Washington Street Tunnel (Chicago)
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 East entrance (before 1884) | |
 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°52′59.5″N 87°38′17.0″W / 41.883194°N 87.638056°W |
| Status | Closed and covered |
| Start | Franklin St |
| End | Clinton St. |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1867 (public), 1890 (cable) 1911 (after lowering) |
| Closed | 1954 |
| Owner | City of Chicago |
| Operator | West Chicago Street RR. Chicago Union Transit Chicago Surface Lines Chicago Transit Authority |
| Technical | |
| Length | 1,605 ft (489.20 m) (as built) |
| No. of lanes | 3 |
| Highest elevation | 594 ft (181.05 m) |
| Lowest elevation | 534 ft (162.76 m) (after lowering) |
The Washington Street Tunnel was the first traffic tunnel under the Chicago River. J.L. Lake was awarded the contract to construct the tunnel in July 1867 and its construction was completed January 1, 1869. This tunnel was 1605 feet long, from Franklin Street west to Clinton Street, and cost $517,000.
As built
Originally built of masonry with one lane for pedestrians and 2 lanes for horse-drawn traffic, by 1884 it was leaking and had been closed. In 1888 the West Chicago Street Railroad leased the tunnel. If they repaired it and built a vehicle bridge they could use the tunnel exclusively for cable car service. Construction began in 1888 and the tunnel was reopened August 12, 1890[1][2][3]
The reversing of the Chicago River in 1900 lowered the water level and exposed the roof of the tunnel in the riverbed. Several ships ran aground on it, damaging the roof. In 1904 the Federal government declared it a hazard to navigation, it was closed on August 19, 1906.[1][2][3]
Reconstruction
A wider, deeper concrete replacement was built under the original masonry. The approaches were deepened to a new lower tunnel level. The grades were aligned for the cars to enter from a shallow subway just below street level. The subway was not built, concrete ramps raised the tracks up to street grade.[3] George W. Jackson was the contractor for rebuilding the tunnel.[4]
After lowering
The tunnel reopened for electric streetcar service on January 29, 1911, and was in use until the end of streetcar service 1953. As of 2007, both approaches had been covered.[1][2][3][5][6]