The following is a list of tunnels in California.
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.Rail
Mass transit
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- Altamont Corridor Express
- (two) Union Pacific Railroad (formerly Western Pacific Railroad) in Niles Canyon, Alameda County: one 4,500 feet (1,400 m) long and the other 450 feet (140 m) long
- BART
- Balboa Park station complex
- Berkeley Hills Tunnel, rapid transit tunnel, BART beneath Grizzly Peak between Orinda and Oakland
- Berkeley Subway, beneath Berkeley
- Broadway Subway in Oakland, including the Oakland Wye
- Fremont Central Park Subway, underneath Lake Elizabeth
- Market Street subway twin level rapid transit and light rail tunnel beneath Market Street in San Francisco (shared with Muni Metro)
- Milpitas station
- Lundy/Sierra tunnel
- Silicon Valley BART extension Phase 3 (planned)
- Transbay Tube, rapid transit tunnel, BART beneath San Francisco Bay between Oakland and San Francisco
- San Francisco International Airport extension
- Caltrain
- (five) Bayshore Cutoff, originally built by the Southern Pacific railroad, tunnel 5 abandoned in 1956
- The Portal (proposed)
- Salesforce Transit Center train box
- Los Angeles Metro Rail
- (three) K Line (under construction)
- Figueroa Tunnel, on the E Line
- Flower Street tunnel, carrying the A and E Lines to the 7th Street/Metro Center station
- L Line subway, between Indiana and Pico/Aliso stations
- Los Angeles Subway, including the B Line and D Line
- Regional Connector
- Metrolink
- San Fernando Tunnel, rail tunnel, Union Pacific Railroad (formerly Southern Pacific Railroad), Santa Clarita
- (three) Simi Valley Tunnels/Santa Susana Tunnels, rail tunnels, Union Pacific Railroad (formerly Southern Pacific Railroad), between Los Angeles and Simi Valley through the Santa Susana Mountains; the longest and westernmost is Tunnel No. 26
- San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni Metro)
- Central Subway
- Sunset Tunnel, light rail tunnel beneath Buena Vista Park
- Twin Peaks Tunnel, light rail tunnel beneath Twin Peaks
- Market Street subway twin level rapid transit and light rail tunnel beneath Market Street in San Francisco (shared with BART)
- Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit
- Cal Park Hill Tunnel, beneath California Park, also features a pedestrian/bicycle path
- Puerto Suello Hill Tunnel, commuter rail tunnel
- SDSU Transit Center, the only subway station in the San Diego Trolley system
- VTA light rail tunnel under San Jose Diridon station
Abandoned
- Belmont Tunnel/Toluca Substation and Yard
- (five) North Pacific Coast Railroad tunnels, including:
- Tunnel 8, former Northwestern Pacific Railroad tunnel
- Shepherd Canyon, used by the Sacramento Northern Railway
- (five) Wrights, Laurel, Zayante, Tunnel 5, and Mountain Charlie Tunnels; built by the South Pacific Coast Railroad (Tunnel 7 daylighted c. 1950s)
Freight and intercity rail
- Fort Mason Tunnel, former rail tunnel beneath Fort Mason, San Francisco
- Point Richmond Tunnel, carrying BNSF freight parallel to the road tunnel in Point Richmond
- Summit Tunnel (Tunnel No. 6), abandoned rail tunnel, Central Pacific Railroad, one of a number through the Donner Pass area of the Sierra Nevada
- The Big Hole, Tunnel No. 41, built to replace Tunnel No. 6 through the Donner Pass and carrying the Union Pacific Railroad
- (34) Feather River Route, including:
- Chilcoot Tunnel
- Spring Garden Tunnel
- Keddie Wye, tunnels Tunnel No. 31 and No. 32 in the wye complex
- Mission Tunnel, below Mission Santa Cruz and used by the Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway
- (three) BNSF Gateway Subdivision
- (three) BNSF Stockton Subdivision, including:
- (six) Union Pacific Coast Subdivision
- Tehachapi Loop Tunnel, rail tunnel, 1876, Union Pacific Railroad (formerly, Southern Pacific Railroad), just north of State Route 58 between Tehachapi and Bakersfield
Excursion
- (two) California Western Railroad, popularly called the Skunk Train
Automotive
