Pennsylvania Canal Tunnel

The Pennsylvania Canal Tunnel was the Pittsburgh terminus of the Pennsylvania Main Line of Public Works, a transportation system that involved other early tunnels. Construction was authorized February 8, 1827,[3] and the tunnel was completed November 10, 1829.[1] The canal crossed the Allegheny River on a covered bridge aqueduct, later replaced by John A. Roebling's first suspension bridge, the Allegheny Aqueduct.,[4] the canal traveled underground through most of downtown Pittsburgh, under Grant's Hill, to end in a lock leading to the Monongahela River.[5][6] The original plan was to connect with the C&O canal at the Monongahela River, but that canal never reached its expected western end, and the tunnel's main use was to allow overflow from the canal to enter the Monongahela.[7] Only one or two canal boats ever went through the tunnel and lock.[8] The tunnel was made obsolete by the arrival of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1852.

Pennsylvania Canal Tunnel
Overview
LocationPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Statusabandoned
Waterway(Pennsylvania) Main Line of Public Works
StartPittsburgh turning basin of the Western Division of the Pennsylvania canal
EndMonongahela River at Suke's Run
Operation
Constructedcut and cover
OpenedNovember 10, 1829[1]
Closed1857
Technical
Design engineerMeloy and M'Alvey[2]
Length810 feet

The canal tunnel was uncovered during the construction of the U.S. Steel Tower in 1967,[1] and later during the construction of the subway system, which used part of the tunnel on the south side.

Photographs

References
  1. Van Atta, Robert B. (21 April 2002). "Past 25 years have seen much progress in preservation of local history". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Pittsburgh. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  2. Hazard, Samuel (1828). Register of Pennsylvania. 2. Philadelphia: W.F. Geddes. p. 338. OCLC 1751903. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
  3. Baer, Christopher T. (April 2005) [1827]. A GENERAL CHRONOLOGY OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY ITS PREDECESSORS AND SUCCESSORS AND ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT (PDF) (April 2005 ed.).
  4. Feikema, Robert J. (May 16, 1999). "The canal that made Pittsburgh great". Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
  5. Pittsburgh, 1758-2008. Images of America. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Charleston, SC: Arcadia. 2008. p. 18. it continued to the Monongahela River, partly through a short-lived tunnel under Grant's Hill.CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. Nicklin, Philip Holbrook (1836). A pleasant peregrination through the prettiest parts of Pennsylvania (digitized book). Philadelphia: Grigg and Elliott. p. 106.
  7. "Two Canals" (PDF). New York Times. 15 October 1904.
  8. Pennsylvania Supreme Court (1862). "Munn and Barton versus The Mayor, &c, of Pittsburgh". Pennsylvania state reports. 40. pp. 364–372.
  • Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; January 13, 2008
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