Orino Sites

In February 1936, to complete the portion of Highway 101 between Cannon Beach and Manzanita, the Oregon Highway Department approved construction plans for a 1227-foot-long tunnel through Arch Cape. The federal Public Roads Administration provided critical funding for the project. At the time of its construction, it was the longest tunnel on the Oregon Coast Highway. Difficulties associated with the long bore through both the cape's sandstone and basalt stretched the construction project out over almost four years. The presence of soft sandstone required the construction of a timber lining to prevent a cave-in. Construction workers struggled with difficult conditions including exposure...

The US Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) built the Toothrock Tunnel No. 4555  on the Columbia Gorge Highway near Bonneville, Oregon. Heading east on Interstate-84, as one approaches the Bonneville Dam, vehicles pass through an 837-foot, semicircular bore into Tooth Rock. Today, Toothrock Tunnel's artful design of basalt rockwork and concrete construction can be appreciated for its rustic, historic appearance as well as its 'natural' fit with the mountainous characteristics of the area. When plans were unveiled for it in 1935, however, it represented major improvements in modern highway design with its "skewed arch portals" fitting topographic conditions and a state-or-the-art lighting...