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- Collier Tunnel, Redwood Highway (US 199), Del Norte County
- Dornan Tunnel, carrying Gerrard Avenue in Point Richmond parallel to the rail tunnel
- Escondido Freeway (SR 15), cut-and-cover tunnel between Polk and Orange Avenues in East San Diego (Teralta Park covers the freeway)
- Feather River Highway (SR-70), three tunnels, Feather River Canyon
- Gaviota Tunnel, northbound US 101, Santa Barbara County
- Harry Crabb Tunnel, ramp to eastbound Interstate 80 (Alan S. Hart Freeway) from northbound Sunrise Avenue (south of Douglas Boulevard) in Roseville
- John F. Foran Freeway (I-280), (southbound only) at its interchange with the 19th Avenue (SR 1) in Daly City
- Lighthouse Avenue Tunnel, Monterey
- Tom Lantos Tunnels/Devil's Slide Tunnels, twin tunnels, SR 1 beneath Devil's Slide between Pacifica and Montara
- Tunnels to Nowhere, two tunnels, Shoemaker Canyon Road (unpaved), San Gabriel Mountains
- Big Oak Flat Road, three tunnels, Yosemite National Park
- Wawona Tunnel, Wawona Road (SR 41), Yosemite National Park, the longest road tunnel in California at 4,233 feet (1,290 m)
Alameda County
- 11th Street Tunnel, under the Oakland Museum of California in Oakland
- Caldecott Tunnel, quad tunnels, SR 24 beneath Grizzly Peak between Orinda and Oakland
- Northbrae Tunnel, former East Bay Electric Lines rail tunnel, current road tunnel joining Solano Avenue and Sutter Street beneath Marin Circle, Berkeley
- Posey and Webster Street Tubes, twin immersed tubes, SR 61 beneath the Oakland Estuary between Alameda and Oakland
Los Angeles County
- Airport Tunnel, twin tunnels, Sepulveda Boulevard (SR 1) beneath Runways 7L/25R and 7R/25L at Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles
- Angeles Crest Highway (State Route 2), two sets of tunnels in the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument northeast Los Angeles County between La Cañada Flintridge and Wrightwood
- Angeles Forest Highway Tunnel/Singing Springs Tunnel/Hidden Springs Tunnel, Angeles Forest Highway/County Road N3, San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, north Los Angeles County between La Cañada Flintridge and Palmdale
- Broadway Tunnel extended Broadway further north, later demolished
- Kanan Dume Tunnel, north of Malibu
- Malibu Canyon Tunnel
- Figueroa Street Tunnels, northbound Arroyo Seco Parkway (SR 110), four tunnels beneath Elysian Park, Los Angeles
- Foothill Freeway (I-210)
- Cut-and-cover tunnel between Glendale Freeway and Angeles Crest Highway (both part of State Highway 2) in La Cañada Flintridge (Memorial Park covers the freeway)
- Two short tunnels (eastbound only) under SR 710 and Ventura Freeway (SR 134) in Pasadena
- Griffith Park Tunnel, Vermont Canyon Road/Mount Hollywood Drive in Griffith Park, Los Angeles
- Long Beach Airport tunnels, two sets of twin tunnels for Lakewood Boulevard (SR 19) and Spring Street under runway 12/30 at Long Beach Airport, Long Beach
- McClure Tunnel, SR 1 located at the western terminus of I-10 in Santa Monica
- Mount Baldy Road, two tunnels, north of Claremont
- Newhall Pass Tunnels, two tunnels about 550 feet (170 m) each, southbound truck bypass lanes of the Golden State Freeway (I‑5), in Santa Clarita and Los Angeles
- Orange Freeway (SR 57), (northbound only) at its interchange with the Pomona Freeway (SR 60) in Diamond Bar
- Santa Ana Freeway portion of US 101 (northbound only), at its interchange with the San Bernardino Freeway (SR 10) in downtown Los Angeles
- Second Street Tunnel, beneath Bunker Hill, downtown Los Angeles
- Third Street Tunnel, beneath Bunker Hill, downtown Los Angeles
- Sepulveda Boulevard Tunnel, Sepulveda Boulevard under Mulholland Drive at the north end of Sepulveda Pass, Los Angeles
- Van Nuys Airport Tunnel, twin tunnels, Sherman Way under runway 16R/34L at Van Nuys Airport, west San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles
Marin County
- Baker-Barry Tunnel, single lane tunnel, Bunker Rd, Sausalito
- Robin Williams Tunnel/Waldo Tunnel, twin tunnels, US 101 and SR 1, Sausalito
