Arch Cape Tunnel - Cannon Beach OR

City:: Cannon Beach, OR
Site Type:: Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels, Infrastructure and Utilities
New Deal Agencies:: Public Works Funding, Public Roads Administration
Started:: 1935
Completed:: 1940
Contractors:: Berkemeier & Saramel, Orino
Quality of Information:: Good
Marked:: No
Site Survival:: Extant

Description

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 to carbon monoxide from the blasting operation, gas-powered shovels, and trucks used for rock removal. Removal of blast material was further complicated by the tunnel’s position high above the Pacific

Arch Cape is the northernmost promontory on the stretch of highway that cuts across Neahkahnie Mountain. As such, the tunnel connects on the north to the Neahkahnie Road section of Highway 101. Drivers, heading south, emerge from the tunnel to see a vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean.