List of tunnels in California

Burro Schmidt Tunnel, Kern County

The following is a list of tunnels in California.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Rail

Mass transit

San Fernando Tunnel c. 1900

UP 844 emerges from Tunnel 31 (May 2009)

• Altamont Corridor Express
  • (two) Union Pacific Railroad (formerly Western Pacific Railroad) in Niles Canyon, Alameda County: one 4,500 feet (1,400 m) long and the other 450 feet (140 m) long ^[1]
• BART
  • Balboa Park station complex
  • Berkeley Hills Tunnel, rapid transit tunnel, BART beneath Grizzly Peak between Orinda and Oakland
  • Berkeley Subway, beneath Berkeley
  • Broadway Subway in Oakland, including the Oakland Wye
  • Fremont Central Park Subway, underneath Lake Elizabeth
  • Market Street subway twin level rapid transit and light rail tunnel beneath Market Street in San Francisco (shared with Muni Metro)
  • Milpitas station
  • Lundy/Sierra tunnel
  • Silicon Valley BART extension Phase 3 (planned)
  • Transbay Tube, rapid transit tunnel, BART beneath San Francisco Bay between Oakland and San Francisco
  • San Francisco International Airport extension
• Caltrain
  • (five) Bayshore Cutoff, originally built by the Southern Pacific railroad, tunnel 5 abandoned in 1956
  • The Portal (proposed)
    • Salesforce Transit Center train box
• Los Angeles Metro Rail
  • (three) K Line (under construction)
  • Figueroa Tunnel, on the E Line
  • Flower Street tunnel, carrying the A and E Lines to the 7th Street/Metro Center station
  • L Line subway, between Indiana and Pico/Aliso stations
  • Los Angeles Subway, including the B Line and D Line
  • Regional Connector
• Metrolink
  • San Fernando Tunnel, rail tunnel, Union Pacific Railroad (formerly Southern Pacific Railroad), Santa Clarita ^[2]
  • (three) Simi Valley Tunnels/Santa Susana Tunnels, rail tunnels, Union Pacific Railroad (formerly Southern Pacific Railroad), between Los Angeles and Simi Valley through the Santa Susana Mountains; the longest and westernmost is Tunnel No. 26 ^[3]
• San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni Metro)
  • Central Subway
  • Sunset Tunnel, light rail tunnel beneath Buena Vista Park
  • Twin Peaks Tunnel, light rail tunnel beneath Twin Peaks
  • Market Street subway twin level rapid transit and light rail tunnel beneath Market Street in San Francisco (shared with BART)
• Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit
  • Cal Park Hill Tunnel, beneath California Park, also features a pedestrian/bicycle path
  • Puerto Suello Hill Tunnel, commuter rail tunnel
• SDSU Transit Center, the only subway station in the San Diego Trolley system
• VTA light rail tunnel under San Jose Diridon station

Abandoned

Sinaloa Cartel Drug Rail Tunnel, San Diego-Tijuana

• Belmont Tunnel/Toluca Substation and Yard
• (five) North Pacific Coast Railroad tunnels, including:
  • Alto Tunnel
• Tunnel 8, former Northwestern Pacific Railroad tunnel
• Shepherd Canyon, used by the Sacramento Northern Railway
• (five) Wrights, Laurel, Zayante, Tunnel 5, and Mountain Charlie Tunnels; built by the South Pacific Coast Railroad (Tunnel 7 daylighted c. 1950s)

Freight and intercity rail

• Fort Mason Tunnel, former rail tunnel beneath Fort Mason, San Francisco
• Point Richmond Tunnel, carrying BNSF freight parallel to the road tunnel in Point Richmond
• Summit Tunnel (Tunnel No. 6), abandoned rail tunnel, Central Pacific Railroad, one of a number through the Donner Pass area of the Sierra Nevada ^[4]
• The Big Hole, Tunnel No. 41, built to replace Tunnel No. 6 through the Donner Pass and carrying the Union Pacific Railroad
• (34) Feather River Route, including:
  • Chilcoot Tunnel
  • Spring Garden Tunnel
  • Keddie Wye, tunnels Tunnel No. 31 and No. 32 in the wye complex
• Mission Tunnel, below Mission Santa Cruz and used by the Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway
• (three) BNSF Gateway Subdivision
• (three) BNSF Stockton Subdivision, including:
  • Franklin Tunnel
• (six) Union Pacific Coast Subdivision
  • Tunnel No. 6 (Coast Line)
• Tehachapi Loop Tunnel, rail tunnel, 1876, Union Pacific Railroad (formerly, Southern Pacific Railroad), just north of State Route 58 between Tehachapi and Bakersfield

