Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-10-26
THE DEFROIF BFREEF HILL TUNNEL.
funnel of the a. L 6. W. HALLWAY
under Detroit Street Bill Progress
Of Che WOrk-.-DimensIOns. &c.

The tunnel Of the Atlantic & Great West
ern Railway under Detroit street hill,
which has been in progress of construction
during the present season, is, we are glad
to announce, rapidly approaching compile
ton, and will probably be entirely finish
ed, and travel along the former line of the
street resumed, before the first Of Decem-
Der. The object of the tunnel is to afford
communication, along the line of the cut
granted 70 the Mshoning railroad several
years since, with a freight depot of i'm
mense size to be erected by the A. & G. W.
Railway Company on the fats on the West
Side, near the mouth of the river. 1t is g
most elegant and massive piece of
workmanship, and has been urged to COM
pletion with greatraPidity, under theskilful
and energetic supervision of A. A. Wright
Esq, the general Superintendent of the
work. The tunnel itself is ninety-three
feet long, eighteen feet high, and about
thirty feet in width. It is divided in the
middle by massive pier, of stone mason
ry, allowing ample space on each side of
the broad-guage cars, This pier is four
teen feet high, four feet thick at the base,
and thirty-two inches thick at the top.
The sides of the tunnel are of massive
stone work, about ten feet in thickness,
and of the same height as the pier. From
them arise the two arches which span
the tracks on each side the pier, built of
brick, faced with stone at either end, and
about three feet in thickness. Men are now
at work laying the brick of the arches, and
cutting the stone for the facings the latter
no Insignificant work, by the by, as each
big stone-and there are some eighty of
them-must be cut in exactly one way, and
no two of them are alike. The stone work
on each side the tunnel will be raised TO
the level of the street above. The whole
tunnel will probably be completed so that
travel along the old line of the street, in
stead Of over the temporary wooden bridge
now used, may be resumed before the close
of the ensuing month.
But the tunnel itselfis by no means the
only or the largest work connected with
the opening of track to the site of the
proposed freight depot. To effect this
object deep cut, nearly fourteen hundred
feet in length, has been dug, and massive
stone walls, about ten feet in width and of
an average height of eighteen feet, have
been or are now being erected along its en-
tire length, on each side of the double
track. These walls are of wonderful
strength and solidty. The blocks of stone
which compose them are about two feet in
width and thickness, and from four to FIVE
and half feet in length. Coppings of
finished stone will surmount the walls, and
the dampness and moisture in the earth
behind them is drained of by pipes pass
ing through them, at their bases, at inter
walls OF twenty or thirty feet.
The work is under the general supervi-
sion of A. A. Wright, Esq, who has about
forty men now employed on the mason
work.-lliller is the engineer, and Alexan-
der Martin is the foreman ef the work.
Most oft has been done during the present
season, and the remainder of the mason
work of the cut will be completed early in
the spring. It is an elegant and massive
structure and will we'll repay a visit.