Laurel Hill Tunnel is a tunnel on the

Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike, sometimes shortened to Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road which is operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in Pennsylvania. It runs for across the southern part of the st ...

that was bypassed and abandoned in 1964. It is bored through Laurel Ridge, spanning the border of Westmoreland and

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

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 The South Pennsylvania Railroad is the name given to two proposed, but never completed, railroads in Pennsylvania during the 19th century. Parts of the right-of-way (railroad), right of way for the second South Pennsylvania Railroad were reused f ...

, as were two other tunnels to its east—

Sideling Hill Sideling Hill, also Side Long Hill, is a long, steep, narrow mountain ridge in the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians, Ridge-and-Valley (or Allegheny Mountains) physiographic province of the Appalachian Mountains, located in Washington County, Maryla ...

and Rays Hill—that were similarly on the original Turnpike and abandoned after being bypassed.

Bypass

The tunnels on the Turnpike had been bottlenecks ever since the Turnpike's opening in 1940 due to reduced speeds and two-way traffic in a single tube. A second tube was added to four tunnels— Allegheny Mountain, Tuscarora Mountain, Kittatinny Mountain, and Blue Mountain—where it was the less expensive option. Unlike the

and Rays Hill tunnels, the Laurel Hill Tunnel is not on the bypassed section commonly known as the

Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike is the common name of a stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike that was replaced in 1968 by a new stretch. This was done to eliminate traffic congestion caused by the two lane Sideling Hill Tunnel and Rays Hi ...

and is still owned by the

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) is an agency created in 1937 to construct, finance, operate, and maintain the Pennsylvania Turnpike (both the mainline and the Northeast Extension). The commission consists of five members. Four memb ...

. It is not open to the public and is routinely patrolled by the

Pennsylvania State Police The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police, state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full service law enforcement agency which handles both ...

for trespassers. The highest point on the Turnpike, , is on the Laurel Hill Tunnel bypass at Mile 100.45 in Somerset County.

Testing use

The tunnel is used by

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization competing in the NTT IndyCar Series. They have formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, Global Rally ...

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 The g-force or gravitational force equivalent is a Specific force, mass-specific force (force per unit mass), expressed in Unit of measurement, units of standard gravity (symbol ''g'' or ''g''0, not to be confused with "g", the symbol for ...

Indycar IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis ...

References

{{Chip Ganassi Racing Interstate 70 Interstate 76 (Ohio–New Jersey) Transportation buildings and structures in Somerset County, Pennsylvania Transportation buildings and structures in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Tunnels completed in 1940 Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Former toll tunnels in the United States Former toll roads in Pennsylvania Road tunnels in Pennsylvania 1940 establishments in Pennsylvania

Bypass

Testing use

See also

References