Mitchell Point Tunnel

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Mitchell Point Tunnel was a tunnel toward the eastern end of the Columbia River Highway in Oregon, United States.

[edit] History

Mitchell Point Tunnel was built in 1915 and demolished in 1966.

The Mitchell Point Tunnel was blasted through solid rock high up on the bluff of Mitchell Point, 95 feet above the Columbia River and its five "windows", carved through the face of the basaltic rock, afforded a scenic view of the Gorge. Motorist could pause and enjoy steamboats plying the Columbia River far below, or gaze up at rugged, snow capped volcanoes Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens.

The Mitchell Point Tunnel was a prominent feature of the Columbia River Highway, now known as the Historic Columbia River Highway. This famous roadway stretched 125 miles along the Oregon side of the Columbia River between Portland and The Dalles. The road is recognized as an engineering marvel and as America's first scenic roadway.

Although the tunnel's two-way, 24-foot roadbed was considered quite wide by 1915 standards, vehicles became larger and wider during the 1920s. Truck traffic also became more common on the highway. Eventually, a signal was installed at each entry of the tunnel, alternately allowing east and west, one-way traffic to avert collisions.

By the 1930s, the tunnel was considered inadequate for modern traffic. A wider, river-level route (now designated US Highway 30) was built at the base of Mitchell Point around 1937. The five famous windows were bricked up, the tunnel filled with rock, and the viaducts leading to the tunnel were blocked.

The once-celebrated tunnel remained abandoned, but intact, until 1966 when the Mitchell Point Tunnel was destroyed during the widening of I-84.

There are now plans to re-create the tunnel by the Oregon Department of Transportation as part of its on-going restoration of the Historic Columbia River Highway.