The initial hint about the usage of the tunnel ...
Nate Tobik contacted me via email. In his e-mail, he further sparked my interest in solving the mystery of Laurel Hill Tunnel. He mentions a racing team and an extension built onto the tunnel's eastern portal. Prior photos only showed the eastern portal as being abandoned and at a point not as easily accessible as the Ray's Hill and Sideling Hill Tunnels to the east of Breezewood, Pennsylvania.
Ray, I saw your message to me on the abandoned turnpike page asking if you could repost my story about Laurel Hill Tunnel. By all means! If you want more details, I can type it up for your site. I checked out your site, I really liked it, the topographical map would have been nice to have when we went trekking through the woods. The initial directions we followed were from 1999 and the trail that person said to follow was totally overgrown so we ended up passing it. We walked just about to the current alignment of the turnpike before we decided to turn around and look on the way back. On the topographical map it shows the tunnel right under the water tower, which is where we headed off trail and found it. I have a few pictures of the tunnel now. We were not able to get onto the old turnpike because there was [a] racing team down in the tunnel extension. I'm not sure exactly what the legalities of being there were either. I know [the area] above the old turnpike is part of [the Forbes State Forest] and the tunnel exists totally within it. I saw the email on your site about exploring it which I can see why the commonwealth might not want that, but as for being around it I would think it's fine. Have a good one. Nate
The next clue about who is using the tunnel ...
While browsing the Internet in the late summer and fall of 2005, I encountered a blog/website that dealt with the abandoned turnpike. On one part of this blog/website, people had begun a discussion post about Laurel Hill Tunnel, including speculations about the current usage and tales of their visits to the area.
Amid those posts, I found Tony Stevens, who had mentioned reading about a racing team using the tunnel possibly as a wind tunnel for aerodynamic testing. I wrote to Tony to confirm what I read as being accurate and to verify the source.
Given that others had mentioned the racing team prior to Mr. Stevens, his posting and emails that you will see below do indeed support the theory. Tony describes himself as an avid racing fan and crew member. It sounds like he knows his field very well.
Hi there!I saw your post on the Turnpike forum(s) and figured I’d shoot you an email. I forget exactly where I saw the information about [the racing team] leasing the tunnel for their IRL and NASCAR teams to use as a wind tunnel for aerodynamic testing. However, even from some of the photos, you can tell something racing-related is up.
First off, the tunnel has been extended with the metal structures (why would PennDOT need this when it was fine before?!) and it’s only a partial width of the actual tunnel with a door to enter otherwise.
Secondly, on the one end in the photos you can see PLENTY of used racing tires used as a barrier support. Also, and this was a few years ago, but I do remember seeing the Sterling Marlin/CGR Coors Light hauler (double stacker, tractor trailer, etc. – not a showcar) parked on the side of the turnpike around the Laurel Hill area. And as an avid race fan (and crew member), there’s absolutely NO reason that the team would have been taking that route to a track either for a race or for testing. To go to Pocono they shoot up I-81 and to go to anywhere west of PA they shoot up I-77, and there are no tracks in the area suitable or similar enough to a Winston Cup/Busch track where they could effectively test their car(s).
So that’s where all my logic comes in at. I’ve heard it “unofficially” from other sources, but I forget exactly what those sources were. I do have a contact or two within the CGR organization I can ask and see if I can dig up any information, but that’s about all I can get “officially” for you.Thanks for the reply!
Tony Stevens
Tony wrote to a contact person he knows within a racing team's
organization to inquire about the usage of Laurel Hill Tunnel.
His inquiry was not answered or acknowledged as of December 2005
Tom,
I have a very, very odd question for you that I’m curious if you’re able/allowed to answer for me. In my spare time away from some motor sports media work and my crew work in the Hooters ProCup Series, I’m a big “road geek” among other things. There have been rumors, and even some photos from the area to back up those rumors, that CGR has leased the abandoned Laurel Hill Tunnel from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission on the Somerset-Westmoreland County line for wind tunnel testing of your IRL and NASCAR vehicles. Is there truth to this rumor or are you even able to disclose that information? It’s not so much that those interested in the area want to see racecars up close or visit the wind tunnel as much as they simply want to know exactly what is going on there. The PTC will not disclose any information about the Laurel Hill area unlike the other abandoned section(s) of the Turnpike in the area around Breezewood that are now part of a biking and hiking trail. Any information you could provide would be much appreciated. Thanks!
By November 2005, I had not received a reply from Tony as to whether
or not his inquiry had been answered, so I wrote to him again to check.
|
-----Original
Message----- |
Tony,
Did your contact ever answer you, and if so, were they able to clear up any of
the mystery?
Ray
I’ve been waiting for a reply from the [racing organization] and have yet to receive any. Just by that alone I have a
feeling they ARE using it, otherwise you’d think they’d at least deny it, true OR false. Oh well, the mystery continues!
These photographs that were taken by some geocachers in 2004 show a very
different look to the eastern portal of
Laurel Hill Tunnel and support Tony Steven's emails and information about a
racing team being there and using the tunnel.
This page was created on:
December 27, 2005.
Last updated on:
February 05, 2010.
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