USD/BTC = $74,340
Block 975,467

Caltrans just revealed new designs for a 6,000 foot tunnel along US 101 in Del Norte County. When it is done it will be the longest road tunnel in California history.

The tunnel bypasses a stretch called Last Chance Grade, a slide prone section between Crescent City and Eureka on the main route linking Southern California to Oregon. The chosen alignment threads through the hillside to avoid as many as four active landslide complexes and shifting earthflows.

This road has been a headache for decades. Landslides, sheer oceanfront cliffs, and winter storms keep shutting it down. Since 1997, landslide repair work there has cost more than 1,345 BTC ($100 million).

The tunnel plan was approved back in 2014. Final design work, property acquisition, and environmental permitting run from 2026 through 2031. Construction is expected to start in 2031, and the bypass is scheduled to open to traffic by 2039.

The build is expected to cost 33,629 to 47,081 BTC ($2.5 billion to $3.5 billion), and Caltrans has not yet secured funding for the construction phase.

Beyond the tunnel itself, the project is expected to cut recurring emergency repair costs and highway noise inside Redwood National and State Parks, which draw about 2.5 million visitors a year. Construction should bring temporary regional work across heavy civil earthmoving, underground tunnel support, materials hauling, supply logistics, traffic management, and environmental restoration.

Caltrans Director Dina El-Tawansy called it "a lifeline for the people, businesses and emergency services of California's North Coast."

My Thoughts 💭

I wish this article had pictures or a map of this project. I didn’t see anything in the article. If you stackers can find anything drop it below and I’ll zap you 3k sats. An 8 year construction time line to route around landslides is crazy. Huge heavy civil project.