Oneonta Tunnel
Route 2
Built: 1914
Bridge and Tunnel at OneontaPhoto by Samuel C. Lancaster1st Annual OHC Report, 1914, 63
"The highway crosses this stream on a reinforced concrete bridge 80 feet in length, elevation 44, and passes at once into a tunnel, piercing the side wall of the gorge. This tunnel is 125 feet from portal to portal, the height of the rock 205 feet. On account of natural conditions only 18 feet of rock could be left to support the side of the mountain next to the main line tracks of the railroad, and some fissures had to be filled with concrete to guarantee safety."
"The highway crosses this stream on a reinforced concrete bridge 80 feet in length, elevation 44, and passes at once into a tunnel, piercing the side wall of the gorge. This tunnel is 125 feet from portal to portal, the height of the rock 205 feet. On account of natural conditions only 18 feet of rock could be left to support the side of the mountain next to the main line tracks of the railroad, and some fissures had to be filled with concrete to guarantee safety."
Lancaster, 1914 65-66
Oneonta Bluff and Tunnel, Columbia River Highway, Oregon Sawyer Scenic Photos, Inc. Oneonta Bluff and Tunnel, Columbia River Highway, Oregon. Sawyer Scenic Photos, Inc, c. 1920. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library http://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3524677
Robert W. Hadlow, Columbia River Highway Historic District, National Historic Landmark Nomination
Robert W. Hadlow, Columbia River Highway Historic District, National Historic Landmark Nomination
CS16. Structure: Oneonta Tunnel HAER No. OR-36-L
CS16. Structure: Oneonta Tunnel HAER No. OR-36-L
Location: HMP 34.3
Date: 1914
Designer: S. C. Lancaster
Builder: S. P. White and Co., Vancouver, WA
Owner: Oregon Department of Transportation
This tunnel consists of a 125-foot straight bore through a 200-foot-tall outcropping of Columbia River basalt. The 20-foot bore has a vertical clearance of just over 19 feet. Concrete was injected into the basalt prior to cutting the tunnel to prevent the outcropping from crumbling onto a nearby railroad mainline. The tunnel was lined with timber sets and lagging. It was bypassed and filled with rubble in 1948.
Hadlow, Landmark Nomination, 20
"The bluff is of solid basalt rock, which was tunneled to permit the roadway to parallel the railroad in continuing the Columbia River Highway without bridging the railroad or climbing the steep grades. The bluff gives the impression of one-time rivers that washed over the mountains in the geological period."
Oneonta Bluff and TunnelLipschuetz and Katz. Oregon's Famous Columbia River Highway. Portland: Lipschuetz and Katz. 1920.University of California Libraries(https://archive.org/details/oregonsfamouscol00lips)
#46, Oneonta Tunnel on Columbia River Highway
#553 - Columbia River Highway, Oneonta bluff and tunnelOregon State Archives / Oregon Department of Transportationhttp://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/images/records/state/odot/highway/553.jpg
Trees above the Tunnel (2012)Oneonta Gorge. Columbia River Gorge. Oregon. September 8, 2012
Oneonta Tunnel: Revisit the Past Interpretive SignODOT - 2013 - Advisory Committee 2013 Year End Review Presentation
DETAIL - Oneonta Tunnel: Revisit the Past Interpretive SignODOT - 2013 - Advisory Committee 2013 Year End Review Presentation
DETAIL - Oneonta Tunnel: Revisit the Past Interpretive SignODOT - 2013 - Advisory Committee 2013 Year End Review Presentation
DETAIL - Oneonta Tunnel: Revisit the Past Interpretive SignODOT - 2013 - Advisory Committee 2013 Year End Review Presentation
Oneonta TrainwreckSource TBD
Photo Currently Unavailable
"Oneonta Tunnel" Col. Highway, Ore. #491"This is an unused vintage Real Photo Post Card produced by early 20th Century photographers, Cross & Dimmit. The image was taken circa 1918. Photo post cards of this type were made between 1918 and 1940. As this post card is approximately 70 to 90 years old, minor imperfections and condition issues may be present." Friends of Vista House. From the collection of A. F. Litt.Photo Currently Unavailable
