The Abandon Pennsylvania Turnpike & Tunnels

Sideling Hill Western Portal

Abandon Stretch of Turnpike

The Pennsylvania Turnpike has evolved a lot over the past several decades since it opened in the 1940’s. At first much of the turnpike was originally used as a railroad then later turned into highway. The Turnpike now travels over mountains but when it first opened it went through them. With seven tunnels along the stretch, the turnpike would bottleneck from a 4-lane to a 2-lane highway through the tunnels. Due to congestion, primarily at the Breezewood interchange, the tunnels were bypassed. This left about 13 miles of abandon highway and tunnels in South-Central Pennsylvania. The remaining tunnels were enlarged to allow better flow of traffic and remain part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike today.

Access to Turbine Room

The Abandon Turnpike is still currently accessible to pedestrians and bicyclists; were as, motor vehicles have been prohibited. Non-profit conservation groups manage parts of the Abandon Turnpike. The groups have tried to make it a rail-to-trail recreation area. Two tunnels, Rays Hill and Sideling Hill, are open to the public and are the most well known. The tunnel further west, Laurel Hill, is privately owned and being used as a test site. The abandon turnpike is easily accessible from 3 different points. Pump station road off of Rt. 30 takes you to the Eastern part of Sideling Hill Tunnel. Oregon Road off of Rt. 30 takes you in-between Sideling Hill and Rays Hill Tunnels. Lastly, the intersection of Rt. 30 and Tannery road near Breezewood takes you to the western part of the turnpike near Rays Hill Tunnel.

Inside the Tunnel

            I have been to the abandon turnpike tunnels numerous times, and they have yet to get old. Even before reaching the tunnels, there is something amazing about walking down the abandon interstate highway. Trees are growing in the median. Grass and weeds creep up from the cracked concrete. My favorite time to go is at night. The highway gives off an eerie post-apocalyptic vibe that you would see in movies. At night the tunnels can be seen by the moonlight, but the inside is so dark you can’t see your hand in front of your face.

Turbines

Visiting during a sunny day however, you can just barely see through the tunnel to the other side. This is also the best time to explore the inner structures of the tunnels at your own risk of course. I have explored Sidling hill tunnel the most over the years. The massive turbines that pushed air in and out of the tunnel are still intact in the upper floor of the tunnel entrance. The tunnel walls are always changing with new graffiti on both sides. Along the tunnel way where the old lights were, numbers are painted to help you judge how far you are along the tunnel. The tunnels are primarily intact with some concrete falling from the ceiling. Water does come down from the ceiling at both portals but the inside is usually dry. 

Air Shaft above Tunnel

  If you plan on visiting the tunnels, it is at your own risk. I would recommend wearing comfortable shoes and taking a flashlight regardless of time of day and only staying on the road and not exploring the other parts of the structure.

Centralia : A Ghost Town Burning for over 50 Years

   

Abandon part of Route 61

     Centralia is one of the best-known ghost towns of Pennsylvania. It was even inspiration for the Silent Hill motion picture. At its peak over 2500 residents once lived in the old coal-mining town; now less than 5 people occupy the town. Incorporated as a borough in 1866, it was inhabited primarily by coal miners. The borough grew to have a few hotels, over 20 salons and 14 general stores. Anthracite coal mining continued in the town form the late 1860's until 1962. Anthracite coal was highly valued in the steel industry since it would burn hotter and longer than other types of coal. Unfortunately the towns lively hood would be its downfall. Anthracite coal is also hard to ignite, and harder to extinguish.

Overgrown Intersection in Town

     In 1962, firefighters were burning local trash near a cemetery on the outside of town. They had been doing this for years, however, this time where they choose to burn the trash had a vein of coal near the surface and it caught fire. The ground fire was put out easily, but little did they know the fire had spread underground. For a few years attempts to research and put out the fire had made things worse, providing air to the fire. In the 1980's it was estimated to cost nearly 600 million dollars to

contain the fire that was burning in the 3000-acre coalfield. The US government could not justify the cost and eminent domain was evicted in the early 1990s. Some residents had left when the fire started and the town slowly started to fade away. It is estimated that the coal will burn for another 250 years and no plans have been made to extinguish it.

    Centralia has now become a frequented place for visitors and urban explorers. The town remains very unsafe with fractures in the earth, sinkholes, toxic gases, and temperatures reaching over 500 degrees only a foot underground. Even with all the dangers, on almost any day a handful of people can be seen walking through the grass covered roads. Three cemeteries and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Greek-Catholic church still remain but not much else. A stretch of

Route 61 has been made detoured due to the earth twisting the pavement. Now graffiti litters the black top that used to be a 4-lane highway.

