page_title: MacArthur Tunnel
section_title: Tunnel design and construction
hierarchical_section_title: MacArthur Tunnel / History / Tunnel design and construction
caption_attribution_description: Aerial photograph of the MacArthur Tunnel.
context_page_description: The MacArthur Tunnel, formally known as the General Douglas MacArthur Tunnel, is a highway tunnel in San Francisco, California.
  It is located within the Presidio of San Francisco, now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
  The tunnel carries California State Route 1 under a large hill and under the Presidio Golf Course. It connects Park Presidio Boulevard in the Richmond District to US 101 on the Doyle Drive viaduct, and the Golden Gate Bridge.
context_section_description: The construction contract for the Funston Avenue approach was awarded in September 1938 to Macco Construction company, who had built the approach for southbound traffic over the Waldo Grade. The Macco contract was awarded at their bid of US$593,042 (equivalent to $10,771,500 in 2019) and included the laying of a concrete tunnel 1,300 feet (400 m) long.
  The 1,300-foot (400 m) long tunnel accommodates a four-lane roadway. A tunnel was required because the land above the tunnel was being used by the Army for a parade ground and golf course, so leaving an open cut for the highway was impossible. It was constructed by a cut-and-cover sequence: excavating along the tunnel route, fitting steel arch forms, pouring concrete on top of the forms, and returning the fill to the top of the cured concrete. Fill removed from the initial excavation was stockpiled near Mountain Lake, which would serve as the southern drainage point for the Funston approach upon its completion, since the Army also required no drainage onto Presidio property. Tunnel sections were built in 28-foot (8.5 m) lengths, and work was started from each end of the tunnel, working towards the center, allowing two to three sections of tunnel to be completed per week. The open cut-and-cover method was deemed economical because of the relatively small amount of material that would need to be removed.
  During the construction of the tunnel, two tees and one green for the golf course were temporarily relocated, and a footbridge was constructed to allow golfers to cross the open cut.
  The tunnel was made as long as possible without having to add forced ventilation to dilute carbon monoxide from automobile exhaust, and a 24-by-24-foot (7.3 by 7.3 m) shaft was built mid-way along the tunnel to provide passive ventilation, with the capacity to add a fan later for forced exhaust through the shaft, if necessary. The steel arch forms had previously been used during the construction of the Bartlett Dam in Arizona. Construction of the tunnel began in October 1938 and was complete by January 1940; the Funston Avenue approach was dedicated for service on April 21, 1940.
caption: Aerial photograph of the MacArthur Tunnel
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