WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
BIGELOW TUNNEL
aka ST. GEORGE TUNNEL, aka MIDDLETON TUNNEL, aka WASHINGTON TUNNEL
On Highway 91 Between St. George and Washington
Washington. Prior to that time, people had to travel along the east side and around the bottom of Foremaster Hill to travel between
Washington and St. George.
LOCATION
37° 7' 16.0" North Latitude, 113° 33' 11.4" West Longitude37° 7' 15.88" North Latitude, 113° 33' 10.03" West Longitude (North Entrance)
37° 7' 16.17" North Latitude, 113° 33' 13.22" West Longitude (South Entrance)
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DESCRIPTION
This tunnel was 21 feet wide, 13½ feet high, and less than 500 feet long.HISTORY
The Bigelow Tunnel was dug as part of the Highway 91 construction.According to National Surface Transporation Policy and Revenue Study Commission it had an hourly traffic of 585 vehicles in 1948.
Sometime before 1954, a cut was made through the mesa and the highway was rerouted along the more level route. The tunnel was no longer
on the main route, but may have still been used as an alternate route for a while.
Sometime around 1970, the cut was widened and Highway 91 was replaced with I-15.
The road running through the Washington Tunnel was eventually taken out of service. The tunnel still exists, but now is used for storage.
PHOTOS
 Northeast entrance 1920s or 1930s photos from the Lynne Clark Collection |
 Southwest exit |
 WCHS-01395 South end of the Bigelow Tunnel |
 WCHS-01396 North end of the Bigelow Tunnel |
Other WCHS photos:
WCHS-01506 Photo of the north entrance of the Bigelow Tunnel
WCHS-01507 Photo of the north entrance of the Bigelow Tunnel
WCHS-01508 Photo of writing in an entrance of the Bigelow Tunnel
WCHS-01509 Photo of the wall and door in the south entrance of the Bigelow Tunnel
WCHS-01510 Photo of the wall and door in the south entrance of the Bigelow Tunnel
REFERENCES
1954 USGS map of St. George and Washington1961 street map of St George from the telephone book