The Memorial Tunnel is a 2,802 feet (854 m) two-lane vehicular tunnel that formerly carried West Virginia Turnpike through/under Paint Creek Mountain in Standard, West Virginia in Kanawha County. A tunnel is an underground passageway The definition of what constitutes a tunnel is not universally agreed upon The West Virginia Turnpike is a toll road in the US state of West Virginia. Kanawha County (pronounced ka-NAW-ah' is a County located in the U [1] Closed to interstate traffic since 1987, the tunnel serves as the Center for National Response for military first responders to train for various situations that may arise in such a location without alarming the general public. [1]
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History
Construction of the Memorial Tunnel commenced in 1952[2] and officially opened to traffic on November 8, 1954,[1] at a final cost of $5 million. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) [3] Its construction required the movement of 30,000,000 cubic yards (23,000,000 m³) of earth, and was the first tunnel in the nation to have closed-circuit television monitoring. Closed-circuit television ( CCTV) is the use of Video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place limited set of monitors [1] By 1976, upgrades to the Turnpike commenced, and by 1983 all but the Memorial Tunnel had been completed. [2] Instead of upgrading and expanding the tunnel, a 1. 72 miles (2. 77 km) extension was constructed to serve as a bypass for both the tunnel and the Bender Bridge. [2] Costing $35 million to complete, 10,000,000 cubic yards (7,600,000 m³) of earth were removed in addition to 300,000 tons of coal being removed from the mountain. [2] The final vehicle would pass through the tunnel on July 7, 1987, and it would subsequently close for use for pass through, vehicular traffic. Events 1456 - A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) [3]
Between 1992 and 1995, the Department of Transportation entered a deal with the state to utilize the abandoned tunnel for smoke, fire and ventilation experiments. [4] These experiments were carried out to design better developed ventilation systems for the tunnels being constructed as part of the Big Dig in Boston (the results of the tests were also incorporated into the design of the Channel Tunnel[5]). The Big Dig is the unofficial name of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project ( CA/T) a Megaproject that rerouted the The Channel Tunnel (Le tunnel sous la Manche also known as the Chunnel, is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in England with These experiments also resulted in the Federal Highway Administration allowing jet fans for ventilation in tunnel construction, which was a significant change to their original ventilation designs. The Federal Highway Administration ( FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in Highway transportation [4] The lasting legacy of the Memorial Tunnel Fire Test Program is in both changes in ceilings materials used in tunnel construction as well in the approved use of jet fans for ventilation during construction. [6]
By 2000, the tunnel had been selected as the location where the Center for National Response would conduct anti-terrorism training exercises. [5] The current facilities offered in the center include:
- A rubble area to simulate collapsed buildings[7]
- An emergency egress trainer[7]
- A subway station, complete with 800 feet (240 m) of track and two subway cars from Boston's Green Line[7]
- A drug enforcement section[7]
- A highway tunnel section, complete with a New York City Transit Authority bus, firetrucks, a tractor-trailer and other vehicles[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Center for National Response. The Green Line is a Light rail / Streetcar system run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA in the Boston, Massachusetts The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA is a Public authority in the U The West Virginia Turnpike is a toll road in the US state of West Virginia. Interstate 64 travels for 184 miles within the state of West Virginia, passing by the major towns and cities of Huntington, Charleston, Beckley In the US state of West Virginia, Interstate 77 in a major north-south highway Tunnel History. Retrieved on 2008-02-20. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment
- ^ a b c d Monday, Christopher R. . "The West Virginia Turnpike: "88 miles of miracle"", West Virginia Historical Society Quarterly.
- ^ a b "Snapshots of the 20th century", The Charleston Gazette, May 14, 1999, p. 15A.
- ^ a b Williams, Susan. "Tunnel vision: Fiery, one-of-a-kind experiments saved designers $20 million", The Charleston Gazette, April 9, 1998, p. 1C.
- ^ a b Lily, Roger. "T 'Terrorism' on the Turnpike: Officers train for worst-case scenarios in closed Memorial Tunnel", The Charleston Gazette, December 18, 2000, p. 1A.
- ^ Sergiu F. Luchian. Memorial Tunnel Fire Test Program. Retrieved on 2008-02-20. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment
- ^ a b c d e Steelhammer, Rick. "A smashing success: Turnpike tunnel still has value Disaster training site's popularity explodes globally", The Charleston Gazette, January 19, 2002, p. 1A.
External links
- Center for National Response official website
- Memorial Tunnel is at coordinates Coordinates:
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