Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 5358 |
| Work Detail | Stretching two-thirds of a mile through a Mingo County mountain separating the communities of Dingess and Lenore, the Dingess Tunnel still looks rock solid after 124 years of use by both train and motor vehicle traffic. Water drips from the roof at the Dingess end of the tunnel, where an arching metal grid was installed not long ago to keep rocks off the road below. The tunnel has been closed recently during daytime hours to accommodate the construction of a cement barrier to protect the grid’s support piers, after one was damaged by a truck. But relatively few of the rocks and bricks that make up the tunnel’s walls and roof have slipped out of place or appear to need replacing. The safety nooks built into the sides of the tunnel at intervals to protect rail workers from passing trains may be grimy, but their brick walls are largely intact. By the time school lets out, Division of Highways workers reopen the tunnel to allow school buses and commuters to avoid the steep, heavily switchbacked detour route across the mountain. More work may soon be in store for the tunnel to help keep it open to traffic and improve safety for decades to come. The state Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Commission, is considering a plan to replace a steel liner and replace or re-point loose or missing bricks. Since the two-way tunnel is only wide enough for one lane of traffic, drivers currently let each other know of their presence by flashing their headlights prior to entering the passageway and keeping the lights on as they traverse the tunnel. Under the new plan, LED lighting with anti-vandal shields will be installed inside the tunnel, while warning and guidance signs will be placed outside to let drivers unfamiliar with the area know that one-lane driving conditions exist inside the structure. Drainage at the northern end of the tunnel will be intercepted and diverted from the road into a concrete gutter, and the detour route over the tunnel and the mountain it bisects will be upgraded to better accommodate traffic during construction. Since the tunnel has been determined to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, it qualifies for “net benefit” funding available to historic properties still in public use that make more fiscal sense to keep in use rather than be closed, replaced or allowed to deteriorate. Completed in 1892 by the Norfolk & Western Railroad, the tunnel initially served the N&W’s then-new Twelvepole Creek Line into the coal reserves of northwestern Mingo County. From Dingess, westbound cars proceeded to Lenore and followed Twelvepole Creek to Wayne. While the route was in use, the town of Dingess prospered, since it was the main offload point for consumer goods shipped by rail before being distributed by wagon to other communities in the area. But the new rail route’s useful life proved to be a brief one. To avoid the steep grades and sharp curves of the Twelvepole Creek Line, N&W engineers designed and oversaw the construction of a new rail line that hugged the shore of the Big Sandy River. By 1904, the number of trains transiting the Dingess Tunnel rapidly diminished, although two trains passing through here in 1905 managed to collide, killing five people. After transitioning to a new role as the main route for N&W empty cars returning to the coalfields from the east in the opening years of the 20th Century, the Lenore-Dingess section of the Twelvepole Creek Line closed to rail traffic by 1914 and began a new life as a passageway for cars and trucks. It was eventually adopted into the state highway system, where it serves State Secondary Route 3/3. The state Department of Transportation is seeking public comments regarding the planned rehabilitation and safety work at the Dingess Tunnel. More information on the project, and a place to file comments, can be found at the state Division of Highways Website at http://go.wv.gov/dotcomment. Written comments may be sent to R.J. Scites, Director Engineering Division, West Virginia Division of Highways, 1334 Smith St., Charleston, WV 25301. Comments should be received on or before Sept. 19. |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Construction |
| Entry Date | 15 Oct 2016 |
| Source | http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20160905/planned-rehab-project-should-extend-life-of-124-year-old-mingo-tunnel |
