Tunneling

This morning, Ron Warnick generated a discussion on our Route 66 Yahoo group of the various places where there are tunnels under Route 66. These underground passages were used back in the day when traffic on America's Main Street was so dense that it became difficult to cross the road. There aren't many left, and in fact the only one I'd ever seen previously is the one in Chelsea, OK, which I pass many times each week. So, when Ron mentioned that there was one right here in Tulsa at the intersection of Admiral Place and Harvard Ave., I made sure to drive past on my way to an errand in that general direction this afternoon.

In the first picture, you can see the cage around the tunnel entrance on the north side of Admiral. The door to the cage was closed, and I didn't park the car to see if I could open it.

The second picture is a long shot across Admiral, showing the cages on both sides. They seem to be in decent condition, but I don't know if they're still being used, or even if the cages are unlocked.

I've posted this photo before, but here's the tunnel entrance in Chelsea, OK. You can barely see the identical entrance on the other side of the road. I've always been fascinated by the concept of needing these underground passages to get across Route 66, I guess because it reminds me that, in it's heyday, the road carried bumper to bumper traffic at times.