Infrastructure of AMERICA’S Tunnels

Marcia Amidon Lusted

2001 SW 31st Avenue Hallandale, FL 33009 www.mitchelllane.com Copyright © 2018 by Mitchell Lane Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Printed and bound in the United States of America.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Lusted, Marcia Amidon, author. Title: Infrastructure of America's tunnels / by Marcia Amidon Lusted. Description: Hallandale, FL : Mitchell Lane Publishers, [2018] | Series: Engineering feats | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Audience: Ages 9-13. Identifiers: LCCN 2017052245 | ISBN 9781680201505 (library bound) Subjects: LCSH: Tunnels—United States—Juvenile literature. | Infrastructure (Economics)—United States—Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC TA804.U6 L87 2018 | DDC 624.1/930973—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017052245 eBook ISBN: 9-781-6802-0151-2

PHOTO CREDITS: Cover, p. 1—Don Ramey Logan/cc by-sa 4.0; David Wilson/cc by-sa 2.0; Pedro Szekely/cc-by-sa 2.0; U.S. Navy/Public domain; US DoD Service/U.S. Federal Government/Public domain; Sahmeditor/Nicole Ezell/Public domain; Bernard Gagnon/GFDL/cc by-sa 3.0; Trevor Brown/EyeEm/Getty Images; (interior)—Hulinska_Yevheniia/Getty Images Plus. Cover, pp. 1, 6—Andrew Haliburton/Alamy Stock Photo; pp. 8-9—Michael Dwyer/Alamy Stock Photo; p. 10— Darren McCollester/Stringer/ Getty Images News, (inset)—Marcbela/Public domain; p. 11—AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File/Associated Press; p. 12—AP Photo/ Mel Evans/Associated Press; p. 14—Preston Rescigno/Staff/Getty Images News; p. 15—Spencer Platt/Staff/Getty Images News; p. 16—Jack Boucher/NPS/Library of Congress/Public domain; p. 18—AP Photo/Patrick Semansky/Associated Press; p. 20—M­ arty Bernard/Public domain; p. 22—Scott Stafford/The Berkshire Eagle via AP/Associated Press; p. 24—Ben Schumin/cc-by-sa 3.0; p. 26—Louis Prang & Co./Library of Congress/Public domain; p. 27—Tom Saunders/VDOT/cc-by-nc-nd 2.0; p. 28—Jamie Pham Photography/Alamy Stock Photo; p. 31—TravelMuse/Alamy Stock Photo; p. 32—Leonard G./Public domain; pp. 34-35—Joe_ Potato/Getty Images Plus; p. 36—PJF Military Collection/Alamy Stock Photo; p. 37—(top) Mike Doukas/USGS/Public domain, (bottom)—Jjimmyb/cc-by-sa 4.0; p. 38—Portland Corps/cc-by-sa 2.0. Contents

INTRODUCTION: Tunnels for Roads and Rails...... 4 Chapter 1: The ...... 7 Chapter 2: Tunnels Under the Hudson River..... 13 Chapter 3: The Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel..... 17 Chapter 4: The Hoosac Tunnel...... 21 Chapter 5: The Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel...... 25 Chapter 6: The Hetch Hetchy Tunnel...... 29 Chapter 7: The Bay Bridge Tunnel...... 33 Chapter 8: The Spirit Lake Tunnel...... 37

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW...... 40 TIMELINE...... 41 CHAPTER NOTES...... 42 FURTHER READING...... 44 ON THE INTERNET...... 44 WORKS CONSULTED...... 44 GLOSSARY...... 46 INDEX...... 47 ABOUT THE AUTHOR...... 48

Words in bold throughout can be found in the Glossary. Chapter 1 The Big Dig

oston is one of the oldest cities in the United States. Because it is so old, its streets were often congested and confusing. In 1959, the city Bbuilt a brand-new highway called the Central Artery that carried 75,000 vehicles a day on an elevated roadway through the middle of the city. But by 1990, 100,000 cars were using the Central Artery. Traffic often slowed to a crawl. The Artery also cut off ’s North End neigh- borhood from the rest of the city.1 Boston’s answer was a massive project known as the Big Dig. It involved building a new ten-lane underground central highway through the city to replace the old elevated Central Artery. This underground highway included the Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. Tunnel and the Tunnel. The Big Dig took 15 years to construct, at a cost of $14.6 billion. It relieved traffic con- gestion and created more green spaces downtown. However, the Big Dig has had problems since it began. Just 10 years after it was officially finished, many pieces need repair. Both the Williams and O’Neill Tunnels are close to the ocean. Salt water leaks in through cracks in the concrete. These leaks often back up traffic. The concrete

How long did it take to finish the Big Dig? Q The first 25 percent of construction took five years to & complete. The halfway point was reached in the spring of A 1999. The project was officially finished in 2007.2

7 Chapter 1

How much concrete was used to construct the Big Q Dig? & 3.8 million cubic yards of concrete, or enough to build a A sidewalk three feet wide and four inches thick from Boston to San Francisco and back three times.5

8 The Big Dig

Part of the Big Dig project included constructing two new tunnels, the Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. Tunnel and the Ted Williams Tunnel, beneath Boston and Boston Harbor. They are part of the reason why the Big Dig took 15 years to complete.

9 Chapter 1 cracked because it was only mixed to withstand 50-degree changes in temperature. Boston actually experiences 100-degree changes. Light fixtures corroded (kor-ROE-ded). This made the nuts on the bolts that attached them crack and caused some light fixtures to crash onto roadways below. The safety handrails attached to pedestrian

In this photo, traffic enters and exits the Ted Williams tunnel, connecting to the I-80 highway or traveling to Logan Airport. Inset: The entrance to the Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. Tunnel.

Thomas “Tip” O’Neill was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1953 to 1987. He served as Speaker of the House between 1977 and 1987. Ted Williams was a Hall of Fame outfielder for the . In 1941, he became the last player to hit over .400 for a season.

10 The Big Dig

(peh-DESS-tree-an) walkways have been nicknamed “ginsu guardrails” (after a certain type of sharp knife) because the sharp posts cause injuries and deaths to passengers ejected from cars during crashes. The worst incident involving the tunnels occurred in 2006. Four slabs of concrete, weighing about three tons each, fell onto the road when a metal anchor holding them in place broke. One slab fell onto a car, crushing it and killing a female passenger.3 The cost to repair the ceiling slabs and light fixtures alone is estimated to cost $88 million. Salt water corrosion and leaks in the tunnels cause flooded air vents and damaged electrical systems. Salt used in the winter on the roadways adds to the corrosion. Some of the money for repairs could be drawn from a $500 million maintenance (MANE-te-nuhnce) fund, created from a lawsuit against the contractor who built the tunnel. However, any large-scale repairs to the Big Dig system will cause road and tunnel closures and traffic delays over long periods of time.4 Repairs are underway, but issues caused by salt and corrosion are a permanent part of the tunnels. They will continue to cause issues going forward.

Firefighters inspect a section of ceiling in the eastbound connector tunnel through Boston after it collapsed onto the roadway and killed a woman passenger in a car.

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