OFFICIAL NAME:
Stowe Tunnel
OTHER DESIGNATION:
LOCATION:
Stowe Twp
USGS 7.5" Topo Quad - UTM Coordinates:
Pittsburgh West - Zone 17; 0578 4480
CARRIES:
Tunnel Way, Seventh Av (2 lanes)
sidewalk on west side
BETWEEN:
-- Island Av [PA51]
-- Ridge Av
UNDER:
-- McCoy Rd
-- Benwood Av
TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION / DESIGN:
reinforced concrete lining, semicircular profile
bored through rock
TOTAL LENGTH:
495 ft est
OTHER DIMENSIONS:
13 ft 8 in posted vertical clearance, north portal
11 ft 11 in posted vertical clearance, south portal
28 ft wide (est)
YEAR OPENED / ENGINEER:
1909, rebuilt 1940 (1941), County of Allegheny
PennDOT, current owner
ADDITIONAL INFO:
The retaining walls leading up to the portals appear to be from the 1909 construction.
This is probably the most well lit tunnel in the county. It appears when PennDOT assumed ownership of the tunnel the rehabilitation included new lighting, bright white paint on the lower third of the walls, and Jersey barriers along each wall. The western barrier protects the sidewalk and moves southbound traffic toward the center of the tunnel. This also accounts for the 13 ft 8 in clearance posted for southbound traffic but 11 ft 11 in clearance in the opposite direction.
There are no mechanical means of ventilation and no vent stacks.
Mounted to the right of each portal, a plaque reads:
County of Allegheny
Stowe Tunnel
Rebuilt 1940
Commissioners
Jno. J. Kane
Geo. Rankin, Jr. John S. Herron
Controller
Robert G. Woodside
County Department of Works
John F. Laboon
Director |
Edwin H. Stowe, associate Judge of Common Pleas 1862-1877, president judge 1877-1903. Stowe Twp erected from part of Robinson Twp. in December 1869 after a similar motion had been defeated two years earlier.
FIELD CHECKED:
31-Aug-2001
INFO SOURCES:
Cushing, "History of Allegheny County", 1889