Excursion

• (two) California Western Railroad, popularly called the Skunk Train

Automotive

Robin Williams Tunnel, southern portal

Sepulveda Boulevard Tunnel

Stockton Street Tunnel

Wawona Tunnel

• Collier Tunnel, Redwood Highway (US 199), Del Norte County
• Dornan Tunnel, ^[5] carrying Gerrard Avenue in Point Richmond parallel to the rail tunnel
• Escondido Freeway (SR 15), cut-and-cover tunnel between Polk and Orange Avenues in East San Diego (Teralta Park covers the freeway)
• Feather River Highway (SR-70), three tunnels, Feather River Canyon (west to east):
  • Arch Rock Tunnel
  • Grizzly Dome Tunnel
  • Elephant Butte Tunnel
• Gaviota Tunnel, northbound US 101, Santa Barbara County
• Harry Crabb Tunnel, ramp to eastbound Interstate 80 (Alan S. Hart Freeway) from northbound Sunrise Avenue (south of Douglas Boulevard) in Roseville ^[6]
• John F. Foran Freeway (I-280), (southbound only) at its interchange with the 19th Avenue (SR 1) in Daly City
• Lighthouse Avenue Tunnel, ^{[7] [8]} Monterey
• Tom Lantos Tunnels/Devil's Slide Tunnels, twin tunnels, SR 1 beneath Devil's Slide between Pacifica and Montara
• Tunnels to Nowhere, two tunnels, Shoemaker Canyon Road (unpaved), San Gabriel Mountains
• Big Oak Flat Road, three tunnels, Yosemite National Park
• Wawona Tunnel, Wawona Road (SR 41), Yosemite National Park, the longest road tunnel in California at 4,233 feet (1,290 m)

Alameda County

• 11th Street Tunnel, under the Oakland Museum of California in Oakland
• Caldecott Tunnel, quad tunnels, SR 24 beneath Grizzly Peak between Orinda and Oakland
• Northbrae Tunnel, former East Bay Electric Lines rail tunnel, current road tunnel joining Solano Avenue and Sutter Street beneath Marin Circle, Berkeley
• Posey and Webster Street Tubes, twin immersed tubes, SR 61 beneath the Oakland Estuary between Alameda and Oakland

Los Angeles County

• Airport Tunnel, twin tunnels, Sepulveda Boulevard (SR 1) beneath Runways 7L/25R and 7R/25L at Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles
• Angeles Crest Highway (State Route 2), two tunnels in the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument northeast Los Angeles County between La Cañada Flintridge and Wrightwood
• Angeles Forest Highway Tunnel/Singing Springs Tunnel/Hidden Springs Tunnel, Angeles Forest Highway/County Road N3, San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, north Los Angeles County between La Cañada Flintridge and Palmdale
• Broadway Tunnel extended Broadway further north, later demolished
• Kanan Dume Tunnel, twin tunnels on Kanan Dume Road north of Malibu
• Malibu Canyon Tunnel, Malibu Canyon Road north of Malibu
• Figueroa Street Tunnels, northbound Arroyo Seco Parkway (SR 110), four tunnels beneath Elysian Park, Los Angeles
• Foothill Freeway (I-210)
  • Cut-and-cover tunnel between Glendale Freeway and Angeles Crest Highway (both part of State Highway 2) in La Cañada Flintridge (Memorial Park covers the freeway)
  • Two short tunnels (eastbound only) under SR 710 and Ventura Freeway (SR 134) in Pasadena
• Griffith Park Tunnel, Vermont Canyon Road/Mount Hollywood Drive in Griffith Park, Los Angeles (tunnel to fictional Toontown in Who Framed Roger Rabbit )
• Long Beach Airport tunnels, two sets of twin tunnels for Lakewood Boulevard (SR 19) and Spring Street under runway 12/30 at Long Beach Airport, Long Beach
• McClure Tunnel, SR 1 located at the western terminus of I-10 in Santa Monica
• Mount Baldy Road, two tunnels, north of Claremont
• Newhall Pass Tunnels, two tunnels about 550 feet (170 m) each, southbound truck bypass lanes of the Golden State Freeway (I‑5), in Santa Clarita and Los Angeles ^[9]
• Orange Freeway (SR 57), (northbound only) at its interchange with the Pomona Freeway (SR 60) in Diamond Bar
• Santa Ana Freeway portion of US 101 (northbound only), at its interchange with the San Bernardino Freeway (SR 10) in downtown Los Angeles
• Second Street Tunnel, beneath Bunker Hill, downtown Los Angeles (tunnel from the movie Blade Runner )
• Tunnel on Soledad Canyon Road, east of Santa Clarita (tunnel from the movie Duel)
• Third Street Tunnel, beneath Bunker Hill, downtown Los Angeles
• Sepulveda Boulevard Tunnel, Sepulveda Boulevard under Mulholland Drive at the north end of Sepulveda Pass, Los Angeles
• Van Nuys Airport Tunnel, twin tunnels, Sherman Way under runway 16R/34L at Van Nuys Airport, west San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles

