Abandoned PA Turnpike Trip   Here are pictures from an October 2001 trip along the abandoned PA Turnpike between Breezewood and Sideling Hill.   NOTE: The tour was sanctioned by Turnpike authorities. This section is otherwise not accessible for driving, and contains many dangers.   Update: this exact stretch is set to be converted into a bike path. Read more in this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article from Nov. 11, 2001, and another in the Philadelphia Enquirer from June 17, 2002.

LEFT: Heading west after entering. RIGHT: Andrew and Kyle hold a photo of Cove Valley rest area in front of its former location.   LEFT: The eastern portal of Sideling Hill Tunnel, longest of the tunnels at 6,782 feet. RIGHT: Near the same portal, Kyle, Kevin, Lori, another Kevin, Andrew, and Dan (author of The Pennsylvania Turnpike: A History) on 1885 roadbed for the South Penn Railroad.   LEFT: The western portal of Rays Hill Tunnel. RIGHT: The view from the offices above. LEFT: The ventilation shaft above Rays Hill Tunnel. RIGHT: Kevin looks at the fan directly above the tunnel entrance.   LEFT: Matt, Ryan, Bernie, and Neal. RIGHT: The cloverleaf at the original Breezewood exit, no longer used.

 

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