We had to wait just a short bit for our 1:30 time to go thru this tunnel. The cost for our bus was $125.00, cars are $12.00 each one way.
The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel is a single lane tunnel that was used by trains since 1943. In 2000 it was paved allowing passage by either train or cars. Because it's only one lane, the traffic switches direction every half hour. Trains are given a 2 hour window with no auto traffic allowed.
This is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel (2.5 miles) and the second longest tunnel in North America. By the internet "it's the first US tunnel with jet turbine and portal fan ventilation and the first designed for -40*F and 150 mph winds. The portal buildings are designed to withstand avalanches."
Just out of the tunnel we get our first view of our ship, "home" for the next 7 days.
This was the view from our balcony
In researching Whittier online I find "During World War II the United States Army constructed a port and railroad terminus near and named the port Whittier. The spur of the Alaska Railroad to Whittier was completed in 1943 and the port became the entrance for United States soldiers into Alaska. The port remained an active army facility until 1960."
Whittier has no direct sunlight from Nov to Feb as the sun does not rise above the mountains behind.
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