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Washburn Tunnel
The Washburn Tunnel is a two-lane underwater motor-vehicle tunnel connecting Galena Park and Pasadena, two suburbs of Houston, Texas. Completed in 1950, it travels north-south underneath the Houston Ship Channel. It was named after Harris County, Texas Auditor Harry L. Washburn. It is the largest and first toll-free vehicular tunnel in the Southern United States. Overview The Merritt Chapman and Scott Corporation of New York built the $7 million project. First, a trench by had to be dug. Second, the sections had to be locked into position 85 feet underwater. Finally, the last touches, such as tiling the inside, were completed. It is the only underwater vehicle tunnel currently in operation in the state, as the Baytown Tunnel was replaced in 1995 by the Fred Hartman Bridge. The tunnel consists of a single bore, 895 meters (2,909 feet) in length, with a six-percent roadway grade outward from the center towards each exit. Forced transverse ventilation is potentially provided ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Houston Ship Channel
The Houston Ship Channel, in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston, one of the busiest seaports in the world. The channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico, and it serves an increasing volume of inland barge traffic. Overview The channel is a widened and deepened natural watercourse created by dredging Buffalo Bayou and Galveston Bay. The channel's upstream terminus lies about four miles east of downtown Houston, at the Turning Basin, with its downstream terminus at a gateway to the Gulf of Mexico, between Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula. Major products, such as petrochemicals and Midwestern grain, are transported in bulk together with general cargo. The original watercourse for the channel, Buffalo Bayou, has its headwaters to the west of the city of Houston. The navigational head of the channel, the most upstream point to which general cargo ships can travel, is at Turning Basin in east Houston. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beltway 8
Beltway 8 (BW8), the Sam Houston Parkway, along with the Sam Houston Tollway, is an beltway around the city of Houston, Texas, United States, lying entirely within Harris County. Beltway 8, a state highway maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), runs mostly along the frontage roads of the tollway, only using the main lanes where they are free: between Interstate 45 (I-45, North Freeway) and Interstate 69/ US Highway 59 (I-69/US 59, Eastex Freeway); and between US 90 (Crosby Freeway) and I-10 ( Baytown-East Freeway). The main lanes elsewhere are the Sam Houston Tollway, a toll road owned and operated by the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA). East of Houston, the tollway crosses the Houston Ship Channel on the Sam Houston Ship Channel Bridge, a toll bridge; this forms a gap in Beltway 8 between I-10 (Baytown-East Freeway) and State Highway 225 (SH 225, La Porte Freeway). Beltway 8 is the intermediate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Road Tunnels In The United States
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of roads, including parkways, avenues, controlled-access highways (freeways, motorways, and expressways), tollways, interstates, highways, thoroughfares, and local roads. The primary features of roads include lanes, sidewalks (pavement), roadways (carriageways), medians, shoulders, verges, bike paths (cycle paths), and shared-use paths. Definitions Historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or some maintenance. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines a road as "a line of communication (travelled way) using a stabilized base other than rails or air strips open to public traffic, primarily for the use of road motor vehicles running on their own wheels", which i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tunnels Completed In 1950
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube construction techniques rather than traditional tunnel boring methods. A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. The central portions of a rapid transit network are usually in the tunnel. Some tunnels are used as sewers or aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations. Utility tunnels are used for routing steam, chilled water, electrical power or telecommunication cables, as well as connecting buildings for convenient passage of people and equipment. Secret tunnels are built for military purposes, or by civilians for smuggling of weapons, contraband, or people. Special tunnels, such as wildlife crossings, are built to allow wildlife to cross human-made barriers safely. Tunne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
