 Laurel Hill Tunnel in 1942 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Line | South Penn abandoned |
| Location | Laurel Hill Westmoreland and Somerset counties, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates | 40°6′0.4″N 79°13′38.4″W / 40.100111°N 79.227333°W |
| Status | Closed to traffic, leased to Chip Ganassi Racing for testing |
| Crosses | Laurel Hill |
| Operation | |
| Work begun | 1881, railway 1938, highway |
| Constructed | 1881–1885, railway 1938–1940, highway |
| Opened | October 1, 1940 |
| Closed | October 30, 1964, I-70/I-76 |
| Owner | Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission |
| Technical | |
| Length | 5,450 ft (1,660 m), railway 4,541 ft (1,384 m), highway |
| No. of lanes | 2 |
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.