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.
"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."
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. 50Photo 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.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.
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.Oregonian: "Columbia Gorge's Oneonta Tunnel Reopens After 60 Years"
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