EAST DUBUQUE RAIL TUNNEL

EAST DUBUQUE RAIL TUNNEL. Certainly an engineering feat of its day, the East Dubuque River Tunnel was constructed in the 1860s by the ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD through the river bluffs in Illinois. The first charge of dynamite was set off on February 21, 1868. On October 3, 1868 daylight could be seen for the first time through the bluff. (1)

The idea of the railroad bridge and the railroad bridge were met with stiff opposition in Dubuque. With fear that the the work would result in citizens being deprived of access to the riverfront, alternative suggestions were made. Popular was the idea of constructing the tunnel under the MISSISSIPPI RIVER near the old Lorimier LEAD furnace or at Tete des Morts. This idea, however, had to be forgotten. By act of Congress, the railway had already been located and could not be moved. The first locomotive traveled through the tunnel and over the bridge on December 1, 1868. (2) Built at an estimated depth of 65 feet, the single-track tunnel was bored through the rock for a length of 851 feet. Despite its challenging 90 degree turn, the tunnel is used an estimated seven times daily. (3)

In 1955 an estimated 480 feet of the tunnel was still nothing more than carved out limestone. Other portions were brick-lined or masonry coated. For years the railroad spent a great deal of time picking up loose stone that had fallen from the walls. In 1954 concrete and arch rings were added. It was decided in 1955 to give the interior one uniform coating.

The work was carried out by the John G. Miller Construction Company of Waterloo, Iowa. Using a new process called "jet-creting," a cement mixture was forced up into and filling crevices and imperfections. The process allowed a smooth interior. (4)

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Source:

1. Dahlinger, Mark, "So IC Train Tunnel Gets Plastered," Telegraph Herald, June 12, 1955, p. 6

2. Ibid.

3. John Marvig Railroad Bridge Photography. Online http://www.johnmarvigbridges.org/East%20Dubuque%20Rail%20Tunnel.html

4. Dahlinger