St. Clair River Tunnel - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The St. Clair River Tunnel was the first full-size submarine tunnel built in North America. Prior to its completion railroads had not been able to pass beneath rivers. This accomplishment was only possible by combining three elements of tunnel construction: the shield method of excavating, the cast iron tunnel lining, and excavating in a compressed air environment. The St. Clair River Tunnel is important in the history of engineering because it was the world's first true test of the feasibility of constructing railroad (and later vehicular) tunnels through the soft, porous ground commonly found beneath rivers

The tunnel was completed in 1890 and operated for over 100 years however the bore diameter of 19’ 10” could not handle larger freight cars and a new tunnel, 27’ 6” in diameter was opened in 1994

The plaque shown below is by the rail-line at the approach to the tunnel - there is no good vantage point on the US side of the border to view the tunnel portal itself so I've included one from the Canadian side showing both the old and new tunnels

Street address: St. Clair River between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario County / Borough / Parish: St Clair County, Michigan and Lambton County, Ontario Year listed: 1970 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Prior to its completion railroads had not been able to pass beneath rivers. Periods of significance: 1890 - 1994 Historic function: International Submarine Railway Tunnel Current function: Old Tunnel now closed but new one beside it performs same function Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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