[ The Daily Collegian
November 7, 1962

Heat from Tunnels Melts Sidewalk Snow
By TONY FOGLIO

Have you ever wondered why certain paved sidewalks on campus are always free from snow in winter, while other pavements are covered with snow or ice?

The warm air which comes up through the grates and which melts snow and ice on these pavements comes from steam lines contained in a network of tunnels which almost "loop" the entire campus.

THE OLDEST tunnel segment probably predates the turn of the century, Thomas B. Kneen, maintenance and utilities department head, said recently.

Kneen’s department is responsible for maintaining the 2.03 miles of tunnels which begin at the University’s power plant at Burrows Road and College Avenue.

The tunnel runs along College Avenue to Sackett, where it branches in two directions. One runs up the Mall to Pattee Library, where it turns onto Curtin Road and then to Shortlidge Road. The Mall branch in turn has a sub-branch which travels under Pollock Road to the health center.

The second branch continues east from Sackett past the Home Economics Building and Atherton to South Halls, where it ends.

Kneen said the present tunnel segments are "part of an ultimate plan to tie the campus together in a loop network piping."

THE PLAN will be realized with the addition of a tunnel segment on Shortlidge Road which will link the lines at Curtin and Pollock Roads. Walter R. Wiegand, director of physical plant, said he hopes the addition will be built "in the near future."

The tunnels, which are "man-high," Kneen said, carry steam lines and also condensate returns (water produced by cooled steam), compressed air, gas lines and telephone and television cables. The only electric lines in the tunnels are those used for lighting, he said.

There are two types of steam lines in the tunnels, Kneen continued. The first type is low-pressure steam which is a by-product of the steam used to generate electricity, The second is high-pressure steam which is generated specifically for the buildings at the furthest extremities of the campus.

Kneen said that if the campus tunnels, including steam lines, were to be built at today’s prices of $100 per foot, the entire system would be worth about $1 million.

I scoffed at the figure of 2.03 miles (3267m), which seemed entirely too large. Just to check, I did a rough estimate using Photoshop's ruler tool. First, I got the size from the map's scale (0.25 miles). Secondly, I summed the length of all the known sections of tunnel, as well as some "almost certain" sections that I've looked down but not actually tread through. Dividing the sum by the measured scale and then by another four, I got full miles, which came out to 2.18 miles. Looks like the original estimate is trustworthy.

To get a more or less correct length, I took the 1964 figure and added what I now knew to postdate that article and added the additional length to the original figure. Because the estimate predated the section between Shortlidge/Pollock and Curtin (since Pollock run ended at the "health center," Ritenour Hall), I added the length connecting Ritenour to Shortlidge. I also added the length connecting Ferguson to Shortlidge, since the tunnel section becomes more modern in front of Ferguson and because the only reason it would have been built was to extend to join at Shortlidge (no buildings beyond that point on Old Curtin). Additionally, because McElwain has service (and the building's relatively old; probably had service when it was erected), I summed the length from the side branch to McElwain to the Pollock/Shortlidge underpass. Finally, I added the length from the underpass to the present day northeastern-most corner of the system, where Curtin apparently once intersected Shortlidge (today, Curtin intersects Shortlidge another block north.)

Anyway. After all this, I came up with 2.32 miles, about 12250 feet or 3734 meters. That's how long the present system of tunnels appears to run today. Sadly, if this is correct, the remaining campus is serviced by buried steam lines, rather than tunnels. Or possibly an independent system of tunnels? =)

Triturus 02/25/99