Pennsylvania Turnpike - Lehigh Tunnel

The Lehigh Tunnel is a pair of tunnels that carries the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension (Interstate 476) under Blue Mountain north from Interstate 78 to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area between MP 70.7 to 71.5. The tunnel was called the Lehigh Tunnel to avoid confusion with the existing Blue Mountain Tunnel on the mainline. The tunnel was "twinned" in 1994 to allow two lanes of traffic in each direction. It has an unusual appearance, as the original (northbound) tunnel is rectangular, as it used the older dig-and-blast technique, while the new tube is circular, having been constructed using the New Austrian Tunnelling method, in which a machine resembling an oversized electric shaving machine head was used to bore into the mountainside.

The Lehigh Tunnel crosses the border between Lehigh County and Carbon County. It is the only road tunnel crossed by the Appalachian Trail.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Pennsylvania
• Turnpike
• Lehigh
• Tunnel

[StroutsInk]

cool cool. Nice footage!

[loveunderlaw]

@StroutsInk Glad you enjoyed it!

[Lanthiriel]

man!  that was fun--really brought back memories. :)