Key Open in the Summer May 1st to Sept. With summer traffic, you may want to allow up to 1. Plan to catch the tunnel opening that is 1.
Cruise departs at 9am — plan to catch the am to am tunnel. If you arrive early, there are a couple of nice restaurants and coffee shops to check out with a bonus of spectacular scenery to take in.
Refer to our detailed Whittier Tunnel Timetable for help planning out your trip to Whittier. The Whittier Tunnel is a dual highway tunnel acting as the passage way into and out of Whittier. This tunnel is one lane, shared by cars and trains, so make sure you plan ahead! Refer to our Whittier Tunnel Timetable for detailed planning. It is a unique passage into and out of the town of Whittier and the gateway to Prince William Sound and all the fun it has to offer. It does involve some planning though.
Refer to the Whittier Tunnel Schedule. This one lane tunnel spans 2. Cars depart from Bear Valley Portage Valley at the top fo the hour for a 15 minute window. Cars depart from Whittier at the bottom of the hour. For more details see our time table above. Left: Steam locomotive traverses Bear Valley shortly after the tunnel opens.
Right: Alaska Railroad Whittier shuttle passes stockpiles of stone needed for new track and road. On April 23, workers completed the spur, which consisted of a 1-mile tunnel through Begich Peak and a 2.
With a new rail connection to Whittier, the area began to change. In the mids, work crews and supply ships began to arrive, and population, including military and civilian personnel, swelled to over 1, Infrastructure—such as buildings including the six story Buckner building and the Begich Tower , a power plant, and a petroleum tank farm—began to change the landscape.
The s brought change to Whittier once again. As the military pulled out, Whittier transformed into a federally run commercial port. This turn of events also provided the opportunity for the private ownership and development potential that exists today. Whittier's geographical location makes it the ideal gateway for freight ships, cruise lines, fishers, and recreational boaters.
Expert Advice First Trip to Alaska? How to Plan and Book? What to Wear in Alaska? Which Departure Port? Cruise or Land Tour First? They could only connect Whittier to the rest of Alaska by air or sea. No road could ever climb across the glacier-encrusted terrain. Army built a tunnel instead, not so much for the residents of Whittier but in support of the war effort. They designed it solely as a train tunnel, a route both shorter and less difficult than the route heading up the Kenai Peninsula from Seward.
The military does not need the tunnel anymore, and in fact they left Whittier a half-century ago, but it continues to benefit the residents of this otherwise isolated town. We approached from the west, heading from the Seward Highway route.
We traveled a few miles after turning onto Portage Glacier Road and went through an initial tunnel, the foot Portage Lake Tunnel, which had sufficient width to allow vehicles to pass in both directions unimpeded.
Not much later we spotted a mountainous ridge looming on the horizon, then turned a curve and noticed the toll plaza and staging area leading to the Bear Valley Portal Building, an A-Frame structure dug into the hillside.
Notice the width of the tunnel. Traffic can only move in one direction at a time. Vehicles travel in a line towards Whittier, the tunnel clears, then traffic can proceed back towards Anchorage or the Kenai.
Trains travel in both directions and this odd arrangement also has to be figured into the equation along with every manner of cars, tractor trailers, tourist buses and oversized Recreational Vehicles.
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