Big Walker Mountain Tunnel

Vehicular tunnel in Bland County, Virginia, United States

37°2′19″N 81°7′51″W / 37.03861°N 81.13083°W / 37.03861; -81.13083Route

I-77OperationOpened1972TollNoneTechnicalLength4,229 ft (1,289 m)No. of lanes4

The Big Walker Mountain Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel in the Appalachian Mountains of Southwest Virginia that carries Interstate 77 through and under Big Walker Mountain. It is located a few miles south of the town of Bland in Bland County and a segment of the Appalachian Trail, and about 20 miles (32 km) south of its longer cousin, the East River Mountain Tunnel.

History

The 4,229-foot (1,289 m) tunnel was first opened in 1972 after five years of construction labor. It carried a price tag of $50 million (equivalent to $276 million in 2023^[1]), which at the time was the most expensive single project undertaken on Virginia's Interstate system.^[2] The opening of the tunnel reduced the travel time from Wytheville to Bland County by 30 minutes.^[3]

Preliminary engineering studies for the project were made by Brokenborough & Watkins, consulting engineers of Richmond, Virginia, and the final design of the roadway and tunnel was by Singstad & Kehart, consulting engineers of New York City.

The north tunnel approach and surrounding area can be viewed from the Big Walker Lookout, a 100-foot (30 m) observation tower built on Big Walker Mountain about five miles (8.0 km) west of the tunnel.

References

^ Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
^ Longfellow, Rickie (June 27, 2017). "Back in Time: The Big Walker and East River Mountain Tunnels". Highway History. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
^ Virginia Department of Transportation (2006). "VDOT: 50 Years of the Interstate". Virginia Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on May 13, 2007.