     I chose to brave the dangers in the summer of 2009 with a few friends. We arrived in the ghost town which is just a short drive east from Ashland PA. No homes remained when we visited. A few sidewalks and remains of stairs remained along the unkempt roads. We visited the 3 cemeteries on the south side of town. From almost any point in the town the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church overlooks the ghost town from the hill above. Our last stop was the

abandon part of Rt. 61. Gases could be seen coming from the cracked pavement and the road was warped and twisted. We walked about a mile along the road and took time to read the graffiti and then made our way back home.

      Please use extreme caution if you chose to visit this location. Multiple warning signs are posted around the area.

Blocked portion of Route 61

Steam was rising from the cracked pavement

Lost Resting Places : McGarvey Cemetery

     

     This cemetery is not as lost in memory as others in the area; however, it still remains unkempt. The cemetery is in a wooded area at the corner of 48^th street and Broad Avenue in Altoona. Many of the tombstones have fallen over or are overgrown with vegetation. I was not able to find much history about the cemetery, and most the names on the stones were unreadable. 
 

Ghost Town of Alvira

Some call Alvira a ghost town; however, the town itself has been gone for the past 70+ years and is now part of State Game Land(SGL) 252. Originally named Wisetown, the area had been populated since the early 1800’s, and by the early 1900’s it was a booming American small town with the entire infrastructure. All that would come to change after the start of World War II. The government fearing there would be a huge need for explosives seized over 8500 acres by Eminent Domain in Gregg, Union, Brady, and Clinton Counties. Unfortunately the town of Alvira was part of the over 200 farms and properties seized. At the time of the land seize, it was paid for at market value and even promised back to the owners once the need for the land was finished. Later after the war, the residents of the area would come to known the false hope the government gave them. Most of the property was never distributed back to the people. Some of the land went to build a prison, some sold to build a golf course, and the  3000 acres that  was left went to be known as SGL 252.

After the land of Alvira was seized, the Susquehana Ordnance Depot was built to manufacture and store explosives. A TNT factory and 100 some bunkers where built to hold the explosives. Only after 11 months of operation, the need for TNT was greatly over estimated and the Ordnance was closed. In the 1950’s the land was distributed and the factory torn down, but the TNT bunkers still remained and are now part of SGL 252. As for the town of Alviria, no buildings were left after the government came in, but two cemeteries still remain on the border of the SGL.

This past year, hunting season was quickly approaching and I wanted to explore what was left of Alvira. A friend of mine and I set out on an early autumn day and thankfully didn’t run into or upset any hunters. To get to SGL 252, we came from the west on Route 220 and took the exit at Jersey Shore to get onto route 44. After a few miles we took a left onto mill road then a right onto Alvira Road. Soon we were greeted with SGL signs and a parking area. The first thing we noticed when we parked the car was a sign that paid homage to the town of Alvira. Only a few feet away we found our first bunker. Unfortunately it was locked up but nonetheless it sparked our curiosity even more. Hopeful, we began to walk into the game lands.

 

It was not long until we found another bunker. I had downloaded a SGL map that had many of the bunkers marked, it was just a matter of finding one that was open to explore. After about 100 yards, we came across our next bunker. The bunker was in a dome shape and looked like a small hill. A large steel door was the only entrance and to our luck was open. The first thing we realized as we stepped into the bunker was its amazing acoustic ability, probably due in part to its shape. Besides some junk, nothing else was really found in the bunker. A small exhaust hole was at the top. We continued to walk the game lands and stumbled upon many other bunkers.

After we got our thrill of finding several bunkers, we made our way back to the car. I knew from research that there were 2 cemeteries supposed to be near by. We continued down Alvira road and soon came across one of the cemeteries to our right. There looked to be a horticulture class walking along the road and cemetery, observing the trees and plants, so we didn’t stop and continued on. At the end of Alvira road we found a dead end; however, it was also a parking area for the Washington Presbyterian Church and cemetery. One stone pillar and another foundation of one marked the entrance. To the right, a small grade could be noticed that was once the foundation to the church that sat adjacent to the cemetery. I was surprised to see the cemetery it such good condition. From the far end of the cemetery, the fence and tower of the nearby prison could be seen. We walked the cemetery and took a few pictures and then headed back to the car. All in all it was a well worth drive to witness this bit of history.