The weather has changed and we were dying to get out there and to explore something new. I had heard about this portion of the PA Turnpike near Breezewood that was closed years ago and you could go and walk, run, scooter, bike it at your own risk (that is a definite green flag for us). So I started to do some research and low and behold, there it is. Right there off the Breezewood exit, off the Lincoln Highway - the abandoned (I love that word) turnpike. We could even see it on Google earth/maps. So yesterday we recruited a friend of ours to join us in our first spring 2015 true adventure. So we seove the easy hour and a half drive to Breezewood. After going through the EZPass, we went to 30 East and passed the Quality Inn and saw the cemetery and then the fork in the road. We were told - look for the fork and a small dirt parking lot and a hill. That is exactly what we saw. So we got out the scooter for little lady and headed up the hill. When we got to the top, it was so cool. Just a road - lines still visible in spots, spanning what looked like a 1/2 mile. To sum up the walk, it was cool. Lots of rocks and twigs and puddles for little girl to play in. She scooted a little, we held the scooter a lot. If I would do this again - I would bring a bike for her. It was bumpy, lots of cracks in the pavement and urban decay. A bike would have handled the road more smoothly.
After about 3/4 mile walk we turned a bend. First we saw the first signs of a guardrail. That was so cool. As we rounded the bend, we cam upon the tunnel. My first thought was wow, then I looked back and whispered to my husband and his friend, "Looks a little creepy, huh?" They both agreed.
We took some photos and we looked around. Lots of bad graffiti, and I mean bad as in the artwork is not that great and there were some negative, derogatory images. My four year old cannot read, so it didn't bother me. At this point we were ready to go into the dark abyss. It was dark. FYI - bring a good flashlight. We forgot ours so we just used our phone flashlights. It made it doable, but it would have been nicer to have had flashlights. We walked the 3/4 mile tunnel there and back. What was so cool about it? Well let me tell you...We were running, skipping, singing, echoing, in a tunnel under a mountain in almost complete darkness. It was so cool. Not a single complaint from the little lady about walking. She had a stick and was screaming her little head off. It was so much fun.
We got out of the tunnel and then walked back to the car. The trip back was faster, it always is. We went over to the other side of the road too. Nature had taken a larger toll on that side of the road. It was so cool. I am sure we will venture there again, maybe in the fall when the leaves are turning. It be a very lovely walk with all the colors.
I am adding some history about the place if you are interested:
It opened in 1940.
It is a two lane tunnel - one lane in each direction. It closed in 1968 . It was cheaper to run a road around the tunnel than to maintain this one. Also, it was backing up because it was a four lane highway going down to 2 lanes. Major bottleneck going into the tunnels.
If you continue on the walk, you will come to the Sideling Hill Tunnel. I do not know how long, but I think maybe around 10 miles.
There are reflectors on the road. There are actually several kinds. These were not past of the original road but were added to do tests to see their usability from the companies that made them.
The movie The Road was filmed in this area and uutilzed one of the tunnels (I think the Sideling Hill one).
After about 3/4 mile walk we turned a bend. First we saw the first signs of a guardrail. That was so cool. As we rounded the bend, we cam upon the tunnel. My first thought was wow, then I looked back and whispered to my husband and his friend, "Looks a little creepy, huh?" They both agreed.
We took some photos and we looked around. Lots of bad graffiti, and I mean bad as in the artwork is not that great and there were some negative, derogatory images. My four year old cannot read, so it didn't bother me. At this point we were ready to go into the dark abyss. It was dark. FYI - bring a good flashlight. We forgot ours so we just used our phone flashlights. It made it doable, but it would have been nicer to have had flashlights. We walked the 3/4 mile tunnel there and back. What was so cool about it? Well let me tell you...We were running, skipping, singing, echoing, in a tunnel under a mountain in almost complete darkness. It was so cool. Not a single complaint from the little lady about walking. She had a stick and was screaming her little head off. It was so much fun.
We got out of the tunnel and then walked back to the car. The trip back was faster, it always is. We went over to the other side of the road too. Nature had taken a larger toll on that side of the road. It was so cool. I am sure we will venture there again, maybe in the fall when the leaves are turning. It be a very lovely walk with all the colors.
I am adding some history about the place if you are interested:
It opened in 1940.
It is a two lane tunnel - one lane in each direction. It closed in 1968 . It was cheaper to run a road around the tunnel than to maintain this one. Also, it was backing up because it was a four lane highway going down to 2 lanes. Major bottleneck going into the tunnels.
If you continue on the walk, you will come to the Sideling Hill Tunnel. I do not know how long, but I think maybe around 10 miles.
There are reflectors on the road. There are actually several kinds. These were not past of the original road but were added to do tests to see their usability from the companies that made them.
The movie The Road was filmed in this area and uutilzed one of the tunnels (I think the Sideling Hill one).