Oneonta Tunnel Construction Costs1st Annual Report, 1914 p. 50Backfill & Bypass
Backfill & Bypass
1948
1948
61. APPROACH VIEW OF ONEONTA TUNNEL (FILLED IN), FACING EAST. - Historic Columbia River Highway, Troutdale, Multnomah County, ORDigital ID: (None) hhh or0386.photos.354712p http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.or0386/photos.354712pReproduction Number: HAER ORE,26-TROUT.V,1--61Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.printhttps://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/or0386.photos.354712p/resource/
VIEW OF ONEONTA TUNNEL, CURRENT BYPASS ROAD IS ON THE LEFT.July 1995 Historic American Engineering Recordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HAER_HCRH_OR-36-L-1.jpg
Photo Currently Unavailable
Oneonta Tunnel, Filled and AbandonedHadlow, Robert W. and Amanda Joy Piets, Hannah Kullberg, Sara Morrissey, Kristen Stallman, Myra Sperley, Linda Dodds. Historic Columbia River Highway Oral History: Final Report (SR 500-261). Salem: Oregon Department of Transportation Research Section. August 2009. 57.Restoration
Restoration
Completed: 2009
Completed: 2009
"A future project will reopen the Oneonta Tunnel and improve parking; at the present time the old tunnel area is not apparent to the traveling public as it has been filled and overgrown with vegetation and blends into the surrounding landscape. Most of the historic concrete gutters have been filled; a 2006 project will restore most of them. The water fountain [Ainsworth State Park] in this stretch is operational during the summer."
"A future project will reopen the Oneonta Tunnel and improve parking; at the present time the old tunnel area is not apparent to the traveling public as it has been filled and overgrown with vegetation and blends into the surrounding landscape. Most of the historic concrete gutters have been filled; a 2006 project will restore most of them. The water fountain [Ainsworth State Park] in this stretch is operational during the summer."
ODOT. 2006 Historic Columbia River Highway Master Plan. http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/HCRH/Pages/documents.aspx
ODOT, HCRH Completed Projects
ODOT, HCRH Completed Projects
Oneonta Gorge Parking and Vista
Oneonta Gorge Parking and Vista
This Forest Highway Enhancement project upgraded the parking for Oneonta Gorge, reopened the Oneonta Tunnel and reinforced the Oneonta Creek Bridge. This project was completed in 2009.
ODOT. HCRH Completed Projects. http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/HCRH/Pages/completedprojects.aspx
Oneonta Tunnel in 2013Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Oregon. July 25, 2013
Oneonta Bridge and Tunnel (2012)Columbia River Gorge. Oregon. September 8, 2012
Jack Inside the Oneonta TunnelColumbia River Gorge. Oregon. September 8, 2012
Oneonta TunnelColumbia River Gorge. Oregon. September 8, 2012
Oneonta Tunnel, East EntranceColumbia River Gorge. Oregon. September 8, 2012
Oneonta Tunnel and the Historic Highway, Looking WestColumbia River Gorge. Oregon. September 8, 2012
East of OneontaOld Columbia River Highway, Oregon. October 14, 2010
Photo Currently Unavailable
Oneonta Tunnel RestorationHadlow, Robert W. and Amanda Joy Piets, Hannah Kullberg, Sara Morrissey, Kristen Stallman, Myra Sperley, Linda Dodds. Historic Columbia River Highway Oral History: Final Report (SR 500-261). Salem: Oregon Department of Transportation Research Section. August 2009. 57.Eagle Creek Fire
Eagle Creek Fire
2017
2017
After the Eagle Creek FirePhoto: Friends of the Columbia Gorgehttps://www.facebook.com/gorgefriends/photos/a.377950928033/10156990303333034
Links
Links
Oregonian: "Columbia Gorge's Oneonta Tunnel Reopens After 60 Years"
(dead link)
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CLICK HERE to continue exploring the highway