How deep is the deepest underwater tunnel?
Norwegian road infrastructure operator Statens Vegvegsen has officially opened world's deepest subsea tunnel, the 14.4km Ryfylke tunnel near Stavanger. The tunnel reaches a maximum depth of 292m below sea level. It is part of the Ryfast road project to link national highway 13 between Stavanger with Strand in Rogaland.
The 7,765m long Eiksund road tunnel is, to date, the world's deepest undersea tunnel, reaching a depth of 287m below mean sea level at its deepest point.
Name | Place | Depth (from surface) |
---|---|---|
Holland Tunnel | New York – New Jersey, USA | 28.3 m |
Detroit–Windsor Tunnel | Windsor, Canada – Detroit, USA | 13.7 m |
CESC Tunnel | Kolkata, India | 33.5 m |
Tongyeong Undersea Tunnel | Tongyeong, South Korea | 13.5 m |
The Gotthard Base Tunnel is the world's longest and deepest tunnel. It runs under the Swiss alps between the towns of Erstfeld in the north and Bodio in the south. The tunnel is 57 km long and reaches a depth of 2,300 meters.
“The first infrastructures of this type were built at the end of the 19th century, and at present there are nearly 200 underwater tunnels built worldwide.
France and England used 11 massive TBMs to create — in just three short years — the three tubes that make up the 32-mile Channel Tunnel. Also called the Euro Tunnel or Chunnel, these tunnels now connect the two countries under the English Channel.
Located in the Sughd Region of Tajikistan, Anzob Tunnel is said to be the most dangerous tunnel in the world. Nicknamed the Tunnel of Fear and the Tunnel of Death by locals, it lacks proper lighting and ventilation, and breathing is hard and painful due to the thick mixture of exhaust gases.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel (CBBT, officially the Lucius J. Kellam Jr. Bridge–Tunnel) is a 17.6-mile (28.3 km) bridge–tunnel that crosses the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay between Delmarva and Hampton Roads in the U.S. state of Virginia.
The Church Hill tunnel was completed back in 1873 - making it one of the longest tunnels in the US at the time. However, while being repaired on that fateful October day, nearly 200 feet of the tunnel collapsed as a steam locomotive and 10 flat cars were passing through.
Subway water tunnels are built approximately 30 feet below the riverbed. Because of the immense pressure exerted by 30 feet of rock, sand, and silt, plus 50 feet of water, such tunnels were in danger of collapsing.
How do underwater tunnels not collapse?
Because the ground is soft, a support structure, called a tunnel shield, must be used at the head of the tunnel to prevent it from collapsing.
Both a tourist attraction and a travel convenience, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel connects the Virginia mainland at Virginia Beach near Norfolk with Virginia's Eastern Shore. This 17.6 mile toll facility is an award-winning engineering marvel and is considered one of the seven man-made wonders of the world.

Scientists have discovered a reservoir of water three times the volume of all the oceans beneath the Earth's surface, according to an international study. The water has been found between the transition zone of the Earth's upper and lower mantle.
Wikipedia provides a list of tunnels in the United States numbering well over 100 across almost every state.
There's nothing quite so mysterious as a deep, dark tunnel leading into the unknown. America is riddled with abandoned tunnels that continue to fascinate with their incredible histories and beautiful construction.
The Detroit–Windsor tunnel was completed in 1930. It was the third underwater vehicular tunnel constructed in the United States, following the Holland Tunnel, between Jersey City, New Jersey, and downtown Manhattan, New York, and the Posey Tube, between Oakland and Alameda, California.
The Thames Tunnel, the world's first underwater tunnel, is still in use 175 years after its long-delayed opening, but you can't shop there anymore. The first underwater tunnel opened 175 years ago, on March 25th, 1843, under the Thames in London, then the world's largest city.
The Port of Miami Tunnel (also State Road 887) is a 4,200-foot (1,300 m) bored, undersea tunnel in Miami, Florida. It consists of two parallel tunnels (one in each direction) that travel beneath Biscayne Bay, connecting the MacArthur Causeway on Watson Island with PortMiami on Dodge Island.
Two decades ago, 39 people died inside the Mont Blanc Tunnel in a fire so horrific it changed safety standards forever. The truth eventually caught up to the legend of a man who rushed in.
Overview | |
---|---|
Line | Blue Line Red Line |
Location | Tualatin Mountains, Portland, Oregon, United States45.510661°N 122.716869°W |
Status | Operational |
System | MAX Light Rail |
Which state has the most tunnels?
