What is the longest operating tunnel in Pennsylvania?
(WHTM) — Pennsylvania is home to many mountains; tunnels need to be built to get through the mountains. Many major roads around the state have tunnels, but which is the longest?
The Allegheny Mountain Tunnel is the longest in the state. The tunnel has a length of 6,070 feet and was constructed in 1939. It carries two lanes in each direction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, also known as Interstate 76.
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Only In Your State said the tunnel originally had both the eastbound and westbound lanes in one portal. However, due to the increased traffic flow in the area, a new portal was constructed in 1965.
The Allegheny Mountain Tunnel was not always the longest tunnel in operation in the state. The now-abandoned Sideling Hill tunnel was the longest in the state at 1.28 miles, but that tunnel closed when that portion of the Pennsylvania Turnpike was bypassed and realigned in 1968.
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In 2014, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission announced that it was to replace the tunnel but in 2020, it was decided to only allow a new road just south of the tunnel.
The other tunnels along the turnpike include the Tuscarora Mountain Tunnel, Blue Mountain Tunnel, and Kittatinny Mountain Tunnel. Additionally, the northeast extension of the turnpike has the Lehigh Tunnel.
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