Orange County
- Main Street under the Santa Ana Freeway (I‑5) in Tustin, California
- SR 133 segment of the Eastern Transportation Corridor toll road, (northbound only) at its interchange with the SR 241 (Foothill Transportation Corridor) in Irvine
- SR 261 segment of the Eastern Transportation Corridor toll road, (northbound only) at its interchange with the SR 241 (Eastern Transportation Corridor) in Orange
San Francisco
- Broadway Tunnel, twin tunnels, Broadway beneath Russian Hill
- MacArthur Tunnel, SR 1 beneath the Presidio of San Francisco (Golden Gate National Recreation Area)
- Masonic Tunnel, carrying Geary Boulevard under Masonic Avenue
- Presidio Parkway, US 101 through the Presidio of San Francisco (replacement for the elevated Doyle Drive)
- Stockton Street Tunnel, beneath a portion of Chinatown
- Yerba Buena Tunnel, twin tunnels, I-80 near the middle of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge complex, Yerba Buena Island
Abandoned
- Kennedy Tunnel, former road above the extant Caldecott Tunnel (see above)
Utility
- Angeles Tunnel
- Claremont Tunnel
- Hetch Hetchy Coast Range tunnel
- (three) Inland Feeder
- Arrowhead West Tunnel
- Arrowhead East Tunnel
- Riverside Badlands Tunnel
- Mile Rock
- San Jacinto Tunnel
- South Bay Aqueduct
- Trinity Diversion Tunnel: a 10.7 mile tunnel diverting water from the Trinity Basin to the Sacramento Valley.
Mining
- Burro Schmidt Tunnel, mining tunnel, east of Red Rock Canyon State Park, eastern Kern County
Military and Industry
- SpaceX constructed a 1.4 Mile test tunnel underneath the parking lot of its Hawthorne plant for experimental transportation technology.
- United States Airforce Plant 42 in Palmdale is rumored to have an underground network of tunnels connecting to nearby defense plants including Lockheed's Skunk works.
- Ft. McArthur Tunnel Complex: an abandoned World War II network connecting fortifications in San Pedro, CA.
- The Lawson Adit is a tunnel constructed underneath UC Berkeley into the Berkeley Hills in the early 1900s for student mining research.
- US Dept. of Defense Tunnel Warfare Center, China Lake
- The Stanford Linear Accelerator operates in a 10,000-foot concrete tunnel, 25 feet underground.
- Vandenberg Space Force Base has a number of underground tunnels to support rocket launch operations.
See also
References
- "Livermore History - Railroads 1". eLivermore.com. 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- "Watkins "New Series" Stereoview Titles". Carletonwatkins.org. 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- 769 - From West Portal Tunnel 26 to Simi Valley Station on YouTube
- Van Nostrand's Eclectic Engineering Magazine (1870). "Tunnels of the Pacific Railroad". Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- Rogers, Robert (11 February 2013). "Dornan tunnel in Point Richmond closed after workers find concrete at risk of failure". East Bay Times. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
- Probst, Jason (2005-11-19). "Tunnel to be named after Harry Crabb". Gold Country Media. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
- "Wreck shuts down Lighthouse Tunnel". Monterey Herald. 7 December 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- Schmalz, David (3 September 2015). "Lighthouse tunnel partially closing tonight to replace lights". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- "Governor Schwarzenegger Announces the Early Reopening of I-5 at Newhall Pass". California Office of the Governor. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- Shneer, Jim (February 8, 2022). "The Fort MacArthur Tunnels". Palos Verdes Pulse.
- Chamings, Andrew (March 31, 2020). "The strange, secret tunnels under UC Berkeley". SF Chronicle.
- Cox, Matthew (June 25, 2018). "The Army Is Spending Half A Billion To Train Soldiers To Wage War Underground". Military.com.
- Kennedy, Harold. "Navy Sets Up New Facility For Tunnel-Warfare Training". National Defense.
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