The former car tunnel through the Oakland hills had its entrance (or its exit, whichever you prefer) here at the top of Tunnel Road. The road is very popular with bicyclists now, and in the five years since I took these photos new houses have been built and things cleaned up in general.
At the little space in the intersection where the fare gates must have been is this pedestal and plaque. Would love to hear some of the history of this.
And, of course, the rocks. Here we have the Claremont Chert so typical of the northern Oakland hills. I need to visit here again soon, although it’s probably less accessible now.
The other old tunnel is at the top of Shepherd Canyon, where the train used to go.
16 June 2010 at 11:34 am
Great website! The interpretation of history and geology along with the modern pictures is wonderful.
Is this old tunnel still a tunnel. I am curious what the state of the portals is – filled in, blocked off, fenced off, open, etc.
Next time I ride up there on my bicycle I will have to look closer, now that I know the exact location of the old tunnel.
[To the best of my knowledge, the tunnel is filled in and wiped out on the Oakland side, and on the Orinda side the entrance is blocked and fenced off. Presumably the heart of the tunnel is mostly intact, barring the occasional cave-in and stalactites growing and so on. It would be very dangerous to reopen. — Andrew]
14 December 2011 at 4:07 pm
For convenience sake:
http://g.co/maps/hwg8u
(and you can see the plaque and mini-monument)
15 December 2011 at 8:07 am
Here’s an article about Kennedy Tunnel and a photo of the new plaque:
http://www.baycitizen.org/local-intelligence/story/local-intelligence-kennedy-tunnel/
18 April 2021 at 2:09 pm
Where was the entrance on the Orinda side? I drive to the end of Old Tunnel to the Sibley Corp Yard. No sign of it.