The Cricket Tunnel and Crest Tunnel are a pair of railroad tunnels in northern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, near the city of

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

in Boone County. The Crest Tunnel, at is the longest tunnel in Arkansas, and is its only curved tunnel. Both tunnels were built by the White River Division of the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

in the early 20th century. The tunnels were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2007.

Cricket Tunnel

The Cricket Tunnel is oriented roughly northwest to southeast, and passes under Old

United States Route 65 U.S. Route 65 (US 65) is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 425 in Clayton, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at Interstate 35 just south of I ...

south of Omaha. It is long, with a concrete-finished northwestern portal from which retaining walls extend, topped by a projecting cornice. The southeast portal is unfinished, as its opening was excavated out of bedrock. Much of the interior of the tunnel is lined with steel and concrete, as it passes through an area of mud and watery clay. Both tunnels were built at the same time in 1903-05 by crews of the

. Construction of the Cricket Tunnel took longer than anticipated due to the clay encountered, and by a rockslide in the tunnel in September 1904. The concrete lining was added to the tunnel in 1906 amid concerns of continuing rockfalls, and additional work in 1916 removed the top from the southern of the tunnel.

Crest Tunnel

The Crest Tunnel also runs in a northwest-to-southeast direction, and is located northwest of Omaha, passing under Arkansas Highway 14 east of its junction with US 65. Its northwest portal is unfinished. The tunnel is, at in length, the longest in the state. It is also distinctive for a curve near the southwestern portal. It is bored entirely through bedrock.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Railway tunnels on the National Register of Historic Places Tunnels completed in 1903 Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas National Register of Historic Places in Boone County, Arkansas Railway buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas 1903 establishments in Arkansas Missouri Pacific Railroad Transportation in Boone County, Arkansas

Cricket Tunnel

Crest Tunnel

See also

References