Official name Townline Tunnel No. of tracks 2 tracks (only 1 used) Opened 13 July 1972 Width 35 m Location Welland | Route Highway 58A No. of lanes 2 lanes of traffic Total length 330 m Province Ontario Body of water Welland Canal | |
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System Canadian Pacific Railway Operator Ministry of Transportation Address 116 Townline Tunnel Rd, Welland, ON, Canada Similar Welland Canal, Main Street Tunnel, Welland Canal - Bridge 15, Welland Canal - bridge 13, Garden City Skyway | ||
Aerial townline tunnel welland canal ship
The Townline Tunnel is an underwater tunnel in Welland, Ontario, Canada carrying Highway 58A as well as the Canadian Pacific Railway under the Welland Canal.
Contents
2 cranes trains and automobiles cn 422 townline tunnel rd may 18 2012 m2ts
The tunnel
The Townline Tunnel is a two-cell reinforced concrete tunnel with a rectangular cross-section. The roof is a post-tensioned concrete slab.
The tunnel was built as a part of the Welland By-Pass project. Its construction was relatively easy since, like the Main Street Tunnel, it was being built at the same time as the channel above it and a simple cut and cover method could be used.
The tunnel provides a sidewalk for pedestrians, two lanes for vehicular traffic, as well as room for three sets of tracks for rail vehicles. It was opened for automobiles on July 13, 1972, and the first train crossed the tunnel on January 31, 1973.
The tunnel is 330 metres (1083 ft) long and 35 metres (115 ft) wide. The low grade required for trains makes necessary that each approach to the tunnel stretch be 4 km (2.5 miles). There was removed about 13,750,000 cubic meters (18,000,000 cubic yards) of material and construction of three viaducts on each side of the canal. As well, a solid earth plug had to be put into the Welland Recreational Waterway (the old alignment of the canal), cutting it in two (satellite photo). The construction cost was $40 million. The middle rail line was removed in the 1990s and the two remaining tracks now serve as the CPR Hamilton Subdivision and the CPR Brookfield Siding. Townline Tunnel is known locally as the "Stinky Tunnel" due to the strong odor of rotten eggs as one passes through it.
Issues with Flooding Control
Rain and snow falling on the approaches to the tunnel, as well as ground water flow, necessitate the operation of a pumping system to prevent flooding. Water is pumped via pipes located under the road and discharged into the canal. In February 1985, excessive runoff during a winter thaw caused flooding in the tunnel which closed the route to both rail and vehicular traffic. In late March, 2010, a routine inspection of the concrete pipes through which the water is pumped revealed erosion which threatened to cause a sinkhole within the road. The tunnel was closed to vehicular traffic to allow for repair. It re-opened April 22.