The Quemahoning Tunnel was a

tunnel 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 cons ...

that was constructed for use on the stillborn

South Pennsylvania Railroad The South Pennsylvania Railroad is the name given to two proposed, but never completed, Pennsylvania railroads in the nineteenth century. Parts of the right of way for the second South Pennsylvania Railroad were reused for the Pennsylvania Turnpik ...

. The tunnel was located in

Somerset County, Pennsylvania Somerset County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania German: ''Somerset Kaundi'') is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the po ...

near the 106.3 milemarker of the

Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike) is a toll highway operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A controlled-access highway, it runs for across the state. The turnpike's we ...

. While the South Pennsylvania Railroad never came to fruition and is known in history as " Vanderbilt's Folly", the Quemahoning Tunnel has the distinction of being the only tunnel of the nine tunnels constructed on the South Pennsylvania alignment that was actually used by railroads, as it was used by the

Pittsburgh, Westmoreland and Somerset Railroad The Pittsburgh, Westmoreland, & Somerset Railroad (PW&S) was a short-lived railroad that connected the Pennsylvania communities of Ligonier and Somerset, running over a mountain known as Laurel Hill or Laurel Mountain. On occasion the railroad's ...

from 1909 to 1916. When the newly formed

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 membe ...

purchased the South Pennsylvania Railroad alignment in 1937, the Turnpike considered using the Quemahoning Tunnel, but instead bypassed it. The

Laurel Hill Tunnel Laurel Hill Tunnel is a 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 eastboun ...

, which was also constructed by the railroad but used by the Pennsylvania Turnpike until its own bypassing in 1964, is located six miles to the west. The

Negro Mountain Tunnel The Negro Mountain Tunnel is a tunnel located in Negro Mountain in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It was built by New York Central Railroad as part of the proposed but never completed South Pennsylvania Railroad, which over time became known as ...

, also bypassed by the Turnpike during the original construction, is located ten miles to the east. As of 2019, it was planned to be daylighted as part of the expansion of the turnpike to 6 lanes. In 2022 the destruction of the tunnel was reported to have been completed in preparation of the widening of the turnpike. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10217209062738199&set=gm.10159857209205073&idorvanity=38777495072

References

External links

Quemahoning Tunnel at Gribblenation.net
Railroad tunnels in Pennsylvania Transportation buildings and structures in Somerset County, Pennsylvania Tunnels completed in 1906 Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission 1906 establishments in Pennsylvania {{US-tunnel-stub