Fort Pitt Tunnel

Fort Pitt Tunnel

The Fort Pitt Tunnel carries I-279 between Downtown Pittsburgh and its suburb of Green Tree in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It has two lanes both inbound and outbound. The tunnel travels beneath Mount Washington. Its northern ramps lead directly to the double-deck Fort Pitt Bridge. To mesh with the bridge, the North portal has openings at two levels, with the eastern opening leading to the top deck of the bridge. At the South portal the openings are at the same level. FORT PITT TUNNEL is mounted in small letters on a grey marblestone frame-like entranceway above the South portal, with large letters used in the North portal frame.

Before entering the tunnel at its southwest end, one sees a commonplace view of Western Pennsylvania's rolling green hills, but upon exiting at the northeast end, one sees a spectacular view of Pittsburgh's skyline, often famous as "the best way to enter an American city". The view was also the inspiration for the news open on CBS affiliate KDKA-TV for several years in the 1980s and 1990s. [http://youtube.com/watch?v=huOmvNU2tOw] It is referenced in Stephen Chbosky's novel "The Perks of Being a Wallflower".

History

.cite web
last = Cridlebaugh
first = Bruce S.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Bridges And Tunnels Of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania - Fort Pitt Tunnel
work =
publisher =
date = 2001-09-10
url = http://www.pghbridges.org/pittsburghW/0583-4476/ft_pitt_tun.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-08-08] On Thursday, May 31, 2007, a bomb threat shut down the Fort Pitt Tunnel along with the Liberty and Squirrel Hill tunnels, causing a major traffic jam. [Citation
last = Ayad
first = Moustafa
author-link =
last2 = Majors
first2 = Dan
author2-link =
title = Bomb threats close major tunnels during downpour, snarling traffic throughout city
newspaper = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
pages =
year = 2007
date = 2007-06-01
url = http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07152/790751-147.stm]

Dimensions and specifications

*3,614 feet in length
*28 feet wide
*13.5 feet vertical clearance
*Serves nearly 107,000 vehicles per day.
*There are 1,788 light fixtures with 3,576 bulbs.
*There are convert|187200|sqft|m2|-1|abbr=on of tiled surface to wash.

References

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8oqTSq75ZQ&mode=related&search=] - video of the tunnel


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