State Name | ALL TUNNELS | |
---|---|---|
Tunnel Count | Total Length (ft) | |
CALIFORNIA | 90 | 86,533 |
COLORADO | 41 | 42,253 |
CONNECTICUT | 3 | 2,522 |
The Eastman tunnel, also called the Hennepin Island tunnel, was a 2,000-foot-long (610 m) underground passage in Saint Anthony, Minnesota, (now Minneapolis) dug beneath the Mississippi River riverbed between 1868 and 1869 to create a tailrace so water-powered business could be located upstream of Saint Anthony Falls on ...
The depth of the water ranges from 25 to 100 feet, according to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission.
Burrowing beneath Lake Erie
The sewer district engineered the tunnel to go under the lake in part because the cost of acquiring lake-shore property or easements would likely be greater than the extra cost to lengthen the tunnel and burrow under the lake, officials said.
That's right, the Union Canal Tunnel, located in Lebanon, PA is considered the oldest transportation tunnel in the United States, having been completed in 1827.
Milena Delvalle, a 38-year-old restaurant worker from the Jamaica Plain section of Boston was crushed in the passenger seat of a black 1991 Buick. Her husband, Angel Delvalle, 46, who was driving, managed to climb out of a window opening no more than a foot wide and was only slightly injured, state police said.
The Chesapeake Channel tunnel is 5,450 feet long and provides a 1,700-foot channel with 50-foot depth and a 2,300-foot channel with a minimum 40-foot depth.
Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel | |
---|---|
Clearance below | 75 feet (22.9 m) (North Channel) 40 feet (12.2 m) (Fisherman Inlet) |
History | |
Opened | April 15, 1964 (northbound) April 19, 1999 (southbound) |
Statistics |
China: The longest underwater highway tunnel is open to vehicle traffic. At a length of 10.79 kilometers (6.65 miles), the Taihu tunnel is the longest underwater highway tu...
How many people have died in the Chesapeake Bay tunnel?
BAY BRIDGE-TUNNEL BANS PASSING SIX PEOPLE HAVE DIED ON SPAN SINCE JUNE. Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel officials have banned passing on the span in the wake of a series of deadly accidents that claimed six lives this summer. The action was taken Tuesday by the commission that oversees operation of the 17-mile span.
There are two tunnels, four islands and two bridges that this bridge touches. The tunnels are Thimble Shoal Channel Tunnel and Chesapeake Channel Tunnel. The bridges are called North Channel Bridge and Fisherman Inlet Bridge. The islands are manmade and about the size of the Yankee Stadium.
To make the tunnels, the workers first dug a ditch in the sand under the water and lined it with rocks. Then the tunnel, like the road, was delivered in pieces from a site on land. They lowered the tunnel pieces (plugged up, so no water would get in) into the ditch and connected them with concrete.
Since 1964, 15 vehicles have fallen off of the Bay Bridge which have resulted in deaths and major injuries.
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway (French: Chaussée du lac Pontchartrain), also known simply as The Causeway, is a fixed link composed of two parallel bridges crossing Lake Pontchartrain in southeastern Louisiana, United States. The longer of the two bridges is 23.83 miles (38.35 km) long.
The deepest part of the Bay, located southeast of Annapolis near Bloody Point, is called “The Hole” and is 174 feet deep.
The Seikan Tunnel (Japanese: 青函トンネル, Seikan Tonneru or 青函隧道, Seikan Zuidō) is a 53.85 km (33.46 mi) dual-gauge railway tunnel in Japan, with a 23.3 km (14.5 mi) portion under the seabed of the Tsugaru Strait, which separates Aomori Prefecture on the main Japanese island of Honshu from the northern island of Hokkaido.
Project Overview
The project includes a tunnel under the Main Channel and related roadway work, including the widening of the MacArthur Causeway Bridge. Twin tubes, each 3,900 feet long and 41 feet in diameter, reach a depth of 120 feet below the water.
He used what is now called a 'tunnel shield', a 40-foot submarine protected by a wall of steel and bricks around 3 feet thick.
The Eastman tunnel, also called the Hennepin Island tunnel, was a 2,000-foot-long (610 m) underground passage in Saint Anthony, Minnesota, (now Minneapolis) dug beneath the Mississippi River riverbed between 1868 and 1869 to create a tailrace so water-powered business could be located upstream of Saint Anthony Falls on ...
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