Skip to main content

Northbrae Tunnel

By


The Northbrae Tunnel is a component of Solano Avenue located in the city of Berkeley, California. The 465-foot long Northbrae Tunnel originally functioned as part of the East Bay Electric Lines upon opening during 1912. Between 1941-1958 the Northbrae Tunnel was part of the Key System. The Northbrae Tunnel was purchased by the city of Berkeley and reopened as an extension of Solano Avenue on December 15, 1962.




The history of the Northbrae Tunnel

The Northbrae Tunnel is located in the namesake Northbrae neighborhood of Berkeley.  The Northbrae Tunnel was constructed by the Southern Pacific Railroad as part of the East Bay Electrics Lines via cut-and-cover construction methods.  The beginning of excavation for the Northbrae Tunnel was featured in the June 9, 1910, San Francisco Call. 


The East Bay Electric Lines tracks were completed during 1911 and opened for service on January 1, 1912.  The East Bay Electric Lines (in red) can be seen passing through the Northbrae Tunnel on the 1912-1913 Map of Oakland Vicinity by Reality-Bonds & Finance Company Map.  The Northbrae Tunnel can be seen connecting from the ends of Solano Avenue and Sutter Street.  

The East Bay Electric Lines began to be operated by Southern Pacific subsidiary Interurban Electric Railway beginning during December 1939.  Interurban Electric Railway service ended during July 1941.  The East Bay Electric Lines tracks within Berkeley were subsequently made available to the Key System.  The Key System continued to operate through the Northbrae Tunnel until April 1958.  

Following the shuttering of Key System rail service, the Northbrae Tunnel was purchased by the city of Berkeley via the Capital Improvement Program.  The Northbrae Tunnel was rebuilt as an extension of Solano Avenue to Sutter Street.  The Northbrae Tunnel reopened to automobile traffic on December 15, 1962.  The conversion of the Northbrae Tunnel from rail service to part of Solano Avenue was featured in the March/April 1963 California Highways & Public Works. 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Winnemucca to the Sea Highway

By
The Winnemucca to the Sea Highway was conceived as an idea to establish a continuous, improved route branching from what was then US Highway 40 (now I-80) in Winnemucca, Nevada to the Pacific Coast in Crescent City, California . This highway was to span 494 miles as it crossed through deserts, mountains and forests on its way to the Pacific Ocean. Community leaders from points along this proposed highway formed the Winnemucca to the Sea Highway Association, which worked with state and local governments to obtain funding for the planning, construction and upgrade of the highway. The original proposal was to create one highway, numbered 140, which was to be applied to the complete route as the parent major US highway was coast-to-coast US-40, the Victory Highway. However, this idea never fully came to fruition. Currently, a traveler driving on the Winnemucca to the Sea Highway actually follows seven different highway numbers, which are US 95, NV 140, OR 140, US 395, OR 62, I-5, US 19...
Post a Comment
Read more

Petroleum Club Road (former California State Route 33 and US Route 399 past the Lakeview Gusher)

By
Petroleum Club Road is an approximately 5.3-mile rural highway located in the Sunset Oil Field of western Kern County.  This corridor was constructed as a frontage road of the Sunset Railroad and would be the site of the Lakeview Gusher in 1910.  Petroleum Club Road was the original alignment of California State Route 33 and US Route 399 between 1934-1938.  In 1938 the West Side Highway was constructed west of Lakeview Gusher and still serves as the current alignment of California State Route 33.   Part 1; the history of Petroleum Club Road Petroleum Club Road is the original highway which linked the oil communities of Maricopa and Taft.  Both cities were developed around the early boom of the Sunset Oil Field.  The early Sunset Oil Field can be seen centered along Cienega Canyon Road southwest of Buena Vista Lake in Township 11 North, Range 23 West on the 1898 Kern County Surveyors map .  In 1901 Post Office Service would be established at the Su...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 166

By
The final route I took this past Wednesday was California State Route 166. CA 166 is a 96 mile east/west highway stretching from CA 1 in Guadalupe to CA 99 near Bakersfield.  CA 166 is mostly a rural stretch of state highway which crosses the Coast Ranges largely following the course of the Cuyama River.  CA 166 for the most part is a highly scenic highway, especially the portion following the Cuyama River.  CA 166 is well graded enough for a fun drive as it traverses through Santa Barbara Couny, San Luis Obispo County, and Kern County. I started my trip on CA 166 from CA 1 in Guadalupe heading east towards Santa Maria. CA 166 crosses a series of railroad tracks as the route begins eastward on Main Street towards Santa Maria. CA 166 between Guadalupe and Santa Maria is signed as a 6 mile long Safety Corridor.  The road quality on Main Street is incredibly poor and choppy in this segment which is likely due to the heavy agriculture truck traffic....
1 comment
Read more