In April 1924, the Moffat Tunnel set new progress records, overcame construction challenges, and prepared for an influx of summer visitors.
Moffat Tunnel Construction Happenings from 100 Years Ago
April 1924 saw new records made in boring the Moffat Tunnel. Prior records were 20 feet of progress in a single day at East Portal, however, 23 feet became the new record. However, that progress was not without incident. In the April 21, 1924, Boulder Daily Camera newspaper, the mention read, “Alva Q. Healey, an old-time miner of the Sunshine district, Boulder county, is in St. Luke’s hospital, Denver, receiving treatment for two broken legs. He was struck by an electric car while working in the [E]ast [P]ortal of the Moffat [T]unnel about a week ago. He had gone there several weeks before to accept a position. His daughter, Mrs. Luella Downey of Denver, is with him.” (Note Alva’s name is also spelled as Alva G. Healy—underscoring that historical research is not always easy when the same article provides two different spellings! An obituary for Alva’s grandson mentions, “He was named Alva Healey after his beloved grandfather, Alvah Q. Healey, a prominent gold miner in the Four Mile Canyon area above Boulder, who had also been involved in the construction of the Moffatt [sic] Tunnel.”)
At the West Portal meanwhile, progress was still hindered by the softer rock, however, many reports mentioned that harder rock was being found, and they expected progress to speed up greatly. “This announcement is of vital importance to the contractors, Hitchcock & Tinkler, Inc. It means that they have passed from under the last of the surface creek beds and depressions that hold water which has caused soft rock, and at last have entered the real mountain where the rock is solid and where the electric drilling machines will be good for from twenty-two feet a day up into the thirties,” stated the Rocky Mountain News on April 27, 1924.
Overall, multiple sources mention new records on both sides of the Continental Divide. Additionally, the ambitious projections continue: “As the total length of the tunnel is to be 32,150 feet, it means that if this speed can be maintained, the tunnel will be completed in less than two years, which is highly gratifying to the commission, the contractors, and the people of Northwestern Colorado” wrote the Routt County Sentinel on April 11, 1924. Interestingly, articles mentioned “Work is being pushed on the two tunnels by Hitchcock & Tinkler… the contractors… [and they] will finish the job in 1926… they informed the engineering department the prediction is made that the transportation tunnel will be in operation in 1926, tho [sic] the contract calls for July 1927. In fact, so con[fident] yesterday that in drawing plans for the entrance to each portal that the year [1926] be used, instead of 1927.”
More than 500 men are now employed at both portals and because of cross-cuts, work is able to progress at as many as five different places on the main tunnel from the pioneer bore at a single portal (West). There can be three sets of firings in a day; that is, three charges of dynamite can be set off, and the debris removed.
With the approaching summer, “Anticipating thousands of prospective visitors during the coming summer season over Berthoud pass, the contractors are planning the erection of a high wire fence around the tunnel grounds. The main highway over Berthoud pass is by the [W]est [P]ortal, and a portion of the debris from the tunnel is carried over the highway on a trestle and dumped. With the thousands of motor tourists passing along the Berthoud pass road it is seen that they would swarm into the tunnels and over the grounds, hence the fence to keep them out. This action by Hitchcock & Tinkler is not to bar the public from the working, but as a preventive measure against death or accident,” it was explained by one of the tunnel engineers. “There is, of course, a vast amount of high explosives at the camp, but more dangerous are the low trolley wires of high voltage, some of these wires being only about six feet from the ground. The fence is to keep crowds out, but there will be passes issued and in this way the number around the tunnel portals can be regulated and lives can be safeguarded. As a matter of fact, the tourist can see from the outside about all that is of interest, but from the outside, naturally, he cannot go back home and say, “I was in the Moffat tunnel,” and tell his own story of its interior.”
One interesting story is of R. H. Keays, chief engineer of the tunnel. He was the guest of honor for a dinner at the Rocky Mountain Cornell Alumni association at the University club (17th Avenue and Sherman Street in Denver). His train was delayed by a snow blockade on the Moffat Road over Rollins Pass. A separate article mentions, “Stereopticon slides showing graphically the ingenious machinery and methods of construction which are being utilized in building the Moffat tunnel were presented… during his address at the annual dinner meeting…. Mr. Keays spoke of the stages in the work that have been completed since the opening of the camps at the east and west portals last August. He discussed some of the difficulties that must be solved before the tunnel is completed, and explained the methods of drilling the rock and the machines used for this purpose. The speaker reported favorably on the progress of the work and stressed the sanitary conditions of the camp buildings, which are fitted with modern conveniences for the comfort of the men, as an important factor in enabling the work to go on unhindered by weather conditions or other construction difficulties.”
April also saw a portion of the railroad tunnel expanded to full size. (The upper half of the railroad tunnel is seen in the photograph, before expansion.)
B. Travis Wright, MPS | Preserve Rollins Pass | April 30, 2024
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