Lehigh Tunnel

Traveling to Scranton PA took me through the Lehigh Tunnel. It remained me of the Windsor Detroit River Tunnel right down to the yellow tiles!
On April 1, 1957, 47 of the remaining 73 miles of the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Northeast Extension opened to traffic. Included in the new highway was the 4,461 foot Lehigh Tunnel, a two lane tube through the Blue Mountain. However by 1970, concerns over the levels of traffic through the 13 year old tunnel were growing. Throughout the 1960's the Turnpike either twinned or bypassed the seven tunnels on the mainline system. For over a decade, various proposals were introduced but tight economic times did not allow for proactive construction. Finally, in 1985, Act 61 authorized new funding for the Pennsylvania Turnpike System. The legislation approved funding for the twinning of the Lehigh Tunnels. Studies began soon and construction began early in 1989. Construction would last for nearly two and a half years, ending with the opening of the new facility on November 22, 1991.