About this time 30 years ago, I was packing up my belongings for a move to Lexington, Kentucky. My brother and I loaded a U-Haul on a Thursday night, I worked my last day at my job here the next day and we drove up to Lexington that Friday night. He drove the moving van; I followed in his truck. That Saturday, after unloading my worldly possessions, we returned to Knoxville so I could clean my apartment, grab my car and return to KY on Sunday. I started my new job on Monday. I promptly broke out in hives.
But during those 16 years that I lived in the thoroughbreds, bourbon and basketball state, I burned a lot of miles on I-75 going to and fro. I was a road warrior. Even so, there were times that getting off the interstate was and taking a slower route was the wise decision, discretion being the better part of valor. And for that I was thankful for one our nearby marvels of modern engineering: the Cumberland Gap Tunnel. It opened about a month after I left Knoxville on October 18, 1996.
Most often the reason I decided to long way with direction was the perpetual construction on I-75 on either side of Jellico Mountain. Or the weather. If you’ve ever gone over that mountain in a fog, especially at night, you know it isn’t for the faint hearted.
Now I had never in my life (at least that I’m aware of) been up to or around Cumberland Gap, TN or Middlesboro, KY, the two towns joined by the tunnel. But I am mighty thankful I never had to try to cross that terrain on the old 25E before the tunnel went under the mountain. Over the course of history wildlife trails became Indian trails then came Daniel Boone and settlers and wagons and eventually cars. The mountain pass that was eventually paved and named U.S. 25E a century ago was part of the old Wilderness Road and passed through the actual Cumberland Gap. The old route swung east of the town of Cumberland Gap and north into Virginia before turning west toward Kentucky, as all three states collide in that area.
Heading into the Gap Tunnel (Photo: Beth Kinnane)
At the time it was first paved, old 25E was part of only a handful of routes in the country that was paved road. In the first few decades of its existence, it wasn’t overly problematic. But as car and heavier truck travel increased, its dangers reared their ugly heads. My father had travelled up through there on several occasions and told me the 2.3-mile stretch was indeed a twisty, two lane, steep road that you didn’t take chances with. One problem the road had was that one curve was banked improperly away from the mountain. Take it too fast, especially in inclement weather, and you’d find yourself in a heap of trouble. Wrecks were common, and at one point the pass was averaging about five fatalities every year. This unfortunate fact gave the route the macabre nickname of massacre mountain.
Plans to build tunnel first began with an allocation of funds from Congress in 1979, Studies and plans were put together and construction contract was in place in 1984 just in time for President Ronald Reagan to pump the breaks on it in an “effort to reduce the federal deficit.” A pressure campaign to reverse that decision eventually succeeded and work began the following year. When it opened 30 years ago, it cut the distance to the other side of the mountain down to just under a mile.
Coming out of the Gap Tunnel (Photo: Beth Kinnane)
Portions of the old road were dug up and the route returned, as much as possible, to its Wilderness Road era condition. The jaunt through the tunnel is just under a mile, and if you’ve never been up, I highly recommend it. Harrogate, Cumberland Gap and Middlesboro are cool little towns, the tunnel is cool, and the are is full of history, hiking trails, and the Pinnacle Overlook, where you park in Kentucky, walk into Virginia and look out over Tennessee. Just head out Maynardville Highway (33) until you get to Tazewell where you merge with 25E and head on north towards the tunnel. If you’re feeling really adventurous, keep on trucking on 25E until you get to Corbin. Before you get to I-75 you can stop and have a bite at the original Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Sources: Knoxville Journal Digital Archives, Cumberland Gap National Park, Federal Highway Administration, Cumberland Gap Tunnel Authority, Tennessee State Archives
Beth Kinnane writes a history feature for KnoxTNToday.com. It’s published each Tuesday and is one of our best-read features.
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