There are ghost highways all over the country. Included in this are highway tunnels and whole multilane segments of highways that have been bypassed. Today it's possible to go sleuthing and discover these decaying bits of infrastructure – sometimes they are overgrown or degraded to the point they look post-apocalyptic.
Some such as the abandoned tunnels from the Turnpike in Pennsylvania have even been used as stage takes hold post-apocalyptic movies such as the 2009 movie The Road. Many of these highways are no longer available on maps and many are sealed off. But there are many more that one can discover.
The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike
Perhaps the best-known example of a ghost highway in the United States is the 13 mile-long stretch of the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike. This section of road has two 2-lane tunnels (Ray's Hill Tunnel and also the Sidelining Hill Tunnel) and 4-lane approaches were bypassed with 4-lane cuts at its core.
Today these two old tunnels and their approaches are now being rehabilitated included in a multi-use trail (mostly for cycling).
There tend to be more abandoned tunnels along other sections along with other abandoned and never used tunnels from the never completed South Pennsylvania Railroad which was partly constructed in the 1880s.
Abandoned tunnels From the Turnpike and also the South Pennsylvania Railroad include:
- Negro Mountain Tunnel: Built For that South Pennsylvania Railroad But Bypassed Through the Turnpike
- Quemahoning Tunnel: Designed for The South Pennsylvania Railroad But Bypassed Through the Turnpike
- Memorial Tunnel: Two-lane Vehicular Tunnel Built For The Turnpike, Later Abandoned
- Laurel Hill Tunnel: Repurposed for High-Speed Racecar Aerodynamic Testing
- Rays Hill Tunnel: Abandoned In 1968, One of the Three Original Pennsylvania Turnpike Tunnels To Be Abandoned
- Sideling Hill Tunnel: Abandoned In 1968, Among the Three Original Pennsylvania Turnpike Tunnels To become Abandoned
Intriguingly, the old Laurel Hill Tunnel was redeveloped in 2003 has been repurposed for high-speed racecar aerodynamic testing (and it is off-limits).
U.S. Route 66 – Undermined By Mining
U.S. Route 66 had a number of realignments producing a number of sections being bypassed, decommissioned, and abandoned. Eventually, the whole route itself was decommissioned like a highway in 1985 (although the majority of its sections stay in use).
- US Route 66: Decommissioned As A Highway In 1985
Since then parts of that old road have been redesignated as a National Scenic Byway called “Historic Route 66”. There are lots of museums and nostalgic hotels, pubs, and restaurants across the old Route 66, learn a great deal concerning the history of this famous old American highway.
Over its years, the route was constantly realigned and modified so oftentimes there is not only one route. One example of a ghost portion of Route 66 is a one-mile portion of the highway that buckled and broke. In reaction, the route was re-routed along a detour (55th St. and East Ave.) based on WRKR.com.
- Location: Chicago Suburb of McCook
- Name: Called Joliet Road
- Access: Closed Off – Not Even Pedestrian Visitors are Allowed
Today this section of Route 66 is completely closed and gated off. The highway was ruined by large quarries on each side of the road operated by Vulcan Materials Co. (the second-largest mining company and producer of aggregate in the world). The quarrying made the venerable highway too unstable to aid traffic by undermining the road's bedrock foundations.
Highways Which were Never Completed & Ghost Highways
There are lots of examples of roads and railroads that were never fully completed and it is impossible to list anywhere of these out here.
Located just east of Lancaster the Pennsylvania Route 23 “Goat Path” was graded for a four-lane expressway. But after much of the street had been built it was canceled. In the end, the roadbeds were planted over with grass.
R.H. Thomson Expressway is located in Seattle – it was never finished and also the work ended leaving stub ramps. More unused ramps should be seen for the never-built Inner Belt and Southwest Corridor in Boston, Massachusetts. They are part of an unused alignment for I-95.
In Connecticut, you will discover the state's only four-level stack interchange along the I-84, near Hartford – only some of it can be used. It's possible to see more stubs in Ny in their parkway system, examples include exit 2 and exit 9 around the Cross County Parkway, the Taconic State Parkway at I-90, and the Northern State Parkway at NY 454.
Other Types of Ghost Highways In the usa:
- Route 61: Near Centralia, Pennsylvania
- Carciquez Drive: In California
- Old US Highway 50: West of Washington, Indiana
- Schuylkill Parkway: In Pennsylvania Near Bridgeport
With a bit of exploration one is likely to find ghost highways, railroads, tunnels, and roads near wherever one lives. They're something one can find in one's backyard.