Marin County

• Baker-Barry Tunnel, single lane tunnel, Bunker Rd, Sausalito
• Robin Williams Tunnel/Waldo Tunnel, twin tunnels, US 101 and SR 1, Sausalito

Orange County

• Main Street under the Santa Ana Freeway (I‑5) in Tustin, California
• SR 133 segment of the Eastern Transportation Corridor toll road, (northbound only) at its interchange with the SR 241 (Foothill Transportation Corridor) in Irvine
• SR 261 segment of the Eastern Transportation Corridor toll road, (northbound only) at its interchange with the SR 241 (Eastern Transportation Corridor) in Orange

San Francisco

• Broadway Tunnel, twin tunnels, Broadway beneath Russian Hill
• MacArthur Tunnel, SR 1 beneath the Presidio of San Francisco (Golden Gate National Recreation Area)
• Masonic Tunnel, carrying Geary Boulevard under Masonic Avenue
• Presidio Parkway, US 101 through the Presidio of San Francisco (replacement for the elevated Doyle Drive)
• Stockton Street Tunnel, beneath a portion of Chinatown
• Yerba Buena Tunnel, twin tunnels, I-80 near the middle of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge complex, Yerba Buena Island

Abandoned

• Kennedy Tunnel, former road above the extant Caldecott Tunnel (see above)

Utility

• Angeles Tunnel
• Claremont Tunnel
• Hetch Hetchy Coast Range tunnel
• (three) Inland Feeder
  • Arrowhead West Tunnel
  • Arrowhead East Tunnel
  • Riverside Badlands Tunnel
• Mile Rock
• San Jacinto Tunnel
• South Bay Aqueduct
• Trinity Diversion Tunnel: a 10.7 mile tunnel diverting water from the Trinity Basin to the Sacramento Valley.

Mining

• Burro Schmidt Tunnel, mining tunnel, east of Red Rock Canyon State Park, eastern Kern County

Military and Industry

• SpaceX constructed a 1.4 Mile test tunnel underneath the parking lot of its Hawthorne plant for experimental transportation technology.
• United States Airforce Plant 42 in Palmdale is rumored to have an underground network of tunnels connecting to nearby defense plants including Lockheed's Skunk works.
• Ft. McArthur Tunnel Complex: an abandoned World War II network connecting fortifications in San Pedro, CA. ^[10]
• The Lawson Adit is a tunnel constructed underneath UC Berkeley into the Berkeley Hills in the early 1900s for student mining research. ^[11]
• US Dept. of Defense Tunnel Warfare Center, China Lake ^{[12] [13]}
• The Stanford Linear Accelerator operates in a 10,000-foot concrete tunnel, 25 feet underground.
• Vandenberg Space Force Base has a number of underground tunnels to support rocket launch operations.

See also

• List of tunnels in the United States

References

1. "Livermore History - Railroads 1". eLivermore.com. 2003. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
2. "Watkins "New Series" Stereoview Titles". Carletonwatkins.org. 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
3. 769 - From West Portal Tunnel 26 to Simi Valley Station on YouTube
4. Van Nostrand's Eclectic Engineering Magazine (1870). "Tunnels of the Pacific Railroad". Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
5. Rogers, Robert (February 11, 2013). "Dornan tunnel in Point Richmond closed after workers find concrete at risk of failure". East Bay Times. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
6. Probst, Jason (November 19, 2005). "Tunnel to be named after Harry Crabb". Gold Country Media. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
7. "Wreck shuts down Lighthouse Tunnel". Monterey Herald. December 7, 2007. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
8. Schmalz, David (September 3, 2015). "Lighthouse tunnel partially closing tonight to replace lights". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
9. "Governor Schwarzenegger Announces the Early Reopening of I-5 at Newhall Pass". California Office of the Governor. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
10. Shneer, Jim (February 8, 2022). "The Fort MacArthur Tunnels". Palos Verdes Pulse.
11. Chamings, Andrew (March 31, 2020). "The strange, secret tunnels under UC Berkeley". SF Chronicle.
12. Cox, Matthew (June 25, 2018). "The Army Is Spending Half A Billion To Train Soldiers To Wage War Underground". Military.com.
13. Kennedy, Harold. "Navy Sets Up New Facility For Tunnel-Warfare Training". National Defense.