PITTSBURGH POST – GAZETTE: The turnpike commission is considering six options for abandoning the 6,070-foot-long tunnels, longest on the turnpike mainline. Three would involve building new tunnels and three would carve an open highway through the mountain either to the north or south of the existing tunnels.
Preliminary cost estimates for the “cut” options range from $242 million to $345 million, while estimates for the tunnel options range from $537 million to $694 million, according to turnpike consultant L.R. Kimball. Annual maintenance costs for a tunnel would exceed $3 million, several times what an open highway segment would cost…
The turnpike commission began studying replacement of the tunnels in 1996 but shelved plans to cut a 220-foot-deep notch in the mountain amid opposition from environmental groups… (more)
EDITOR: A decade ago or so ago, the tunnel on the West Virginia Turnpike was eliminated in the manner described above. It improved travel and safety.
