St. Clair Tunnel
View of the original tunnel (closed in 1994) from a 1907 postcard | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Official name | Paul M. Tellier Tunnel (second tunnel) |
| Location | St. Clair River between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario |
| Coordinates | 42°57′30″N 82°24′38″W / 42.95833°N 82.41056°W |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1891 (first tunnel) 1994 (second tunnel) |
| Closed | 1994 (first tunnel) |
| Operator | Canadian National Railway |
| Technical | |
| Length | 6,025 feet (1,836 m) (first tunnel) 6,129 feet (1,868 m) (second tunnel) |
| No. of tracks | Single (each tunnel) |
| Location on a map of Michigan | |
| Designated | October 15, 1970 |
| Reference no. | 70000684 |
| Designated | April 19, 1993 |
| Built | 1889 |
| Architect | Beach, Alfred; Hobson, Joseph |
| Governing body | Private |
The St. Clair Tunnel is the name for two separate rail tunnels which were built under the St. Clair River between Sarnia, Ontario and Port Huron, Michigan. The original, opened in 1891 and used until it was replaced by a new larger tunnel in 1994, was the first full-size subaqueous tunnel built in North America. (By full-size it is meant that it allowed a railroad to run through it.) It is a National Historic Landmark of the United States, and has been designated a civil engineering landmark by both US and Canadian engineering bodies.