operators
Originally built for the Wabash Railroad, the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railroad acquired it along with most of the ex-Wabash-Railroad property in 1917.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette4"}}
The tunnel was sold in 1931 to Allegheny County for {{Nowrap|US$3 million}} {{Nowrap|(US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|3|1931|r=1}}}} million}} today).{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette4"}} The county intended to convert it to a road and use it to relieve the traffic congestion in the Liberty Tunnels, and in 1933 commissioned a $5000 study to investigate this concept.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette4"}}
{{As of|2006|04}}, the tunnel was operated and maintained for PAT by Bruce & Merrilees, at an annual cost of $780,000.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette2"}}
Incidents
The tunnel's north portal was severely damaged in a 1925 landslide.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette4"}} The tunnel was temporarily closed due to fallen trees on July 19, 2012.{{R|"PittsburghPostGazette5"}}
See also
- Wabash Bridge
- Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal – A large railroad terminal that was located in downtown, across the river from the tunnel portal.
- West Busway – the project under which the tunnel was reopened for automobile traffic
References
{{Reflist|refs=
|title=Wabash Tunnel, closed since 1946, to carry traffic starting tomorrow
|first1=Joe
|last1=Grata
|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04361/432569-147.stm
|access-date=September 26, 2012
|date=December 26, 2004
|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
|publisher=Block Communications
|location=Pittsburgh, PA, United States
|issn=1068-624X
|oclc=44283479
|quote=It will mark the first time for public access since passenger trains quit running through the Wabash Tunnel in 1931, although freight trains used it until 1946. Two stone piers still stand in the Monongahela River from the railroad bridge that once connected the narrow tunnel to Downtown.
}}
|first1 = Joe
|last1 = Grata
|title = Wabash Tunnel has become expensive venture
|url = http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06115/684810-53.stm
|access-date = September 26, 2012
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110629045241/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06115/684810-53.stm
|archive-date = 2011-06-29
|date = April 25, 2006
|newspaper = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
|publisher = Block Communications
|location = Pittsburgh, PA, United States
|issn = 1068-624X
|oclc = 44283479
|quote = The transit agency pays $780,000 a year to Bruce & Merrilees, a private company, to provide a supervisor and workers. They change gates and signs that control the alternating one-way flow of traffic, monitor closed-circuit video surveillance and carbon monoxide detection systems, respond to accidents, clear snow and handle breakdowns.
|url-status = live
}}
|first1 = Joe
|last1 = Grata
|title = PAT Storing Buses in Wabash Tunnel
|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BRshAAAAIBAJ&pg=1528%2C8435
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160506070427/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BRshAAAAIBAJ&pg=1528,8435
|archive-date = 2016-05-06
|url-status = live
|date = August 1, 1978
|newspaper = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
|publisher = Block Communications
|location = Pittsburgh, PA, United States
|issn = 1068-624X
|oclc = 10846671
|pages = A-1 & A-4
|quote = But now PAT has discovered another way to put the tunnel to use — as a parking garage for 87 old buses.
}}
|title = Wabash Tunnel milestones
|url = http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/transportation/wabash-tunnel-milestones-563688/
|access-date = September 29, 2012
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120929201505/http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/transportation/wabash-tunnel-milestones-563688/
|archive-date = 2012-09-29
|url-status = live
|date = December 26, 2004
|newspaper = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
|publisher = Block Communications
|location = Pittsburgh, PA, United States
|issn = 1068-624X
|oclc = 44283479
|quote = The Wabash Tunnel will open for mixed use. That is, car and van pools of two or more people during rush hours, and for all vehicles during off-peak hours. The tunnel is one lane that will be reversed to accommodate traffic flow.
}}
|title = Downed trees close Wabash Tunnel
|url = http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/downed-trees-close-wabash-tunnel-645406/
|access-date = September 29, 2012
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120920234603/http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/downed-trees-close-wabash-tunnel-645406/
|archive-date = 2012-09-20
|url-status = live
|date = July 19, 2012
|newspaper = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
|publisher = Block Communications
|location = Pittsburgh, PA, United States
|issn = 1068-624X
|oclc = 44283479
|quote = Downed trees have closed the Wabash Tunnel and part of Woodruff Street on Mount Washington.
}}
|first1 = Joe
|last1 = Bennett
|title = Pittsburgh's Hard-Luck Bridge
|url = http://www.pghbridges.com/articles/pressroto_wabash/index.htm
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091003012448/http://pghbridges.com/articles/pressroto_wabash/index.htm
|archive-date = October 3, 2009
|url-status = live
|date = June 5, 1977
|work = The Pittsburgh Press Roto
|publisher = Pittsburgh Press Co.
|location = Pittsburgh, PA, United States
|oclc = 2266185
|quote = A plan to use the bridge and tunnel as part of a mass transit system into the South Hills had been dropped. Somebody suggested taking the bridge down and putting it up elsewhere. Finally, the old bridge was scrapped and the steel melted down for use in the Dravosburg Bridge that was going up in 1948.
}}
}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [http://www.portauthority.org/PAAC/Portals/Capital/Wabash/overview.asp PortAuthority – Overview of the Wabash Tunnel]
- {{coord|40.4266|-80.0172|region:US-PA_type:landmark|display=inline}} – Southern portal
- {{coord|40.4345|-80.0094|region:US-PA_type:landmark|display=inline}} – Northern portal
- [http://www.brooklineconnection.com/history/Facts/WabashTunnel.html Wabash Tunnel] at www.brooklineconnection.com
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=bx43AQAAMAAJ Airport Busway/Wabash HOV Environmental Impact Statement] (includes plans for reopening the tunnel for automobile use)
{{Pittsburgh Bridges|structure=tunnel}}
{{Port Authority of Allegheny County}}
Category:Road tunnels in Pennsylvania
Category:Railroad tunnels in Pennsylvania