The Tunnel to Nowhere

After the TVA built a large dam downstream, one of the main roads that connected a remote town to the rest of the world was submerged. Four other villages were submerged as the reservoir formed, and the road that was used to access many remote cemeteries was flooded. A replacement road was under construction, but after many delays and years of debate, the plan was abandoned in 1971 after construction workers unearthed a type of rock that releases sulfuric acid when exposed to the atmosphere.

As of 2010, all hope of completing the road was lost when the Department of the Interior granted a cash lump sum to the county as a settlement to the debate that has raged since 1943. Today, the tunnel and the road leading to it remain, waiting patiently for the promise of completion and relevancy.

The Frognest Tunnel

The Frognest Tunnel is a hand-carved train tunnel deep in the Warrior Coal Fields north of Birmingham. Built in the 1880s, the tunnel was unfinished, bare rock. The tunnel had an inherent design flaw. It was lower in the middle than at the ends. This resulted in the tunnel regularly filling with a couple of feet of water. The tunnel was eventually abandoned, replaced by an above ground cut nearby. Since its abandonment, the tunnel has fallen into deep decay. The mortar and steel beams that once reinforced the ceiling of the tunnel have given way to rust, water drops from nearly every inch of the ceiling, and huge chunks of rock that once were securely embedded into the ceiling and walls now lay in a few feet of water at the tunnels bottom. How many years more will this tunnel bear the test of time, before it totally gives way and collapses in upon itself?

The Coal Tunnel

This disused train tunnel once allowed trains access to two nearby coal mines. The tunnel was built in 1908, and was sealed shortly after the last mine finally closed in late 1983. The tunnel is of brick construction with concrete spread over the brick, and is approximately 500 feet long. Today, the tunnel is sealed with large piles of dirt and rock on both ends, and has partially filled with water as a result.



To get in, you must wriggle through this tiny hole in the mountain.



The Tunnel.



Looking back at the way in.

Going to return here with waders some day.

Welcome to Birmingham

Welcome to Birmingham.

This is your bed.

John Henry

A few sights that can be had near Leeds, AL.





The Coosa Tunnel, seen above, is possibly the site where John Henry raced against a steam drill in the construction of the tunnel. No one knows for sure where the race took place, or if it even did.