Why no rounded tunnels in ATL?

[architect77]

Originally Posted by evannole

Other than MARTA, I can't think of any reason to have any tunnels in Atlanta, period. Parts of the metro are hilly, but nowhere are there slopes so steep or masses of rock on the surface so large that tunneling under them would be the best solution. And certainly there are no wide bodies of water that would need to be crossed by a tunnel here. As MattCW said above, tunnels are built as a matter of engineering necessity, not for aesthetics.

The only two locations where you might in theory want to have tunnels at ground level are Kennesaw Mountain and Stone Mountain. Both, however, are parks that vehicular traffic doesn't need to pass directly through, and, since they're really not very large, they are skirted pretty easily with regular roads anyways.

Every time I get stuck on the Connector at the Grady Curve, heading north, I do think it's a shame that 75/85 hadn't been taken underground with a tunnel and continued straight north, instead of the bottleneck-inducing (and neighborhood-destroying) configuration that it ended up with. But I am sure that that topic has been debated ad nauseam.

Well who knows how many neighborhoods there were in the 1960s when the interstates were built.

Downtown will eventually get caps over the connector which will re-stitch each side back together.

But the people who love to complain about the separation caused by the freeways need to asked how cherished, well uitilized, and vibrant are any of the neighborhoods adjacent to the interstates?

They need to be super vital already before citing a freeway as a neighborhood killer.

[evannole]

Originally Posted by architect77

Well who knows how many neighborhoods there were in the 1960s when the interstates were built.

Downtown will eventually get caps over the connector which will re-stitch each side back together.

But the people who love to complain about the separation caused by the freeways need to asked how cherished, well uitilized, and vibrant are any of the neighborhoods adjacent to the interstates?

They need to be super vital already before citing a freeway as a neighborhood killer.

Yes, I certainly get that. My broader point regarding the lack of tunnels was that a route that continued straight through Downtown and Midtown would be much less subject to bottlenecks than the current ridiculous S-curve configuration. I have driven on dozens of downtown freeways in my lifetime and have never encountered a poorer layout than this one.

[AnsleyPark]

I think you guys should ask Elon Musk to dig you some. It might help.

[primaltech]

Originally Posted by Gulch

All of the MARTA subway tunnels?

Oh that's true!

[l1500]

Originally Posted by primaltech

I didn't realize Atlanta had any actual tunnels? What's an example of one, that's not actually an overpass? (Krog St tunnel is not really a tunnel)

There is one on the southwest section of 285.

[evannole]

Originally Posted by l1500

There is one on the southwest section of 285.

Not really a tunnel; the roadway was already there, at grade, and the airport's fifth runway was built over it. Amazing engineering, for sure.

[cranberrysaus]

Only tunnel I can think of is the one connecting the Piedmont Park garage to Monroe Dr.

[Need4Camaro]

-- Too expensive
-- Granite right below the surface
-- Not really needed as there are no steep surfaces to travel under. Most geographical barriers in ATL can be traveled around or bridged over.

I am reminded of how many tunnels both Spain and Italy have on their freeways, some for seemingly no reason.. ..still cool though.