Papago Freeway Tunnel

The Papago Freeway Tunnel, better known to Phoenix residents as the Deck Park Tunnel, is a vehicular underpass built underneath Downtown Phoenix. It was built as part of Interstate Highway 10 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Route

The underpass extends from approximately North 3rd Avenue to North 3rd Street. At 2,887 feet (879.95m), it ranks as the 42nd longest vehicular tunnel in the US. The underpass was the last section of Interstate 10 to be completed nationwide. There is a plaque dedicated to the commemoration of the tunnel in Margaret T. Hance Park.

Margaret T. Hance Park

The highway passes underneath three streets and a park that was named after former Phoenix Mayor Margaret Taylor Hance a few months after her death in 1990. During her mayorship, Hance was a strong proponent of the tunnel and the park.

Design

The tunnel, which is more of a "table" design rather than an actual tunnel, is divided into two tubes, each carrying five lanes of one-way traffic flanked by two emergency lanes. Each of the two tubes can carry up to 8,000 vehicles per hour. Between the two tubes exists a single-lane tube that was designed as an express terminal for city buses. The tube is unused, and the approaches on both sides of the tunnel are gated off.