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July 1942. "Pennsylvania Turnpike, Pennsylvania. Rays Hill Tunnel." Abandoned in 1968. Acetate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Office of War Information. View full size.
The view today from the ventilation room above the entrance, home to the Rays Hill sign.
When I was a kid, we'd travel the PA Turnpike from Pittsburgh to suburban Philadelphia to visit my grandparents. The turnpike tunnels were always the highlight of the trip, particularly the double-tunnel at Kittatinny and Blue Mountains. The tunnels were actually built for the never-completed "South Pennsylvania Railroad," intended by Cornelius Vanderbilt to be a competitor to the Pennsylvania Railroad's control of the line from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. JP Morgan negotiated a treaty between the NYC and PRR. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pennsylvania_Railroad for the railroad history, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Turnpike for the turnpike history.
A look at that narrow roadway occasions a shudder, imagining vehicles moving toward each other on two lanes, without center divider or shoulder and in bright artificial lighting. Any accident would be a nightmare to deal with, even if it didn't involve fire or a spill.
Not long ago, I found myself creeping in traffic for several miles leading into Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill Tunnel, which is on I-376 not far from where it separates from the Turnpike. The reason? A single abandoned vehicle inside the tunnel, no police presence or assistance yet. And that is a two-bore tunnel with two lanes in each direction.
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