East River Mountain Tunnel
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox tunnel
The East River Mountain Tunnel is a Template:Convert vehicular tunnel that carries Interstate 77 (I-77) and U.S. Route 52 (US 52) through East River Mountain between Bluefield, West Virginia, and Rocky Gap, Virginia.
History
Construction began on August 12, 1969, and it opened on December 20, 1974. At a cost of $40 million (equivalent to $Template:Formatprice in Template:Inflation-yearTemplate:Inflation-fn), it was the most expensive construction project undertaken by the West Virginia Division of Highways at the time. The northern 51% of the tunnel is in West Virginia and the southern 49% in Virginia; Virginia shared the cost of the project.<ref name="only-in">Template:Cite web</ref>
Before the opening of the East River Mountain Tunnel, travelers wishing to cross the state line had to navigate the narrow, twisting, guardrail-less route of US 52 up and over the mountain (now designated as SR 598 and WV 598). When fog or snow was present, the journey became arduous, and the road was occasionally closed completely (particularly in the winter months) due to treacherous conditions.
Location
The tunnel is located about Template:Convert north of its shorter cousin, the Big Walker Mountain Tunnel. The East River Mountain Tunnel is one of two land vehicular tunnels in the United States that cross a state line, the other being the Cumberland Gap Tunnel.<ref name="only-in"/>
The top of East River Mountain can be seen in the distance from Big Walker Lookout, a Template:Convert observation tower built on Big Walker Mountain.
References
External links
- The Big Walker and East River Mountain Tunnels - Back in Time - Highway History - FHWA
- Bland County History Archives
- Virginia asked to ease load restrictions in I-77 tunnelsTemplate:Dead link
- VDOT Bristol District Info