We have driven from the Twilight Zone to the Philly area a couple of times a year, Except for the Lehigh Tunnel (the Northbound tube is a disgrace) it is a great timesaver. Much easier than the trip to NYC..
Shady said: “We have driven from the Twilight Zone to the Philly area a couple of times a year, Except for the Lehigh Tunnel (the Northbound tube is a disgrace) it is a great timesaver. Much easier than the trip to NYC..”
I live right here in beautiful Carbon County PA and I’m a volley firefighter. Our district covers about 10 miles northbound and 12 miles south on the turnpike, our area just short of the Lehigh Tunnel but sometimes we get called to assist at the tunnel. I’ve seen many nasty accidents on that roadway. As you exit the north tube there is a sweeping left curve in the road and if a car were to go through the guard rail it will descend about 400 feet below. I have been on 3 accidents in the last 15 years were cars have done just that. Not all have been fatal either.
But to my point, it is true that the north bound tube built in 1958 is awful and in comparison the south bound tube circa 1991, is nice. However, last year a trucker was killed in the south bound tube when a conduit on the ceiling fell down and went right through the windshield of his truck. The last time I went thru the tunnel, which I try to avoid doing, about half of the approx. 20 huge fans that ventilate the tube were removed. I have a friend that retired from the tpike and worked that area he told me that the turnpike owns 2 extra fans and constantly rotates two out and replaces them with the extras then has the extra fans rebuilt and the cycle continues. So I wonder why approx. half of the fans are down, these fans are about the size of a small truck.
Here is a link to the story of the truck driver killed by the pipe: https://www.tnonline.com/turnpike-investigating-tunnel-incident