Oneonta Tunnel

Oneonta Tunnel. Revisit the Past. , The US Department of Agriculture describes cedar as possessing a natural resistance to rot… It is well recognized for its longevity and strength above other wood products. , Oneonta Bluff presented an obstacle to engineer Samuel C. Lancaster. In 1913, it stood in the way of constructing his Columbia River Highway any farther east. The railroad occupied the only available land skirting around the formation. , The basalt forming the bluff has frequent cleavages and is easily broken when disturbed. Some feared that the 125-foot-long, 20-foot-wide bore would leave too little natural rock to support the outer wall and the entire formation would tumble down onto the railroad track. However, Lancaster devised a successful plan to stabilize the "dice rock." He instructed work crews of contractor S. P. White and Co. to inject concrete into the crevasses to hold the crumbling basalt together, thus permitting them to carry out their work with minimal rock fall. By late spring 1914, the tunnel was completed. , The Oneonta Tunnel was bypassed in 1948 and filled with rubble. The Oregon Department of Transportation and The Western Federal Lands Highway Division of the Federal Highway Administration reopened Oneonta Tunnel in 2009. Today, the tunnel provides access to visitors from a parking area to Oneonta Gorge Creek and Falls. , Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.