Pitkin Tunnel

Last updated
Pitkin Tunnel
Overview
Other name(s) Pitkin Street Tunnel
Location New Haven, Connecticut
Start Elm Street

The Pitkin Tunnel or Pitkin Street Tunnel is a below-ground-level, roofed but not entirely enclosed roadway, in downtown New Haven, Connecticut, United States. It accommodates simultaneous motor vehicle traffic in both directions. The tunnel runs from the eastbound one-way Elm Street between Church and Orange Streets ( 41°18′28″N72°55′24″W / 41.3078°N 72.9234°W / 41.3078; -72.9234 ), with the southbound lanes of State Street between Court and Chapel Streets ( 41°18′19″N72°55′21″W / 41.3054°N 72.9225°W / 41.3054; -72.9225 ) across from State Street station. It passes under Orange Street. It runs under or next to the New Haven City Hall and County Courthouse and the Federal Courthouse on Church Street, the local Emergency Operations Center, and at least three more buildings that house banks and the headquarters of United Illuminating, the electric utility serving much of New Haven and Fairfield counties.

New Haven, Connecticut City in Connecticut, United States

New Haven is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut, and is part of the New York metropolitan area. With a population of 129,779 as determined by the 2010 United States Census, it is the second-largest city in Connecticut after Bridgeport. New Haven is the principal municipality of Greater New Haven, which had a total population of 862,477 in 2010.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Tunnel An underground passage made for traffic

A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through the surrounding soil/earth/rock and enclosed except for entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube construction techniques rather than traditional tunnel boring methods.

The tunnel provides access to a parking garage and to loading docks; motorists with no interest in those facilities are reported to use the tunnel as a convenient route to avoid traffic lights and congestion.

Security

In 2003, the United States Marshals Service and General Services Administration provided funds which were used to install surveillance cameras, gates for closing the tunnel, and booths to accommodate guards. As of 2005, the gates are open 16 hours a day, five days a week, with the only security personnel in the tunnel being occasional patrols by city police. The lack of guards to control access at those times has drawn attention of the state's news media.

United States Marshals Service federal law enforcement agency of the United States

The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency within the U.S. Department of Justice. It is the oldest American federal law enforcement agency and was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789 during the presidency of George Washington as the Office of the United States Marshal. The USMS as it stands today was established in 1969 to provide guidance and assistance to Marshals throughout the federal judicial districts. USMS is an agency of the United States executive branch reporting to the United States Attorney General, but serves as the enforcement arm of the United States federal courts to ensure the effective operation of the judiciary and integrity of the Constitution.

General Services Administration United States government agency

The General Services Administration (GSA), an independent agency of the United States government, was established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. government offices, provides transportation and office space to federal employees, and develops government-wide cost-minimizing policies and other management tasks.

In February 2007, plans were announced to enhance security, apparently in anticipation of extradition from the United Kingdom, and trial in New Haven, of a person charged with conspiracy in a terrorism-related case. One measure is to be armed guards who are not visible to the public.

United Kingdom Country in Europe

The United Kingdom (UK), officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and sometimes referred to as Britain, is a sovereign country located off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state, the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.

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