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Needle's Eye Tunnel
Photos
Photo taken by Alex Patton in July 2006
License: Public domain: Released by author
BH Photo #295352
Video
Needles Eye Tunnel Collapse Boulder County Colorado 1990 This is old news footage of the Needles Eye Tunnel collapse in the summer of 1990 that untimately closed Corona Pass to traffic from that day on. A DFD Fire Captain was severely injured in the collapse but survived. A group of other FD friends were with him on scene and were responsible in saving his live. Video by Steve Davis posted by Roger Deschner |
Description
This iconic tunnel under a shoulder of a high ridge is visible for miles around. Built 1903-05 as part of the Moffat Road route over Rollins Pass. The rail line was replaced by the Moffat Tunnel in 1928, and the tracks removed in 1935. Reopened for automobiles in 1955. Closed after rock fall in 1979. Reopened in 1988, and then closed again after another rock fall in 1990 that caused an injury. Due to its position on a high ridge, there is no practical way to bypass it, except the also-closed Boulder Wagon Road that follows a completely different route, leaving Interstate 70 as the nearest road bypass. Reopening the tunnel and the road has become the subject of continuing controversy. The tunnel itself is in Boulder County, though most of the road is in Grand and Gilpin Counties. See links below for much more information.Facts
- Overview
- Tunnel on Abandoned Moffat Road
- Location
- Boulder County, Colorado
- Status
- Closed to all traffic
- Future prospects
- 1988 preservation project failed after partial collapse in 1990, which remains controversial today.
- History
- Built 1903-1905; Bypassed 1928; Abandoned 1935; Reopened as a road 1955-1979 and 1988-1990.
- Railroads
- - Denver & Salt Lake Railway (D&SL)
- Denver, Northwestern & Pacific Railway (DNW&P)
- Design
- Tunnel
- Dimensions
-
Span length: 150.0 ft.
Total length: 150.0 ft.
Deck width: 22.0 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 30.0 ft.
- Recognition
- Listed as a contributing resource to the Denver, Northwestern and Pacific Railway Historic District
- Also called
- Tunnel Number 32
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +39.93596, -105.65939 (decimal degrees)
39°56'09" N, 105°39'34" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 13/443661/4420857 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- East Portal
- Elevation
- 11600 ft. above sea level
- Inventory number
- BH 63118 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- September 24, 2014: Updated by Roger Deschner: Fixed location, add description, video
- September 23, 2014: Added by Luke
Related Bridges
- Riflesight Notch Loop (Same project)
- Devil's Slide Trestles (Same project)
- D&SL - Tunnel 31 (Same project)
Sources
- Luke
- Moffat Road Organization - .PDF containing info + imagery
- Roger Deschner - rogerdeschner [at] gmail [dot] com
- Wikipedia
© Copyright 2021, Historic Bridge Foundation and contributors.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/co/boulder/bh63118/
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/co/boulder/bh63118/
Note that the Needle's Eye Tunnel (Tunnel 32) and the Riflesight Notch Tunnel (Tunnel 33) are different tunnels on the same route, the former on the eastern side of Rollins Pass and the latter on the western side.