Fort Pitt Tunnel
The Fort Pitt Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel under Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It connects the West End region on the southwest side to the South Shore neighborhood on the northeast side. The adjoining Fort Pitt Bridge on the northeast end connects to Downtown Pittsburgh. The tunnel carries traffic on Interstate 376 (I-376), U.S. Route 22 (US 22), US 30, and US 19 Truck. The structure comprises two bores, each with two lanes of traffic. The inbound tunnel flows onto the top deck of the double-deck Fort Pitt Bridge, opposite traffic from the lower deck using the outbound tunnel. To accommodate the bridge, the northeast portals of the parallel tunnels are vertically staggered by 30 feet. The tunnel opened in September 1960, a year after the Fort Pitt Bridge.
Northeast Portal of Fort Pitt Tunnel | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates | 763-4-1, 870+00 west portal 763-4-1, 912+25 east portal |
| Route | I-376 / US 19 Truck / US 22 / US 30 (Parkway West) |
| Start | I-376 Fort Pitt Bridge |
| End | US 19 |
| Operation | |
| Work begun | August 28, 1957 |
| Constructed | Twin bore, circular roof with an exposed curved ceiling, concrete with ceramic tile lining |
| Opened | September 1, 1960 |
| Owner | PennDOT |
| Operator | PennDOT |
| Traffic | Automobile |
| Toll | none |
| Vehicles per day | 107,000 |
| Technical | |
| Design engineer | Michael Baker, Jr. |
| Length | 3,614 feet (1,102 m) |
| No. of lanes | 4 |
| Operating speed | 55 mph (89 km/h) |
| Tunnel clearance | 13.5 feet (4.1 m) |
| Width | 28 feet (8.5 m) |
| Grade | 2.5% (east to west) |
Building details | |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Joseph Bontempo |
Before entering the southwest end of the inbound tunnel, travelers see a commonplace view of Southwestern Pennsylvania's hills, but at the northeast end, travelers emerge to a panorama of Downtown Pittsburgh and the surrounding skyline. The view was cited by The New York Times as "the best way to enter an American city". The vantage was the inspiration for the news opening on Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV for several years in the 1980s and 1990s, and is referenced in Stephen Chbosky's novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
The Fort Pitt Tunnel is the third-longest automobile tunnel in Pittsburgh, following the Liberty Tunnels and the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. It is one of four major tunnels passing beneath Mount Washington, including the Liberty Tunnels and the Wabash Tunnel for automobiles, and the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel for public transportation.