The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel (often referred to simply as the Whittier Tunnel) is a tunnel through Maynard Mountain in the U.S. state of Alaska. A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent It links the Seward Highway south of Anchorage with the relatively isolated community of Whittier. See also Alaska Route 1 The Seward Highway is a highway in the U Whittier is a city in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U It is part of the Portage Glacier Highway and at 13,300 feet (4,050 m), is the second longest highway tunnel and longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Before adding any more images to this * * page please do carefully consider * * whether they would be mere decoration * * or actually improve A tunnel is an underground passageway The definition of what constitutes a tunnel is not universally agreed upon
The original tunnel was completed in 1943 and used for railroad traffic. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In the mid-1960s, the Alaska Railroad began offering a shuttle service for automobiles, similar to Amtrak's Auto Train, which allowed vehicles to drive on to rail cars to be transported between Whittier and the former town of Portage. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 The Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad which extends from Seward and Whittier, in the south of the state of Alaska, in the United States The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Doing business as Amtrak, is a Government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 Auto Train is an long scheduled train service for passengers and their automobiles operated by Amtrak between Lorton Virginia (near Washington D As traffic to Whittier increased, the shuttle became insufficient, leading in the 1990s to a project to convert the existing railroad tunnel into a one-lane, combination highway and railroad tunnel. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 Construction on this project began in September 1998, and the combined tunnel was opened to traffic on June 7, 2000. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Events 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.
As eastbound traffic, westbound traffic, and the Alaska Railroad must share the tunnel, there are often waits of 20 minutes or more to enter. As reflected on the Alaska Department of Transportation Tunnel Website, it is now considered "North America's longest railroad-highway tunnel. " The tunnel held the title of the longest road tunnel in North America (at nearly 2. 5 miles [4 km]) until completion of the 3. 5 mile (5. 6km) Interstate 93 tunnel as part of the "Big Dig" project in Boston, Massachusetts. Interstate 93 (abbreviated I-93) is an Interstate highway in the New England section of the United States. The Big Dig is the unofficial name of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project ( CA/T) a Megaproject that rerouted the It was a 2001 recipient of an Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.
The tunnel is named after Anton Anderson, an army engineer who in 1941 headed up the construction of the railroad spur from Whittier to Portage. Anton Anderson (1892-1960 was chief engineer of the Alaska Railroad and served as Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska from 1956 to 1958
References
- Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel official site
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