The East Side Trolley Tunnel is a tunnel in Providence, Rhode Island, originally built for the use of the trolley in 1914, and is now used for public transport buses. It runs for 2000 feet (600 meters) under College Hill on East Side Providence, with the western end of South Main Street and the east end of Thayer Street. Before the construction of the Tunnel Tunnel, the steep slope of the roads that climbed College Hill led to the development of the only cable car system ever built in New England.
The western portal of the tunnel was built directly beneath the original classroom building of the Rhode Island Design School, which was built in the mid-1890s and required extensive and complicated construction methods to support the building above because the tunnel was bored.
In 1948, the rails were removed and the tunnels were paved for use by buses and trolleys without a trace. The unlicensed trolley system at Providence was dismantled in the mid-1950s. This tunnel is still in use today, especially for buses - currently RIPTA routes 35, 40, 42, 49, and 78, and 92 East. The Police and Fire Brigade also took advantage of the tunnel. In addition to providing a softer class than the surrounding city streets, these tunnels allow public transport vehicles to avoid traffic and vehicle traffic lights.
The East Side Trolley Tunnel can be considered the first fast bus operation in North America, given the exclusive and continuous use of buses since 1948.
Although the sign explicitly forbids them from entering, skateboards through tunnels are fairly common. Sellers of auto parts, couriers, and other shipping personnel have been known to "shoot tunnels" to avoid traffic congestion, even though substantial traffic is substantial.
It was also reported that Ted Turner rolled the bowling ball through the tunnel during his time at nearby Brown University, although the rumor was rejected by Turner.
Video East Side Trolley Tunnel
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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