Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel

 

 

This is a picture of the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. To the left is one of the stops. On the roof there are fans and you can see railroad tracks. This picture is courtesy of http://community.webshots.com.

 

The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel is one of the tunnels with a lot of firsts. Some of them are~

~longest highway tunnel in North America~
~longest road-railroad highway used~

~first tunnel in the US with ventilation system combines jet and portal fans~

~first with unique computerized traffic control system~

~first designed tunnel to withstand below forty degrees F~

 

In 1941 the US army began the railroad construction spur from Portage to Whittier. Then on April 23, 1943 the spur was complete. When building the spur the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities they considered many things such as~

~going through the tunnel~

~using a high-speed electric speed train~

~constructing a highway route through or over the mountain~

 

The tunnel is over 5 miles long. When you start you can see light on the other end.

 

 

Home

Glaciers

Begich-Boggs Visitor Center

Whittier