Flathead Tunnel

The Flathead Tunnel is a Template:Convert railroad tunnel in the Rocky Mountains of northwest Montana near Trego, approximately Template:Convert west of Whitefish. Located on the BNSF Railway's Kootenai River Subdivision, it is the second-longest railroad tunnel in the United States after the Cascade Tunnel.<ref name="USBOM">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Flathead Beacon">Template:Cite news</ref> It is ultimately named after the Bitterroot Salish, also known as the Flathead.

The tunnel was constructed for the Great Northern Railway by the Walsh Construction Company and S.J. Groves and Sons (collectively known as Walsh–Groves) at a cost of nearly $44 million (equivalent to $Template:Inflation million in Template:Inflation/year).<ref name="2022 Inter Lake 1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is part of a Template:Convert rerouting of the Great Northern Hi-Line that became a necessity due to construction of Libby Dam and subsequent creation of Lake Koocanusa.<ref name="USBOM" /><ref name="nenkey">Template:Cite news</ref>

Work began on May 12, 1966.<ref name="2022 Inter Lake 1" /> Drilling was completed on June 21, 1968 when President Lyndon B. Johnson ceremoniously triggered a final explosion from a circuit connected via telephone to the White House.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="2022 Inter Lake 2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Finishing work continued for the following two years, and the tunnel, along with the entire rerouted rail line it is a part of, opened on November 1, 1970. An opening ceremony was held on November 7, 1970 and included the passage of the first official train through the tunnel, a 21-car passenger special carrying 1,200 area residents who were offered the opportunity to travel a circular route from Libby and back on both the new and old rail lines.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="1970 Inter Lake 2">Template:Cite news</ref>

Official records indicate that two people were killed in two separate incidents during construction, both occurring after drilling was complete.<ref name="2022 Inter Lake 1" /><ref name="2022 Inter Lake 2" />

Template:As of the tunnel is used by about 40 freight trains each day as well as Amtrak's Empire Builder.<ref name="2022 Inter Lake 3" /> Maximum speed through the tunnel is Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The north portal contains a ventilation system to clear the tunnel of diesel locomotive exhaust and provide cooling air to eastbound locomotives, as there is an uphill grade heading eastbound.<ref name="1970 Inter Lake 1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="2022 Inter Lake 3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

References

<references/>

External links

• RR Pictures Archive - east portal

Template:US-rail-transport-stub Template:US-tunnel-stub Template:Montana-transport-stub